Traditionally, droplets are defined as large (>5 microns) aqueous bodies. However, airborne (or aerosolized) transmission of the virus has been proposed as a source of infection almost since the inception of the COVID pandemic.
By comparison to droplets, aerosolized particles are infinitesimal. Size alone is not the only important distinction: Droplets fall to earth quickly, but aerosols can travel on air currents potentially for hours. Thus aerosolized viruses are likely to be much more infectious than viruses bound to respiratory droplets, and much more difficult to avoid.
The conclusion of the article is eye opening.
- No study has demonstrated actual clinical evidence of the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2;
- The overwhelming majority of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is via large respiratory droplets as conclusively demonstrated by contact tracing studies, cluster investigations, the lack of infection spread in hospital settings with universal masking protocols and the low estimated R
Say it, don't spray it!
If I'm interpreting the second bullet point correctly as it pertains to large droplets, it implies that the mask is only effective against people who tend to spray it when they say it... lol
https://www.pennmedicine.org/update...rosolized,air currents potentially for hours.