6 ms·

"Masks are actually not recommended, but won’t make anything worse" - sounds very short-sighted to me. If a lot of people start buying and wearing masks just be

by rob74 7y ago

"Masks are actually not recommended, but won’t make anything worse" - sounds very short-sighted to me. If a lot of people start buying and wearing masks just because it makes them feel safer, people who might actually need masks (i.e. medical personnel) might have trouble getting them...

antoniuschan99 7y ago
I hear this argument a lot. Why don’t Medical personnel have their own portal to obtain medical supplies that thr regular population doesn’t have access to?
geddy 7y ago
This is already happening: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-n95-face-mask-coronoavirus-20200228-43zikhw4ercbdma3lfeul4u6py-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-n95-face-mask...
- Seenso 7y ago
  It's already happened. Ever since the coronavirus hit China, N95 masks have been sold or selling out in the US. I'm sure some were bought by preppers, but many were bought to export to China to help relieve acute shortages in Wuhan. Also, US medical facilities and government already don't have a sufficient stockpile, so there will be shortages and they're talking about changing usage practices to conserve the supply. 3M, at least, has said they're going to prioritize medical customers, but they're not going to catch up until April, at least. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/shortages-confusion-and-poor-communication-complicate-coronavirus-preparations/2020/02/25/d9e56396-575d-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/shortages-confusion-an...
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    Let's not forget price gouging. There are those despicable "entrepreneurs" that bought up masks to resell them on-line at high markup. There's supply and demand, but then there's straight profiteering from a public health crisis.
    - dmurray 7y ago
      To play devil's advocate: the profiteers are providing the mask manufacturers with cashflow and a strong market signal to manufacture more masks. Given that the coronavirus is spreading so slowly, this kind of market activity might actually increase the availability of masks when they're actually most necessary. Of course, there are other ways to achieve this effect: governments could order the mask manufacturers to step up production, or the manufacturers could take a gamble on the future and step up production before seeing an increase in sales (and a bank could finance that if cashflow was an issue). But you know, you wouldn't criticize the mask manufacturers for increasing production and thereby profits, so it's a bit harsh to blame the intermediaries.
      - Seenso 7y ago
        > They are providing the mask manufacturers with cashflow and a strong market signal to manufacture more masks. No they're not. The profiteers are resellers that bought masks/respirators from the manufacturers at regular price, then sell them with a crazy markup. I've been watching the prices of these items throughout this whole crisis, and the prices of 3M respirators sold through reputable retailers has not budged. 3M is not increasing them either: https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-coronavirus https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-c...: > 3M has not changed the prices we charge for 3M respirators as a result of the outbreak
        TeMPOraL 7y ago
        Indeed. They're just savvy enough to get a week ahead of the crowd and buy up all the stock, incidentally triggering the panic buying (it's not the regular people that bought enough of personal protection equipment that the stores started running short; it's the resellers, and the missing stock is what gets people scared).
        dmurray 7y ago
        Profiteers buying masks, at the regular price 3M is happy to sell at, doesn't increase 3M's bottom line?
joncrane 7y ago
Not only that, but as other commenters (and the health minister of Singapore) noted, most times, wearing a mask means you touch your face MORE to adjust it.
- antoniuschan99 7y ago
  The required gear should be Face Mask and Hand Sanitizer. People should start thinking of sanitizing their headphones too.
cpeterso 7y ago
Plus "masks may actually increase your coronavirus risk if worn improperly, surgeon general warns": https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/02/health/surgeon-general-coronavirus-masks-risk-trnd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/02/health/surgeon-general-corona...

by rob74 7y ago

antoniuschan99 7y ago

I hear this argument a lot. Why don’t Medical personnel have their own portal to obtain medical supplies that thr regular population doesn’t have access to?

geddy 7y ago

This is already happening: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-n95-face-mask-coronoavirus-20200228-43zikhw4ercbdma3lfeul4u6py-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-n95-face-mask...

Seenso 7y ago
It's already happened. Ever since the coronavirus hit China, N95 masks have been sold or selling out in the US. I'm sure some were bought by preppers, but many were bought to export to China to help relieve acute shortages in Wuhan. Also, US medical facilities and government already don't have a sufficient stockpile, so there will be shortages and they're talking about changing usage practices to conserve the supply. 3M, at least, has said they're going to prioritize medical customers, but they're not going to catch up until April, at least. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/shortages-confusion-and-poor-communication-complicate-coronavirus-preparations/2020/02/25/d9e56396-575d-11ea-9b35-def5a027d470_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/shortages-confusion-an...
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  Let's not forget price gouging. There are those despicable "entrepreneurs" that bought up masks to resell them on-line at high markup. There's supply and demand, but then there's straight profiteering from a public health crisis.
  - dmurray 7y ago
    To play devil's advocate: the profiteers are providing the mask manufacturers with cashflow and a strong market signal to manufacture more masks. Given that the coronavirus is spreading so slowly, this kind of market activity might actually increase the availability of masks when they're actually most necessary. Of course, there are other ways to achieve this effect: governments could order the mask manufacturers to step up production, or the manufacturers could take a gamble on the future and step up production before seeing an increase in sales (and a bank could finance that if cashflow was an issue). But you know, you wouldn't criticize the mask manufacturers for increasing production and thereby profits, so it's a bit harsh to blame the intermediaries.
    - Seenso 7y ago
      > They are providing the mask manufacturers with cashflow and a strong market signal to manufacture more masks. No they're not. The profiteers are resellers that bought masks/respirators from the manufacturers at regular price, then sell them with a crazy markup. I've been watching the prices of these items throughout this whole crisis, and the prices of 3M respirators sold through reputable retailers has not budged. 3M is not increasing them either: https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-coronavirus https://news.3m.com/blog/3m-stories/3m-responds-2019-novel-c...: > 3M has not changed the prices we charge for 3M respirators as a result of the outbreak
      - TeMPOraL 7y ago
        Indeed. They're just savvy enough to get a week ahead of the crowd and buy up all the stock, incidentally triggering the panic buying (it's not the regular people that bought enough of personal protection equipment that the stores started running short; it's the resellers, and the missing stock is what gets people scared).
      - dmurray 7y ago
        Profiteers buying masks, at the regular price 3M is happy to sell at, doesn't increase 3M's bottom line?

joncrane 7y ago

Not only that, but as other commenters (and the health minister of Singapore) noted, most times, wearing a mask means you touch your face MORE to adjust it.

antoniuschan99 7y ago
The required gear should be Face Mask and Hand Sanitizer. People should start thinking of sanitizing their headphones too.

cpeterso 7y ago

Plus "masks may actually increase your coronavirus risk if worn improperly, surgeon general warns": https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/02/health/surgeon-general-coronavirus-masks-risk-trnd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/02/health/surgeon-general-corona...