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Face mask effectiveness: What science knows now

Worked well for me and mine…..My bride worked every day with a mask and a full staff of folks coming in and out of her office….wearing masks. I worked retail pretty regularly…..you wont prove your statement by me, but then I am sure you are right and I am wrong.
Your anecdotes are not data. Nor, do you know if you’d have experienced the exact same outcomes without a mask.
Just like you’ve done every fall flu season, mask free, for your many, many years on this planet.
 
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There is no ‘other side’. There is a pathetically low effectiveness number that’s been claimed by both sides as proof. Which it is, for both. One thinks that low number is worth mandating, others don’t.
I mean we did try mandated masking…and you saw the results. Virtually nothing.
Mask effectiveness is mostly dependent on the compliance when wearing it. There are other factors like mask material, fit, hygiene, etc.

Mandating a mask is pointless because people won't wear it appropriately if they don't believe I works. It's sort of a self fulfilling prophecy.

Masks (even cloth masks) provide some level of protection when worn correctly. Possibly ranging from 30-99% effective. I suppose some might not find 30% effective enough to warrant wearing a mask. In this case i respect your decision.
 
Hospitals and doctors have been using masks for...how long?

At least 100 years.

Non-doctors don't believe masks work.

Who do you believe?

I'll believe doctors myself.
Did doctors wear masks in public for 100 years? No, they wear them in close proximity to sick people or in sterile controlled environments. As soon as those situations change the mask comes off. Doctors weren't wearing masks in Walmart in 2018 because they wanted to show everyone how effective they were at slowing the spread of airborne viruses. No doctor I've ever seen even suggested wearing a mask during cold and flu season or in my experience in life have I ever seen them wearing one in public to set an example. But yes, by all means believe the doctors now. 🙄
 
Mask effectiveness is mostly dependent on the compliance when wearing it. There are other factors like mask material, fit, hygiene, etc.

Mandating a mask is pointless because people won't wear it appropriately if they don't believe I works. It's sort of a self fulfilling prophecy.

Masks (even cloth masks) provide some level of protection when worn correctly. Possibly ranging from 30-99% effective. I suppose some might not find 30% effective enough to warrant wearing a mask. In this case i respect your decision.
This is correct. The designer cloth masks from Nordstrom really weren't that effective and as most have said in this thread, it's still up for debate on just how much; especially considering how people wore them. When I had COVID last year I wore an N-95 if I needed to leave my bedroom and it's the only type of mask I still have in our house.

Again, I had zero issues wearing cloth masks back in 2020. I just don't see much point in them now, and if people are sick they should stay home or wear an N-95 and still try to limit contact with others. Oh, and I still think it's funny seeing people riding around alone in a car with a cloth mask on, BUT they have the freedom to do that as much as I have the freedom to not.

Conclusions​

The filtration, effectiveness, fit, and performance of cloth masks are inferior to those of medical masks and respirators. Cloth mask use should not be mandated for healthcare workers, who should as a priority be provided proper respiratory protection. Cloth masks are a more suitable option for community use when medical masks are unavailable. Protection provided by cloth masks may be improved by selecting appropriate material, increasing the number of mask layers, and using those with a design that provides filtration and fit. Cloth masks should be washed daily and after high-exposure use by using soap and water or other appropriate methods.

 
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No, I’m saying they provide such a small amount of protection, that they should have never been mandated.
Universal masking was never a part of any pandemic planning efforts, in the years leading up to Covid.
Masking was required in cities across the country in the 1918 flu epidemic.

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No, I’m saying they provide such a small amount of protection, that they should have never been mandated.
Why not? They didn't hurt anyone and these comments are in hindsight. When they were mandated, I'd venture to say no one was thinking that people would wear them as chin holders, never wash them and pull them down when someone said, "Huh? I can't understand you, you're muffled." The mandate itself wasn't dumb, it was the application.

Universal masking was never a part of any pandemic planning efforts, in the years leading up to Covid.
Link? (Seriously, I'd like to know).
 
And here we are back to covid is the flu when it's convenient

The R0 for Covid was several times higher than it was for flu.

Without modern drugs and medical knowledge, it would most likely have been as lethal, or more lethal than the 1918 pandemic.
 
...I just don't understand why we're still arguing about it (myself included). Who cares!? There aren't any mask mandates going on and if people do or do not want to wear them why should I care?

My optometrist had a paper-type, non N-95 mask on Friday during my appointment. She was the only one in her office wearing one. I have no idea why she was wearing one either. I didn't ask and it didn't hamper her work. She was obese, so I did assume she has health concerns.
 
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