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One of the single most frustrating things about Covid was the way media coverage almost entirely ignored the 100 years of studies on the varying effectiveness o

One of the single most frustrating things about Covid was the way media coverage almost entirely ignored the 100 years of studies on the varying effectiveness of various types of masks against various threats. Every bit of media attention on masks that I read treated it like it was some new cutting-edge area of research, when nothing could be further from the truth. "Effectiveness of masks" is a very deep and nuanced subject, but unfortunately most talking heads don't seem interested in nuance.

spondylosaurus 2y ago
It also seemed very American/Euro-centric how it was treated as some kind of novel idea that no one had ever tried before. Meanwhile in most East Asian countries it's been common courtesy for ages to wear a mask during cold/flu season.
dboreham 2y ago
From a US perspective it was much worse than that. People seemed to 1) divide into two groups: you like the idea of masks, or you hate the idea of masks. Then 2) invent reasons to justify that position. The media simply followed along with this, providing pseudo-justification for one position or the other depending on political color. Disclosure: I liked the idea of avoiding breathing pathogens on other people, and I loved 2 years not catching any cold or flu. It has been really unpleasant to once again be having back-to-back colds every time I travel by plane.
- stevenwoo 2y ago
  Why do you not just wear a mask on a plane? It's pretty effective for Covid-19 and presumably all other airborne vectors even if you take it off for the meals. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654
  - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
    Thanks for that link! That’s very interesting. I’ve been assuming that catching something on a flight was most likely due to fomites, based on airline assurances that their HEPA filters and ventilation design worked properly.
    - stevenwoo 2y ago
      Obviously it's better for everyone to wear a mask in confined spaces so the random sick person(s) are not spreading out stuff everywhere, but I am making the major assumption here that just doing your part by yourself helps you in particular.
beloch 2y ago
Further muddying the waters (with an ethics quagmire) were health officials who intentionally misled the public in an attempt to protect supplies of masks for medical workers during the PPE shortages that characterized the first months of the pandemic[1]. [1]https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/noble-lies-covid-fauci-cdc-masks.html https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/noble-lies-covid-fauci-...

spondylosaurus 2y ago

It also seemed very American/Euro-centric how it was treated as some kind of novel idea that no one had ever tried before. Meanwhile in most East Asian countries it's been common courtesy for ages to wear a mask during cold/flu season.

dboreham 2y ago

From a US perspective it was much worse than that. People seemed to 1) divide into two groups: you like the idea of masks, or you hate the idea of masks. Then 2) invent reasons to justify that position. The media simply followed along with this, providing pseudo-justification for one position or the other depending on political color. Disclosure: I liked the idea of avoiding breathing pathogens on other people, and I loved 2 years not catching any cold or flu. It has been really unpleasant to once again be having back-to-back colds every time I travel by plane.

stevenwoo 2y ago
Why do you not just wear a mask on a plane? It's pretty effective for Covid-19 and presumably all other airborne vectors even if you take it off for the meals. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654 https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/6/654
- amanaplanacanal 2y ago
  Thanks for that link! That’s very interesting. I’ve been assuming that catching something on a flight was most likely due to fomites, based on airline assurances that their HEPA filters and ventilation design worked properly.
  - stevenwoo 2y ago
    Obviously it's better for everyone to wear a mask in confined spaces so the random sick person(s) are not spreading out stuff everywhere, but I am making the major assumption here that just doing your part by yourself helps you in particular.

beloch 2y ago

Further muddying the waters (with an ethics quagmire) were health officials who intentionally misled the public in an attempt to protect supplies of masks for medical workers during the PPE shortages that characterized the first months of the pandemic[1]. [1]https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/noble-lies-covid-fauci-cdc-masks.html https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/noble-lies-covid-fauci-...