No, they aren't "worse than nothing." They just got that reputation based on misinterpreted results of one study that got a lot of press (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-those-bogus-reports-on-ineffective-neck-gaiters-got-started/). That said, any kind of cloth face covering isn't really recommended anymore for the prevention of COVID-19. That was back when it was believed to be primarily spread through respiratory droplets. Once they determined it could be spread through aerosols (and indeed that the later more contagious variants are like primarily spread via aerosol transmission), the recommendation shifted away from cloth face covering of any kinds and to surgical and N95 masks.
CryptographerSmall45 t1_j3f8e64 wrote
Reply to Are gaiters at least partially effective at blocking aerosols? by Lokarin
No, they aren't "worse than nothing." They just got that reputation based on misinterpreted results of one study that got a lot of press (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-those-bogus-reports-on-ineffective-neck-gaiters-got-started/). That said, any kind of cloth face covering isn't really recommended anymore for the prevention of COVID-19. That was back when it was believed to be primarily spread through respiratory droplets. Once they determined it could be spread through aerosols (and indeed that the later more contagious variants are like primarily spread via aerosol transmission), the recommendation shifted away from cloth face covering of any kinds and to surgical and N95 masks.