I've always considered surgical masks to be partially pandemic theater, particularly once we discovered how aerosol driven SARS-CoV-2 is. Great for preventing

I've always considered surgical masks to be partially pandemic theater, particularly once we discovered how aerosol driven SARS-CoV-2 is. Great for preventing the exhalation of fomites, but not particularly guaranteed at anything airborne, such as Omicron. So much air moves around the edges - There is a reason why medical professionals don't rely on unbraced Surgical Masks for personal protection in an airborne respiratory ward. My guess, based on what we know about low-micron aerosol transmission, that anybody walking around with a valved respirator/surgical mask and infected with Omicron, is potentially infecting anyone unmasked around them. But - with that said, I did learn from you that valved respirators aren't horrible - but I should look at someone wearing one in the same way I would look at someone with a surgical mask. I'm also dubious as to whether N95 masks are doing as much as people think they are - breathability is key factor that needs to be considered - unless all of your inhalation and exhalation is passing through the mask, once again it's not doing/protecting what you think it is, despite how tightly fit it is, and the fact that on a NaCl 3 micron bench test it's rated at 99.9x% effective.