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I don't recall ever hearing the CDC say that masks don't work. My understanding is that initially there were recommendations against the general public wearing

I don't recall ever hearing the CDC say that masks don't work. My understanding is that initially there were recommendations against the general public wearing masks out of a concern that mass buying may have limited their availability to health care providers. In any case, the science is pretty clear now that they do work.

the-dude 6y ago
Our CDC ( Dutch equivalent RIVM.nl ) actually said they believed masks might be dangerous as it might give a false sense of security and ordinary citizens would not be able to handle them properly. Mask are mandatory now in confined public spaces, but they have never started a campaign to train the public to handle the mask properly.
- michaelmior 6y ago
  I do recall hearing similar concerns hear in the US (although I can't recall now where these statements originated from. People wearing masks improperly is certainly frustrating. (e.g. nose out, chin strap, etc.)
  - the-dude 6y ago
    It was not so much as wearing them improperly, but putting them on improperly ( the proces ).
- cactus2093 6y ago
  In California, once the guidance changed on masks in April they were still hard to buy so the guidance was “if you don’t have a mask, just wear a bandana or scarf over your face”. We have studies showing that this doesn’t work nearly as well as a surgical mask much less an n95, but I still see people doing it all the time. There hasn’t been a public health campaign in the past 9 months to say “now that the shortage is over, wear a mask that actually works” which is crazy to me.
  - the-dude 6y ago
    > doesn’t work nearly as well At getting infected or spreading infection?
    - cactus2093 6y ago
      both
  - JohnPrine 6y ago
    Source on those studies?
    - cactus2093 6y ago
      https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0016018 https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0016018
- usrusr 6y ago
  That false security hypothesis is an interesting specimen. I remember not buying it because masks would also serve as a permanent reminder of urgency, more than countering false security effects. But looking back at it from 2021, I can easily imagine that while most people wouldn't engage in any false security follies now, after months of various levels of lockdown, (except for those who are just as capable of follies without a mask), back then things might have been very different. It would take quite some confidence now to return to old habits, but then it wasn't return to but not breaking. Not breaking old habits was hard enough even without a false security token, even the tiniest glimpse of security theatre could have blocked a lot.
sempron64 6y ago
In order to limit buying the CDC pushed the lie that masks would not significantly affect the chance of catching COVID in a non-hospital setting. Then when that became too obviously wrong and PPE supply increased they changed their tune. This cost me a LOT of trust in the institution — that they would lie to manipulate mass behavior. Even early in the pandemic, the Asian countries which got the pandemic under control all required masks, and they have experience with coronaviruses. After the above fiasco I don’t trust the CDC or any U.S. local or federal government agency to say that COVID won’t spread on surfaces when they are motivated to say so to save significant money and resources by skipping disinfection protocols.
- sempron64 6y ago
  To add a source: >Who does not need PPE: CDC does NOT currently recommend the general public use facemasks. Instead, CDC recommends following everyday preventive actions, such as washing your hands, covering your cough, and staying home when you are sick. https://web.archive.org/web/20200325060652/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/healthcare-supply-ppe-index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200325060652/https://www.cdc.g... You can see why this was interpreted to mean “masks don’t help”. There is no implication they are a good idea.
- collyw 6y ago
  > In order to limit buying the CDC pushed the lie that masks would not significantly affect the chance of catching COVID in a non-hospital setting. Is it actually a lie? I don't believe there is conclusive evidence either way. (It certainly doesn't appear to have made much difference here where we have had a mask mandate for months).
- packetlost 6y ago
  I very distinctly remember them saying "there is no evidence to suggest wearing a mask reduces the chances of contracting COVID-19" which is extremely different from saying they don't work, especially in the early days when there was barely any evidence/data at all. Edit: actually, the CDC did recommend people who were either sick or caring for those who are sick wear masks and gives a clear reason as to why that's the recommendation: https://web.archive.org/web/20200324155703/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fabout%2Fprevention.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200324155703/https://www.cdc.g...
darkerside 6y ago
Not the CDC, but surgeon general was spouting this garbage in March. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/02/29/health/face-masks-coronavirus-surgeon-general-trnd/index.html-general-trnd/index.html&ved=2ahUKEwiniJuwqsvuAhVoMVkFHc8NCGUQFjADegQIChAP&usg=AOvVaw1NaS-ROiDo_3-1x-FMFJhH&ampcf=1 https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/02/29/health/face-masks-coronav... CDC is referenced in the article too, but this tweet was just egregious.
tolbish 6y ago
> “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!” tweeted Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. Surgeon General, on Feb. 29. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus" So the surgeon general, not the CDC. https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/ https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/

the-dude 6y ago

Our CDC ( Dutch equivalent RIVM.nl ) actually said they believed masks might be dangerous as it might give a false sense of security and ordinary citizens would not be able to handle them properly. Mask are mandatory now in confined public spaces, but they have never started a campaign to train the public to handle the mask properly.

