Coronavirus in the United States - news and thoughts

The bars are filled with people who aren't wearing masks. None of those people are being lulled into a false sense of security by wearing a mask because none of them are wearing masks in the first place.

 

The real numbers (based on actual studies) were something like 10% effective for the crappiest cotton mask, 40% for a polypropylene type surgical mask, and over 90%+ for the proper n95 masks. Of course these numbers were measured in a lab setting against direct exposure.

40% shouldn’t give someone security to go to a bar or club (where they would remove the mask anyway), but it would at least change the math for people going to Home Depot or Publix.

They could probably determined real world effectiveness by studying a group of cashiers who wear masks, and then study a group who do not wear masks, then see which group sees less infections. Sounds like this board has a few volunteers for the “no masks” group.

 

Much less than 2% versus not wearing a mask according to the largest RCT mask study in the world. But hey, since you said they work better we should all listen to you. Sounds like a great idea.

 

The point estimate of the effect size in that study was 14% less likely to get the virus (-0.3%/2.1% control infection rate) if you received the mask recommendation. That was not significant due to a lack of power (a total of 95 participants in the study overall got Covid) and, to a smaller extent, the fact that you had to use an ethical measure (which meant that you couldn't hand out placebo masks or something like that), but you can't say that the effect was much less than 2%. That would not be a factually accurate description of the results.

 

Hypothermia kills only a few thousand a year, with many of those dying having had on coats & hats.

Moral of the story is you do not need to wear coats or hats in cold weather. They don't work.

 

"everyone look at me! look at me! I'm a contrarian”

 

But this statement isn't true. "More effective" as in saving more lives? Not necessarily if more people are socializing at close distances with each other, because they think the mask is a condom for your respiratory system. It could actually be leading to more deaths than it is preventing. Even healthcare workers with professional grade PPE are contracting and spreading the virus at high rates.

 

Not even close to the same thing. You just took the goal posts and moved them to Egypt.

 

I’ll take terrible jokes for $1,000 Alex...

 

Really? But your statement is true? You have a study showing more people have died as a result or wearing masks than if no one wore them? Sounds questionable at best...

 

I rarely agree with @LouisvilleGator, nut that isn't his point. His point is that masks alone are not enough. And he is right.

They reduce, but do not prevent, spread. And, people wear them and then do not socially distance. Sit next to someone wearing a mask who has COVID for 3 hours while you wear a cloth mask, and you have a higher risk of being infected. And, masks should not encourage lack of social distancing.

 

Well sure, then I agree too. But that’s not what was being debated. 95 insists that masks are useless and there’s no point in wearing them. At the very least I believe that a mask should be worn if you’re going out of your house, but I’ve never claimed masks alone will solve all of our problems.

 

You talking about the Danmask-19 study?

 

Social distancing works. Masks don’t.

 

Silly comment. The logic of the analogy is sound in highlighting yours and several others faulty logic.

In any case, how do you know this is spreading out in CA *despite masks?* Which is to say, have you been able to measure or have evidence of whether the virus is spreading despite masks? Maybe it's spreading via people not wearing masks or not wearing them properly? Or wearing inferior masks? Or not social distancing and taking other precautions as multi-layered defense?

The thing about cause & effect is that you can't just look at superficial evidence and claim causation w/out having ruled out other factors.

 

That reminds me.. hindsight is 20/20, but they had plans in front of President Trump to send everybody N95 masks in the mail way back when this all started. Looking back now, they were in such a rush to pay out those stimulus checks. They could have mass-produced the N95 masks pretty quickly for a fraction of the cost of the stimulus. Now those would have slowed this down a lot. Somebody got it in Trump's ear and told him the people would panic. I'm not saying he/she was wrong, but again, hindsight being 20/20, that would have been the move to make. They can still do it now, instead of a $900 billion 2nd stimulus. I would go for that. I'm all for getting rid of the virus as quickly and safely as possible, so long as it does not impede everyone's day to day civil rights.

 

There is no point in telling everybody to wear their masks if 80% of the people aren't wearing them right or aren't wearing the right material. That is my whole point. If you're going to preach the masks, preach wearing them correctly and only wearing ones that actually protect people at a high rate. Otherwise, it's just political theatre, which is what it has been, for the most part.

 

If this were the Gator football team and our receivers were running the wrong routes or running their routes poorly, wouldn't the coaches encourage them/show em how to do better or would they abandon having WRs run routes?

 

Or if you were playing defense wrong, wouldn’t the coaches do something to fix it? Oh wait, bad example.

 

Back when this country wasn't populated by a bunch of self-centered whiners.

Sacrificing for the Common Good: Rationing in WWII (U.S. National Park Service)