> It's still mind boggling to me that governments didn't say "Don't wear a mask for yourself -- wear one to save your neighbor."
I mean... they did?
Like in the UK's guidance literally the second sentence is "Face coverings are primarily worn to protect others because they cover the nose and mouth, which are the main sources of emission of the virus that causes coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."
The point of masks, originally, was to catch saliva drops from surgeons as they worked over an open body, not to stop viruses.
For COVID its use was novel. But having an intention isn't enough. It must actually work. Otherwise, you are just engaging in witchcraft and tomfoolery.
The respiratory droplet model of how COVID spread was wrong, which was proven by lots of real world evidence. Look at how the Diamond Princess worked out and please explain how that was compatible with either masks or lockdowns working? SARS-CoV-2 spreads like every other respiratory virus, as a gaseous aerosol that doesn't care about masks in the slightest.
I'm not sure where you're getting this from. Repeated studies continue to affirm that COVID is spread by respiratory droplets and that masks are effective in reducing transmission.
Indoors. There were decades of research leading to the recommendations of mask wearing when symptomatic and only indoors.
All that fell by the wayside when mask wearing became a covid-time cult. A friend (with a degree in epidemiology) told me that if she tried to argue those points and doubts outdoor mask mandates she will be the immediately out of her job.
The covid-time environment of shutting down scientific discussions because policymakers decided that we had enough science to reach a conclusion should not be forgotten, it was a reasonable concern turned into a cult. My 2c.
unknown|6 months ago
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ethbr1|6 months ago
Sure, there would have been some people who ignored it because they're jackasses, but I can't believe we wouldn't be in a better place today.
Both in terms of public scientific- and community- appreciation.
kimixa|6 months ago
I mean... they did?
Like in the UK's guidance literally the second sentence is "Face coverings are primarily worn to protect others because they cover the nose and mouth, which are the main sources of emission of the virus that causes coronavirus infection (COVID-19)."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-wh...
bnjms|6 months ago
qcnguy|6 months ago
For COVID its use was novel. But having an intention isn't enough. It must actually work. Otherwise, you are just engaging in witchcraft and tomfoolery.
The respiratory droplet model of how COVID spread was wrong, which was proven by lots of real world evidence. Look at how the Diamond Princess worked out and please explain how that was compatible with either masks or lockdowns working? SARS-CoV-2 spreads like every other respiratory virus, as a gaseous aerosol that doesn't care about masks in the slightest.
n4r9|6 months ago
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8721651/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-mask-effectiveness-what-sc...
https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/how-we-are-doing/research-ou...
Why do you believe the Diamond Princess is a counterexample?
ptero|6 months ago
All that fell by the wayside when mask wearing became a covid-time cult. A friend (with a degree in epidemiology) told me that if she tried to argue those points and doubts outdoor mask mandates she will be the immediately out of her job.
The covid-time environment of shutting down scientific discussions because policymakers decided that we had enough science to reach a conclusion should not be forgotten, it was a reasonable concern turned into a cult. My 2c.