To Mask or Not To Mask?
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John Derbyshire once had a corner post about his unhappiness with these colonial editors at NR changing his ‘data is’ to ‘data are’. His argument, which I found compelling, is the word was now English and not Latin. In English it’s a mass noun like rice or sand. In Latin it’s plural but if you’re using it as a Latin word than you would italicize it. But nobody italicizes it because it’s an English word.
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I got 40% on my Latin exam.
One should always try to XL, however difficult the subject.
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Chris Christie, after seven days in the ICU:
"Every public official, regardless of party or position, should advocate for every American to wear a mask in public, appropriately socially distance and to wash your hands frequently every day. ...”
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Waaaaaay too much emphasis being placed on masks by both sides.
They help. A little. Not nearly as much as washing your hands and keeping some space between you and someone else, but a little. Lots of people wearing masks are still getting it from other people that are also wearing masks.
Rather than belittling those people that are wrongly protesting the masks, maybe you should be focusing on belittling people that aren't washing their hands and are a bigger cause of spread than the mask issue?
By focusing on masks, you are creating a false sense of security for groups that aren't socially distancing and aren't taking care of proper hygiene. I've heard it over and over again "Oh, we both had masks so it's ok." No it isn't. The masks helped, but it would have been a lot better if you kept your space and washed your hands...
The Brad
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Waaaaaay too much emphasis being placed on masks by both sides.
They help. A little. Not nearly as much as washing your hands and keeping some space between you and someone else, but a little. Lots of people wearing masks are still getting it from other people that are also wearing masks.
Rather than belittling those people that are wrongly protesting the masks, maybe you should be focusing on belittling people that aren't washing their hands and are a bigger cause of spread than the mask issue?
By focusing on masks, you are creating a false sense of security for groups that aren't socially distancing and aren't taking care of proper hygiene. I've heard it over and over again "Oh, we both had masks so it's ok." No it isn't. The masks helped, but it would have been a lot better if you kept your space and washed your hands...
@LuFins-Dad said in To Mask or Not To Mask?:
Lots of people wearing masks are still getting it from other people that are also wearing masks.
Like D2.
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Waaaaaay too much emphasis being placed on masks by both sides.
They help. A little. Not nearly as much as washing your hands and keeping some space between you and someone else, but a little. Lots of people wearing masks are still getting it from other people that are also wearing masks.
Rather than belittling those people that are wrongly protesting the masks, maybe you should be focusing on belittling people that aren't washing their hands and are a bigger cause of spread than the mask issue?
By focusing on masks, you are creating a false sense of security for groups that aren't socially distancing and aren't taking care of proper hygiene. I've heard it over and over again "Oh, we both had masks so it's ok." No it isn't. The masks helped, but it would have been a lot better if you kept your space and washed your hands...
@LuFins-Dad I disagree. I think masks help more than a little.
Will there people wearing masks who get sick? Of course. Are there people who lead a healthy lifestyle, never smoke, etc but still get cancer of the lungs? Of course.
I agree that Wearing masks is one part of the overall puzzle but I personally think that they help a lot. And there seems to be data that agrees with this.
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Of course, for everything I show below, someone will post something that contradicts it. But, I think one of best arguments for masks would come from our medical people here (you included Jolly). As you guys have pointed out previously, if you go into an operating room, it is standard to wear a mask? Are they doing it for fashion? LOL I dont think so. To prevent spread of disease? Ding ding!!!!
(
Link to video)You Tube Video above. At about 4:30, they do a demonstration of a man with/without mask talking/singing/coughing/sneezing into a petri dish and monitoring the growing of bacteria. Rest of the video is interesting also.
Oxford University study
Methods
An online assessment that included demographic, clinical, and exposure information and a blood sample was collected from 20,614 participants out of ~43,000 total employees at Beaumont Health, which includes eight hospitals distributed across the Detroit metropolitan area in southeast Michigan. The presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG was determined using the EUROIMMUN assay.
