The infuriating rise of anti science behavior in every corner of society.

submitted by Bogos from self.GenderCritical

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[–]Sun_bear 18 insightful - 1 fun18 insightful - 0 fun19 insightful - 1 fun -  (7 children)

When you say anti-masker, do you mean people who are skeptical about the efficiency of home-made cloth masks for preventing viruses from spreading? Because there's hardly an overwhelming body of evidence that proves such masks are beneficial and there's plenty of evidence that says the opposite, see here for example:

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577

[–]Bogos[S] 45 insightful - 2 fun45 insightful - 1 fun46 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

There’s plenty of evidence demonstrating masks lessen transmission. Nothing is 100%.

Further the virus is spread through respiratory droplets, common sense will tell you masks lessen the droplets hitting other people. That doesn’t mean you should have a false sense of security, it is one measure but also one very easily implemented .

You link cloth vs medical mask- buy a medical mask they are widely available.

Masks work:

https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/newsroom/press-releases-detail?id=3608

[–]catoboros 15 insightful - 2 fun15 insightful - 1 fun16 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

There is also evidence that masks reduce inoculum size, that is, droplets that get through are smaller, resulting in less severe disease because the immune system has longer to mount a defence.

[–]OrneryStruggle 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

You responded to an actual peer reviewed study with thousands of participants with a press release about a correlation that most likely is NOT causally related, lmao. This in no way proves masks "work" and it certainly doesn't prove that cloth masks work.

Medical N95 masks (the ones that have some plausible/somewhat evidenced efficacy) are impossible or difficult to purchase for most regular people right now, you need to be trained how to wear them and have them fitted, and they reduce blood oxygen levels which can result in things like road accidents when people pass out wearing them.

[–]venecia 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

It really depends on the region of the world. I have a feeling that masks are recommended in the USA because... well... it's a giant fucking petri dish and everyone has it, so anything that MIGHT help at this point is considered a win.

In my country the outbreak has been very well under control, the curve flattened, and we've mostly reopened, and pretty much no one wore masks for routine trips to the shops etc. It was judged by our health authority that the risk of people improperly handling/laundering cloth masks (as untrained people are gonna do) actually adds unnecessary risk for little reward. When that changes, maybe the recommendation will too, because trust in the truth still mostly matters here!

[–]Camberian 20 insightful - 2 fun20 insightful - 1 fun21 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Masks have been proven to protect very recently and conclusively. They do not protect the wearer overly much (depending on type), they protect the others from you spreading the virus. The scientific and peer reviewed tests have been done years ago, during the heyday of influenza and SARS-1. There have - again - been recent tests, e.g. in the entire city of Jena, as well as scientific tests in lab conditions, which all prove the same thing.

The reason why quite a few countries chose not to acknowledge that masks help, was not because of potential improper handling or unnecessary risks. It was because in all of these countries there were not enough masks available for the entire population, especially medical-grade masks. A lot of these countries are currently coming about 100% now that masks have become widely available again.

[–]venecia 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Oh yeah, you definitely have a point. They didn't want people using surgical masks and to save those for first responders.

We did have our national guidelines that specifically mentioned improper handling, and a few groups have disagreed and pushed for an all-masks policy, but for now the government is opting out. Aside from like, trains and buses, we all socially distance as default lol.

[–]OrneryStruggle 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Where's that conclusive proof then? You must have heard of it before the WHO did.

Countries making masks mandatory when COVID-19 is no longer an epidemic there and in the middle of non-flu season is just hilarious security theater to make it seem like politicians are doing something to "keep people safe" when they're actually safe because the epidemic is over.