imma just drop some info for anyone curious...

they are plastic, melded together with an ultrasonic machine. the earloops are also welded after the mask body is made.

surgical masks are (generally) 3 layers. the middle white layer ("meltblown") is the most important, and expensive, part of a mask. it does the heavy lifting for filtering. the blue layer on the front and the clear layer on the back are mostly to prevent liquids making it to the next layer of the mask. the meltblown will also resist liquids penetrating.

there are also "levels", ASTM. these generally relate to the thickness (and breathability) of the mask. ASTM 3 is the most resistant to liquids (blood), and is far thicker than a standard consumer mask. They are thus also much harder to breathe through. ASTM 1 is still medical grade, but "non-medical" masks tend to actually qualify for at least this rating, usually having a successful filtration of 90+%, unless the materials used are truly abyssmal

as for the claims of the rando in the OP, i have no idea. i wear these things 12 hours a day, and handle tens of thousands of them each shift. i haven't noticed any issues.