😂😂😂this article made me belly laugh. So True! I was one of the healthcare workers who wouldn’t take off my mask or visor at work because that is what they told me to do. I knew better, I guess this is why I found this article hilarious. I was the one putting up the dog fence to keep out mosquitoes. Thanks again.
When put together, I think this series will be a great resource for sharing with the general public. When you started the series I thought it might be a little late, given that masking seemed to be on the way out. Although, of course, they will attempt this all again next autumn/winter. However, I have noticed that governments in several countries have now decided to go lockstep in reviving the whole masking idea. To do this, they are pushing out very poor quality mask studies, and all sorts of mask propaganda. It seems that they are desperately trying to justify some of their policies that never had good science backing them in the first place. So, I'm really pleased to see your masking series coming out at this point. Many thanks.
I know this is off topic. The PM was refused speaking time at the European Parliament and was called a dictator. This is huge! Hope you don’t mind this post.
Isn't the model for the probability of virus transmission proportional to the number of virus particles transmitted? This equals the virus transmission rate multiplied by time. Suppose my imperfect mask blocks 50% of virus particles. That means that on average I can expect to spend twice the amount of time in a given environment before getting infected. This is not a sure thing, but on average. This would be the rationale that "masks help". (Note we're not talking about blocking everything, just being, on average equivalently safe for twice as long.)
Second, won't corona viruses exist in both large and small droplets? If so, a "cheap" cloth mask ought to help somewhat, at least in close proximity, say when people are talking at close range for example.
Basically, it stands to reason that masks that are not perfectly fitted N95s ought to be an imperfect but added layer of protection.
I think a lot of what you say is true. A few thoughts:
1) whether or not you get COVID is more of a "threshold effect". Blocking 50% of the particles may not be clinically meaningful in most cases, and might have very little or no effect in reducing your odds of getting COVID. There is some debate over whether getting a "big dose" of COVID initially causes a worse case, but the answer to that is probably no - it's patient factors like age, comorbidities, vitD levels, that determine how sick you get (and at the risk of being controversial, maybe vaccination too. :-) )
2) for sure, your point about droplets is true. That's why I think masks aren't completely useless by any means, and make sense when you have to be at close quarters with someone who is sick. ie: in the hospital I think it makes perfect sense for us docs/nurses/etc to wear masks (and the patient to wear a mask) if they are sick or coughing. We have done this for years, long before COVID. Your point is very correct that just because a virus is mainly aerosol-transmitted doesn't mean it does not transmit by droplet too. (Although vice-versa is not true, some droplet-transmitted viruses don't aerosolize significantly)
So yes, if you have to be very near sick people, it's probably quite reasonable to wear a mask. What I'm arguing against specifically is the idea that we need to think of ourselves as always breathing aerosolized COVID into the air at all times, and that somehow masks would prevent us from breathing the aerosol in or out. I don't think that concept (which is at the heart of universal mask mandates) is true.
Great article and I appreciate the humor. I’m one of the 35 year veteran nurses who lost her job for declining the shots. I hated wearing the masks because they are dehumanizing as well as extremely uncomfortable, not to mention pretty useless in most situations. I often found myself standing on the far side of my patient’s room and pulling my mask down so that they could read my lips as I spoke, and see my facial expression. So many are hard of hearing or have dementia, and the sea of masked nurses was terrible for them.😥
😂😂😂this article made me belly laugh. So True! I was one of the healthcare workers who wouldn’t take off my mask or visor at work because that is what they told me to do. I knew better, I guess this is why I found this article hilarious. I was the one putting up the dog fence to keep out mosquitoes. Thanks again.
When put together, I think this series will be a great resource for sharing with the general public. When you started the series I thought it might be a little late, given that masking seemed to be on the way out. Although, of course, they will attempt this all again next autumn/winter. However, I have noticed that governments in several countries have now decided to go lockstep in reviving the whole masking idea. To do this, they are pushing out very poor quality mask studies, and all sorts of mask propaganda. It seems that they are desperately trying to justify some of their policies that never had good science backing them in the first place. So, I'm really pleased to see your masking series coming out at this point. Many thanks.
I know this is off topic. The PM was refused speaking time at the European Parliament and was called a dictator. This is huge! Hope you don’t mind this post.
Isn't the model for the probability of virus transmission proportional to the number of virus particles transmitted? This equals the virus transmission rate multiplied by time. Suppose my imperfect mask blocks 50% of virus particles. That means that on average I can expect to spend twice the amount of time in a given environment before getting infected. This is not a sure thing, but on average. This would be the rationale that "masks help". (Note we're not talking about blocking everything, just being, on average equivalently safe for twice as long.)
Second, won't corona viruses exist in both large and small droplets? If so, a "cheap" cloth mask ought to help somewhat, at least in close proximity, say when people are talking at close range for example.
Basically, it stands to reason that masks that are not perfectly fitted N95s ought to be an imperfect but added layer of protection.
I think a lot of what you say is true. A few thoughts:
1) whether or not you get COVID is more of a "threshold effect". Blocking 50% of the particles may not be clinically meaningful in most cases, and might have very little or no effect in reducing your odds of getting COVID. There is some debate over whether getting a "big dose" of COVID initially causes a worse case, but the answer to that is probably no - it's patient factors like age, comorbidities, vitD levels, that determine how sick you get (and at the risk of being controversial, maybe vaccination too. :-) )
2) for sure, your point about droplets is true. That's why I think masks aren't completely useless by any means, and make sense when you have to be at close quarters with someone who is sick. ie: in the hospital I think it makes perfect sense for us docs/nurses/etc to wear masks (and the patient to wear a mask) if they are sick or coughing. We have done this for years, long before COVID. Your point is very correct that just because a virus is mainly aerosol-transmitted doesn't mean it does not transmit by droplet too. (Although vice-versa is not true, some droplet-transmitted viruses don't aerosolize significantly)
So yes, if you have to be very near sick people, it's probably quite reasonable to wear a mask. What I'm arguing against specifically is the idea that we need to think of ourselves as always breathing aerosolized COVID into the air at all times, and that somehow masks would prevent us from breathing the aerosol in or out. I don't think that concept (which is at the heart of universal mask mandates) is true.
Great article and I appreciate the humor. I’m one of the 35 year veteran nurses who lost her job for declining the shots. I hated wearing the masks because they are dehumanizing as well as extremely uncomfortable, not to mention pretty useless in most situations. I often found myself standing on the far side of my patient’s room and pulling my mask down so that they could read my lips as I spoke, and see my facial expression. So many are hard of hearing or have dementia, and the sea of masked nurses was terrible for them.😥