That's absolutely true, but we're not talking about a virus like measles. We're not talking about tuberculosis. We're not talking about viruses like smallpox that are airborne as opposed to droplet-borne. So that's absolutely true if I were dealing with a case of smallpox. I would want a heck of a lot of protection. But when you're dealing with a virus that is basically transferred when you cough, you handle it--you rub your nose, you touch your eyes, or you put your hands in your mouth. That and close contact are the ways it spreads, and a surgical mask will reduce that. The studies we are now seeing would suggest that a mask works as well as an N95 respirator for influenza.
On September 30th, 2009. See this statement in context.