michaelmior 6y ago
I do recall hearing similar concerns hear in the US (although I can't recall now where these statements originated from. People wearing masks improperly is certainly frustrating. (e.g. nose out, chin strap, etc.)
- the-dude 6y ago
  It was not so much as wearing them improperly, but putting them on improperly ( the proces ).
cactus2093 6y ago
In California, once the guidance changed on masks in April they were still hard to buy so the guidance was “if you don’t have a mask, just wear a bandana or scarf over your face”. We have studies showing that this doesn’t work nearly as well as a surgical mask much less an n95, but I still see people doing it all the time. There hasn’t been a public health campaign in the past 9 months to say “now that the shortage is over, wear a mask that actually works” which is crazy to me.
- the-dude 6y ago
  > doesn’t work nearly as well At getting infected or spreading infection?
  - cactus2093 6y ago
    both
- JohnPrine 6y ago
  Source on those studies?
  - cactus2093 6y ago
    https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0016018 https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0016018
usrusr 6y ago
That false security hypothesis is an interesting specimen. I remember not buying it because masks would also serve as a permanent reminder of urgency, more than countering false security effects. But looking back at it from 2021, I can easily imagine that while most people wouldn't engage in any false security follies now, after months of various levels of lockdown, (except for those who are just as capable of follies without a mask), back then things might have been very different. It would take quite some confidence now to return to old habits, but then it wasn't return to but not breaking. Not breaking old habits was hard enough even without a false security token, even the tiniest glimpse of security theatre could have blocked a lot.

sempron64 6y ago

In order to limit buying the CDC pushed the lie that masks would not significantly affect the chance of catching COVID in a non-hospital setting. Then when that became too obviously wrong and PPE supply increased they changed their tune. This cost me a LOT of trust in the institution — that they would lie to manipulate mass behavior. Even early in the pandemic, the Asian countries which got the pandemic under control all required masks, and they have experience with coronaviruses. After the above fiasco I don’t trust the CDC or any U.S. local or federal government agency to say that COVID won’t spread on surfaces when they are motivated to say so to save significant money and resources by skipping disinfection protocols.

sempron64 6y ago
To add a source: >Who does not need PPE: CDC does NOT currently recommend the general public use facemasks. Instead, CDC recommends following everyday preventive actions, such as washing your hands, covering your cough, and staying home when you are sick. https://web.archive.org/web/20200325060652/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/healthcare-supply-ppe-index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200325060652/https://www.cdc.g... You can see why this was interpreted to mean “masks don’t help”. There is no implication they are a good idea.
collyw 6y ago
> In order to limit buying the CDC pushed the lie that masks would not significantly affect the chance of catching COVID in a non-hospital setting. Is it actually a lie? I don't believe there is conclusive evidence either way. (It certainly doesn't appear to have made much difference here where we have had a mask mandate for months).
packetlost 6y ago
I very distinctly remember them saying "there is no evidence to suggest wearing a mask reduces the chances of contracting COVID-19" which is extremely different from saying they don't work, especially in the early days when there was barely any evidence/data at all. Edit: actually, the CDC did recommend people who were either sick or caring for those who are sick wear masks and gives a clear reason as to why that's the recommendation: https://web.archive.org/web/20200324155703/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fabout%2Fprevention.html https://web.archive.org/web/20200324155703/https://www.cdc.g...

darkerside 6y ago

Not the CDC, but surgeon general was spouting this garbage in March. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/02/29/health/face-masks-coronavirus-surgeon-general-trnd/index.html-general-trnd/index.html&ved=2ahUKEwiniJuwqsvuAhVoMVkFHc8NCGUQFjADegQIChAP&usg=AOvVaw1NaS-ROiDo_3-1x-FMFJhH&ampcf=1 https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/02/29/health/face-masks-coronav... CDC is referenced in the article too, but this tweet was just egregious.

tolbish 6y ago

> “Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!” tweeted Dr. Jerome Adams, the U.S. Surgeon General, on Feb. 29. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus" So the surgeon general, not the CDC. https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/ https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/