5 ms·
the "mask" is the red herring of every discussion. It is a talisman that people cling to as a way to ward off any of the ills. I happen to be convinced that so
by glofish 6y ago
the "mask" is the red herring of every discussion. It is a talisman that people cling to as a way to ward off any of the ills.
I happen to be convinced that some types of masks, like the reusable cloth masks actually make you sicker.
Here is a well research piece with a randomized trial that shows how continuously worn cloth masks are worse than using them more rarely (control) (leading to 4% more infections):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/
Of course I don't expect this research to be quoted in the current hysterical environment.
But I would not be surprised if by this time next year the world will be full with publications on how cloth masks cause more trouble than worth with a strong recommendation to avoid them.
- ddingus 6y agoWe will also find papers telling people how to sterilize.
- tlb 6y agoYou have misread the paper. It says that cloth masks are worse than medical masks, and worse than "standard practice" which seems to be mostly medical masks but not worn as rigorously. They didn't test against no masks, which would be insanely dangerous in a hospital.
- tripletao 6y agoYeah. I saw that paper cited frequently back when the public health authorities were advising against masks, and I'm afraid their decision to characterize standard practice including medical mask wearing as the "control arm" has caused considerable confusion and harm.
- tripletao 6y agoIf you don't think masks work, then why do you think Japan is sitting around 8 deaths per million (with no significant lockdown), while the USA is at 416? Masks aren't the only possible explanation--it could be weather, or contact tracing (which may be unintuitively effective due to heterogeneity), or generally meticulous hygiene, or something else. They're my first guess, though.