Surgical masks are meant to stop droplets and large particles but aren't rated to filter airborne particulates. These more or less protect people from sneezing

Surgical masks are meant to stop droplets and large particles but aren't rated to filter airborne particulates. These more or less protect people from sneezing or coughing directly onto one another. The next step up from a surgical mask is an NIOSH rated mask / respirator. These carry a letter and number rating the letter is either N, R, or P and the number is typically 95 - 100. N95 is a NIOSH filter rating and where the term N95 mask comes from. These will filter out any viruses and other particulates in the air. There are studies showing that N95 Masks are effective. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/respsource3healthcare.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part... edit: all that said there are studies that show both types have similar effectiveness at preventing infections in healthcare workers so I wouldn't go around telling people that any of them are useless. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4868605/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4868605/