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I’m not sure what the source for the narrative that “they knowingly lied about their effectiveness” comes from. I would need a reliable source for that. The m

I’m not sure what the source for the narrative that “they knowingly lied about their effectiveness” comes from. I would need a reliable source for that. The mid-March version of the Wikipedia page states “The use of masks is recommended for those who suspect they have the virus and their caregivers but not for the general public” https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coronavirus_disease_2019&oldid=945283091 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coronavirus_disea... using CDC and WHO recommendations as a source. The WHO page from the time can be seen at https://web.archive.org/web/20200312051930/https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks https://web.archive.org/web/20200312051930/https://www.who.i... At the time, our scientific understanding was that COVID-19 mainly spread from infected surfaces, so the advice was geared towards that. As science learned more about COVID-19, we realized that it was mainly spread through the air, and could be by and large stopped with masks. Edit: This is going to be my last reply in this thread. It is unfortunate that @deng is not doing more to stop Ycombinator from being overrun by conspiracy theories. For an online forum to have a reasonable, intelligent discussion, you need to have moderation: Moderation against spam, and, yes, moderation against crank theories. Otherwise, the discussion board gets overrun with spam, or it gets overrun with unscientific notions. No, The Earth is not flat. Yes, we really landed on the moon in 1969. Yes, masks and the COVID-19 vaccine do help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and they do help save lives.

tsimionescu 6y ago
> I’m not sure what the source for the narrative that “they knowingly lied about their effectiveness” comes from. I would need a reliable source for that. Here is a source, from an interview with Faucci[0] in Washington Post: > At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci originally discouraged mask-wearing by the public because he was concerned about PPE availability for health-care workers. “We didn’t realize the extent of asymptotic spread…what happened as the weeks and months came by, two things became clear: one, that there wasn’t a shortage of masks, we had plenty of masks and coverings that you could put on that’s plain cloth…so that took care of that problem. Secondly, we fully realized that there are a lot of people who are asymptomatic who are spreading infection. So it became clear that we absolutely should be wearing masks consistently.” So while they did know that masks prevent the spread, they decided it was more important to stockpile them. > At the time, our scientific understanding was that COVID-19 mainly spread from infected surfaces, so the advice was geared towards that. As science learned more about COVID-19, we realized that it was mainly spread through the air, and could be by and large stopped with masks. This is a retroactive justification that people keep claiming. In reality, it has always been known that the virus spreads both through the air and from surfaces (how else would it get on surfaces?). It was indeed (mistakenly) believed only people showing symptoms were likely to spread the virus so only they would need to war masks. Still, all east-Asian nations immediately started wearing masks at a much higher scale, as they had done for the first SARS and flu epidemics, and generally fared much, much better than Europe or the US. > No, The Earth is not flat. Yes, we really landed on the moon in 1969. Yes, masks and the COVID-19 vaccine do help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and they do help save lives. Absolutely. I do not leave my house without a mask, and plan to get a vaccine as soon as I am allowed to (I am not in any risk group). Your comment is an excellent example of how policing speech is dangerous. I was attacking a political stance (Faucci and the CDC, probably under pressure from the administration, decided early on that keeping PPE available for healthcare workers was more important than preventing the spread at any cost, and they were proven extremely wrong; both this administration and previous ones have done too little to prepare) and you decide to lump me in with flat earthers and Covid19 denialists. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/washington-post-live/fauci-on-how-his-thinking-has-evolved-on-masks-asymptomatic-transmission/2020/07/24/799264e2-0f35-4862-aca2-2b4702650a8b_video.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/washington-post-live/fa...

tsimionescu 6y ago

> I’m not sure what the source for the narrative that “they knowingly lied about their effectiveness” comes from. I would need a reliable source for that. Here is a source, from an interview with Faucci[0] in Washington Post: > At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci originally discouraged mask-wearing by the public because he was concerned about PPE availability for health-care workers. “We didn’t realize the extent of asymptotic spread…what happened as the weeks and months came by, two things became clear: one, that there wasn’t a shortage of masks, we had plenty of masks and coverings that you could put on that’s plain cloth…so that took care of that problem. Secondly, we fully realized that there are a lot of people who are asymptomatic who are spreading infection. So it became clear that we absolutely should be wearing masks consistently.” So while they did know that masks prevent the spread, they decided it was more important to stockpile them. > At the time, our scientific understanding was that COVID-19 mainly spread from infected surfaces, so the advice was geared towards that. As science learned more about COVID-19, we realized that it was mainly spread through the air, and could be by and large stopped with masks. This is a retroactive justification that people keep claiming. In reality, it has always been known that the virus spreads both through the air and from surfaces (how else would it get on surfaces?). It was indeed (mistakenly) believed only people showing symptoms were likely to spread the virus so only they would need to war masks. Still, all east-Asian nations immediately started wearing masks at a much higher scale, as they had done for the first SARS and flu epidemics, and generally fared much, much better than Europe or the US. > No, The Earth is not flat. Yes, we really landed on the moon in 1969. Yes, masks and the COVID-19 vaccine do help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and they do help save lives. Absolutely. I do not leave my house without a mask, and plan to get a vaccine as soon as I am allowed to (I am not in any risk group). Your comment is an excellent example of how policing speech is dangerous. I was attacking a political stance (Faucci and the CDC, probably under pressure from the administration, decided early on that keeping PPE available for healthcare workers was more important than preventing the spread at any cost, and they were proven extremely wrong; both this administration and previous ones have done too little to prepare) and you decide to lump me in with flat earthers and Covid19 denialists. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/washington-post-live/fauci-on-how-his-thinking-has-evolved-on-masks-asymptomatic-transmission/2020/07/24/799264e2-0f35-4862-aca2-2b4702650a8b_video.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/washington-post-live/fa...