4 ms·

Let's hope people have learnt the lesson that masks don't work so we don't have to wear them this time.

sschueller 3y ago
Wearing masks outside is almost always pointless but in a hospital it is vital and they do work just not 100%. Are you not going to use a condom because it doesn't work 100% of the time?
- klyrs 3y ago
  During fire season, masking outside is my new norm.
- gadders 3y ago
  I mean let medical professionals wear them, sure. But at the population level, there is no evidence they work. A better analogy than condoms would be "just pulling out" as a method of birth control.
ekanes 3y ago
Perhaps, but it's good to distinguish though between N95 masks and cloth masks.
- gadders 3y ago
  The thing is n95s might work in a lab, but if you gave a million people n95 masks a lot of people wouldn't use them properly and follow protocols about anti-baccing before touching your face etc. You (generic you) might be the exception that uses them properly and stays uninfected but most of the population won't.
aftbit 3y ago
Non-woven fabric surgical masks (with randomly oriented fibers) work (to some extent) as source control. They help reduce the risk that you will infect others, not that others will infect you. Properly fitted and worn FFP3 masks reduce the risk of the wearer becoming infected, but they are not a panacea, and "properly fitted and worn" is harder than you think. Cloth masks may provide a tiny bit of source control, but not nearly as much as a surgical mask, and they may even make things worse as they can cause large droplets to split into smaller droplets which are harder to filter and remain suspended in the air longer.
- gadders 3y ago
  They might work in a lab but there is no evidence they are effective at a population level for all the reasons you cite plus having to wash your hands before you adjust it or touch your face in any way.
wrp 3y ago
I've read old reports on the 1918-20 flu pandemic. They all noted that mask mandates had no apparent positive effect, so shouldn't be used "next time". It was that history US public officials had in mind when they initially resisted mask mandates. But the public pressure to enact tangible measures was too great. I don't see what could be done to avoid the same happening again.
- gadders 3y ago
  "Something must be done. This is something, so it must be done."

Wearing masks outside is almost always pointless but in a hospital it is vital and they do work just not 100%. Are you not going to use a condom because it doesn't work 100% of the time?

klyrs 3y ago
During fire season, masking outside is my new norm.
gadders 3y ago
I mean let medical professionals wear them, sure. But at the population level, there is no evidence they work. A better analogy than condoms would be "just pulling out" as a method of birth control.

ekanes 3y ago

Perhaps, but it's good to distinguish though between N95 masks and cloth masks.

gadders 3y ago
The thing is n95s might work in a lab, but if you gave a million people n95 masks a lot of people wouldn't use them properly and follow protocols about anti-baccing before touching your face etc. You (generic you) might be the exception that uses them properly and stays uninfected but most of the population won't.

aftbit 3y ago

Non-woven fabric surgical masks (with randomly oriented fibers) work (to some extent) as source control. They help reduce the risk that you will infect others, not that others will infect you. Properly fitted and worn FFP3 masks reduce the risk of the wearer becoming infected, but they are not a panacea, and "properly fitted and worn" is harder than you think. Cloth masks may provide a tiny bit of source control, but not nearly as much as a surgical mask, and they may even make things worse as they can cause large droplets to split into smaller droplets which are harder to filter and remain suspended in the air longer.

gadders 3y ago
They might work in a lab but there is no evidence they are effective at a population level for all the reasons you cite plus having to wash your hands before you adjust it or touch your face in any way.

wrp 3y ago

I've read old reports on the 1918-20 flu pandemic. They all noted that mask mandates had no apparent positive effect, so shouldn't be used "next time". It was that history US public officials had in mind when they initially resisted mask mandates. But the public pressure to enact tangible measures was too great. I don't see what could be done to avoid the same happening again.

gadders 3y ago
"Something must be done. This is something, so it must be done."