Masks and flu: What is the debate, and should you wear one?

As NHS hospitals face huge pressure this winter from one of the worst flu seasons in decades,12 health officials are once again urging people to wear a mask to combat the spread of respiratory illnesses.The UK Health Security Agency last week issued fresh advice for people to wear a mask “when you are unwell and need to go out,” to “protect those at highest risk.”3This was followed by Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, a body representing NHS trusts, saying that face coverings should be worn on public transport, as they were during the covid pandemic, to tackle the “very nasty strain of flu” circulating in the UK.But some prominent politicians, including the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have spoken out against the move.Why is there