Results
A total of 1,818 (8.8%) participants were seropositive between April 13 and May 28, 2020. Among the seropositive individuals, 44% reported that they were asymptomatic during the month prior to blood collection. Healthcare roles such as phlebotomy, respiratory therapy, and nursing/nursing support exhibited significantly higher seropositivity. Among participants reporting direct exposure to a COVID-19 positive individual, those wearing an N95/PAPR mask had a significantly lower seropositivity rate (10.2%) compared to surgical/other masks (13.1%) or no mask (17.5%).
Conclusions
Direct contact with COVID-19 patients increased the likelihood of seropositivity among employees but study participants who wore a mask during COVID-19 exposures were less likely to be seropositive. Additionally, a large proportion of seropositive employees self-reported as asymptomatic. (Funded by Beaumont Health and by major donors through the Beaumont Health Foundation)(https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa1684/5956266?searchresult=1)
Another Study
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Of course, for everything I show below, someone will post something that contradicts it. But, I think one of best arguments for masks would come from our medical people here (you included Jolly). As you guys have pointed out previously, if you go into an operating room, it is standard to wear a mask? Are they doing it for fashion? LOL I dont think so. To prevent spread of disease? Ding ding!!!!
(
Link to video)You Tube Video above. At about 4:30, they do a demonstration of a man with/without mask talking/singing/coughing/sneezing into a petri dish and monitoring the growing of bacteria. Rest of the video is interesting also.
Oxford University study
Methods
An online assessment that included demographic, clinical, and exposure information and a blood sample was collected from 20,614 participants out of ~43,000 total employees at Beaumont Health, which includes eight hospitals distributed across the Detroit metropolitan area in southeast Michigan. The presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG was determined using the EUROIMMUN assay.
Results
A total of 1,818 (8.8%) participants were seropositive between April 13 and May 28, 2020. Among the seropositive individuals, 44% reported that they were asymptomatic during the month prior to blood collection. Healthcare roles such as phlebotomy, respiratory therapy, and nursing/nursing support exhibited significantly higher seropositivity. Among participants reporting direct exposure to a COVID-19 positive individual, those wearing an N95/PAPR mask had a significantly lower seropositivity rate (10.2%) compared to surgical/other masks (13.1%) or no mask (17.5%).
Conclusions
Direct contact with COVID-19 patients increased the likelihood of seropositivity among employees but study participants who wore a mask during COVID-19 exposures were less likely to be seropositive. Additionally, a large proportion of seropositive employees self-reported as asymptomatic. (Funded by Beaumont Health and by major donors through the Beaumont Health Foundation)(https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa1684/5956266?searchresult=1)
Another Study
@taiwan_girl said in To Mask or Not To Mask?:
if you go into an operating room, it is standard to wear a mask?
Actually, there have been very few studies demonstrating the efficacy of masks in preventing infection in the patient. If anything, they protect the team standing at the table. In some countries, like Great Britain, those not standing at the table (circulating nurse, anesthesiologist, are not masked.
Those studies, in addition, looked at the incidence of bacterial, not viral, infection.
All that said, I remain in the "it wouldn't hurt" school. It's a minor imposition, and is of little expense. These days, even if it helps a little it's worth the minor effort on my part.
N95 masks, last time I looked are still difficult to come by, by the way.
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@taiwan_girl said in To Mask or Not To Mask?:
if you go into an operating room, it is standard to wear a mask?
Actually, there have been very few studies demonstrating the efficacy of masks in preventing infection in the patient. If anything, they protect the team standing at the table. In some countries, like Great Britain, those not standing at the table (circulating nurse, anesthesiologist, are not masked.
Those studies, in addition, looked at the incidence of bacterial, not viral, infection.
All that said, I remain in the "it wouldn't hurt" school. It's a minor imposition, and is of little expense. These days, even if it helps a little it's worth the minor effort on my part.
N95 masks, last time I looked are still difficult to come by, by the way.
@George-K said in To Mask or Not To Mask?:
All that said, I remain in the "it wouldn't hurt" school. It's a minor imposition, and is of little expense. These days, even if it helps a little it's worth the minor effort on my part.
I agree with you 1000% on this. It seems like a minor thing to do, and as part of the overall strategy to beat the COVID, a smart thing.
