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Face masks, public policies and slowing the spread of Covid-19
- aliasEli 5y agoWe know that Covid-19 is mainly spread through the air. Common sense would predict that wearing a face mask would reduce the spreading. This article contains some factual data to support this.
- blacktriangle 5y agoThat's like saying common sense would predict that putting a net in a pool will slow the spread of kids' pee. We know from the Fauci emails he was informed of the ineffectiveness of masks by the CDC and chose to push mask mandates regardless.
- mpfundstein 5y agosame in NL. until late 2020, face masks were regarded as 'fake security' by government officials. then suddenly that changed.
- milesvp 5y agoI think that’s a false analogy. A face mask surely contains part of a sneeze. Aerosols play an important part in the spread of many airborn viruses, and masks certainly change characteristics of mouth born aerosols. To see a slightly tongue in cheek example, here’s masks vs flamible liquids. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x6cTDGqcUpA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x6cTDGqcUpA That said, you are probably correct in that aerosols still escape most masks, and will saturate an enclosed area in a much faster time period than we have an intuition for. Still, I have reason to believe from numbers I’ve seen that masks reduce the odds of getting covid by 3-18% in any given hour of exposure. And reduction in spreading to others may be similarly effective. But, since you’re rolling the dice with each hour such a small amount of safety becomes increasingly less useful. I’m willing to give the benefit of doubt and say that “masks are ineffective” as being shorthand for “if you spend 8 hours in an enclosed space with someone masks alone aren’t going to give enough benefit to be worth it.
- ppf 5y agoDid you ever wear a face mask on a cold day? That made it clear just how much water vapour gets through.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- aeternum 5y agoIt could be that masks are primarily useful as a signal. They remind people of Covid and people are more likely to distance, avoid sneezing or coughing, or otherwise be more cautious than they would be if no one were wearing one. Perhaps we should bring back the plague masks.
- ppf 5y agoFortunately, we have the scientific method, which demands testability and reproducibility, and which shields us from faulty assumptions caused by "common sense".
- rolph 5y agowearing a face mask correctly is not common sense, simply wearing a mask helps a lot, improper fit is also common missense
- nodesocket 5y agoObviously, but can we move on already? Covid culture is so strange to me. It’s like some people want to cling to Covid and virtue signal still wearing a mask when they are vaccinated. Perhaps a bit of Stockholm syndrome?
- weird-eye-issue 5y agoVaccines aren't 100% effective. Some are closer to 50%. Wearing a mask isn't that much of a sacrifice especially indoors.
- nodesocket 5y agoI don’t know where you are getting your information from, but Pfizer: 95 percent efficacy in preventing an infection in people with no prior infections. Moderna: 94.1 percent.
- paralelogram 5y agohttps://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-sinovac-covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-sin... A large phase 3 trial in Brazil showed that two doses, administered at an interval of 14 days, had an efficacy of 51% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, 100% against severe COVID-19, and 100% against hospitalization starting 14 days after receiving the second dose. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines aren't easily available outside of "first world" countries because of vaccine nationalism.
- weird-eye-issue 5y agoI got the Pfizer vaccine but it isn't available everywhere. Right now I'm in Thailand. The vaccines here (Sinovac and Astra) are closer to 50% effective from my understanding. Also I just want to point out 95% is not 100% either. Even at 95% I don't mind wearing a mask indoors if I'm next to other people.
- gregorymichael 5y ago