My take on surgical masks: are they useful? Are they a tool for psychological conditioning?

submitted by TheNecrons from self.conspiracy

sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun
you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]Aureus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Quotes from your own sources:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372

The calculus may be different, however, in health care settings. First and foremost, a mask is a core component of the personal protective equipment (PPE) clinicians need when caring for symptomatic patients with respiratory viral infections, in conjunction with gown, gloves, and eye protection. Masking in this context is already part of routine operations for most hospitals.

More compelling is the possibility that wearing a mask may reduce the likelihood of transmission from asymptomatic and minimally symptomatic health care workers with Covid-19 to other providers and patients.

Masking all providers might limit transmission from these sources by stopping asymptomatic and minimally symptomatic health care workers from spreading virus-laden oral and nasal droplets.

http://adam.curry.com/enc/1589745004.365_clothmasksdontstopspreadoftransmission.pdf

The data from this study provide some reassurance about medical masks, and are the first data to show potential clinical efficacy of medical masks. Medical masks are used to provide protection against droplet spread, splash and spray of blood and body fluids. Medical masks or respirators are recommended by different organisations to prevent transmission of Ebola virus, yet shortages of PPE may result in HCWs being forced to use cloth masks.

We have previously shown that N95 respirators provide superior efficacy to medical masks, but need to be worn continuously in high-risk settings to protect HCWs.

You just linked a study that said "a mask is a core component of the PPE physicians need", and another study that proves medical masks and N95s are effective.

This is the OPPOSITE of saying "masks are basically useless".

[–]TheNecrons[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

You just linked a study that said "a mask is a core component of the PPE physicians need", and another study that proves medical masks and N95s are effective.

Of course. You seem to have not read my post. This is the quote, again:

We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection." This point was the one present in my post, and it remains perfectly and completely valid/correct.

Next:

This is the OPPOSITE of saying "masks are basically useless".

Acutally they said they are "basically useless outside healthcare facilities" ;)

And this is, if it was not clear from the post already, my conclusion, and it is based on a whole post, not certainly on one link :)

Btw, that usage of big text, seems a bit annoying to me, why are you using it?

[–]Aureus 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection.

What magic property makes masks perfectly functional and useful in healthcare facilities, but useless rags the second you step outside of one?

And this is, if it was not clear from the post already, my conclusion, and it is based on a whole post, not certainly on one link :)

You provided two links that you said claim masks are useless. I read through both. Your second link definitively claims that medical masks and N95s are effective against coronavirus. It makes no distinction of "only in healthcare facilities." Are you going to acknowledge that?

[–]jamesK_3rd 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The magic property is likely the fact that In certain healthcare scenarios such as clinicians performing surgeries, reducing transmission of virus and bacteria can save a patient who might be immuno-compromised or on immune system suppression drugs.

Taking The criterion needed for sterile facilities due to very specific and well defined purposes and applying it broadly in other scenarios is largely ineffective at best, and malfeasance at worst. In fact, I'd say most of these individuals are doing this for the social media value whereby it turns into group virtue signaling or for collective shaming and drone control.

Speaking from an evolutionary biological perspective, the idea that people are wearing masks in many of the scenarios is a tragedy in the making, not this tone because the virus is not lethal. Exposure by individuals leads to herd and group immunity. In fact, surviving with the virus is one of the surest ways to increase the overall fitness of humans. This should be mandatory, especially in light of data and evidence that suggest for those under the age of 50 with no co morbidity, this virus is almost as deadly as the flu.

The fact that most people don't operate in such sterile environments is one particularly good reason to avoid the masks. Adults exercising, biking, walking hiking etc leads to them repeatedly touching and readjusting the mask. I've never seen any of these adults use alcohol prep pads on their face and hands after adjusting it, while outdoors exercising or while walking around inside places such as home goods stores.

But, as you have already surmised and are quite well aware of, the masks are really for virtue signaling and social control by particular groups and particular people. Groups that want you to not wear a mask when it may make you feel better because they tell you not to be preset of some collective.. And Groups that say you need to wear a mask, if you don't you hate science, people of color, and you want to kill old people.

As a libertarian, i think people should be able to wear masks add they see fit. I most certainly don't think the government should be mandating it. I mean covid isn't even considered at epidemic levels, and jammy been since early June, but you won't hear anything about that. I don't swear a mask, unless i know I'm around a particularly at risk population, and even them, it should really be them wearing a mask, not me. But i do enjoy it when i get approached about not wearing a mask.. Freedom is hard, and telling someonethat they aren't important enough to save over the species is hard for some to hear, but I'll keep saying it.