> The whole "masks don't work" line being pushed by the US government and the media seems to be about keeping people from buying masks that are needed in the ho

> The whole "masks don't work" line being pushed by the US government and the media seems to be about keeping people from buying masks that are needed in the hospitals I actually don’t think this is correct, it’s a reasonable assumption but actually the “masks don’t work” has been accepted Western medical dogma for decades. They were giving the same advice years ago even in times of no mask shortage - to only wear a mask when you know you are sick or if you are a care provider. See, for instance, a roundup of research and previous advice here. https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-than-you-wanted-to-know/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/03/23/face-masks-much-more-t... I think the main thing that made CDC turn around now was that the number of asymptomatic or very-mild symptomatic patients with COVID-19 who are spreading the disease during the initial infection when they don’t know they are symptomatic really makes the advice to not wear a mask unless you are sick not make sense since you don’t know when you are sick until it’s too late...