4 ms·

So why didnt we just distribute masks?

• notacoward 7y ago
  Priorities. It's great to say everyone should use masks, they do help somewhat even if they're not perfect, but supply was too limited. It's getting better, but health-care professionals are still having to wear PPE too long or reuse it or go without. They're terrified, and not without reason; a lot of them have already been infected. We need to prioritize getting enough masks to them, then to other vulnerable people, and finally to the general populace. Compare it to a different kind of mask in a different kind of war - the kind that one would use to protect against chemical-warfare agents. Or doses of antidote. Sure, everyone would be safer if they had these things, but if there are fewer of them than there are people then by what reasoning should they not go first to those on the front lines? It's a simple effect-maximization problem, with a solution that benefits even those who don't get the gear.