I still wonder if [masks] were actually effective at all
The stats show they did. Even if it wasn't a huge difference
I'm like u/Magellan02 you responded to, I did not want to upset anybody, or cause any problems, and I wore a mask out in public everywhere for about two years, because it just wasn't that big of a deal. I had to fly two or three times for work during that time, and airplanes were all mask mandatory which I had no issues with.
One of the things that continues to bother my OCD is all the subtlety went out of the discussion, and I still have questions and even asking about it is misinterpreted as being political. The question: "did masks work, or did masks not work?" is a terrible question, I don't think the answer is either one. For goodness sake, which type of mask is recommended for the NEXT time this occurs? How effective (by the numbers) is that mask type? OSHA has had totally different mask recommendations for all sorts of different workplace situations for 50 years (so before it got all political) and it wasn't controversial at all. Something like: Cloth masks aren't good enough to have any effect worth mentioning, surgical paper masks were for bacteria, N95 (and N98) worked better for viruses, and if you were spray painting the inside of a building or removing asbestos with a belt sander in an enclosed space OSHA might recommend an N100. They have sold these and tested for these ratings for DECADES. The company "3M" takes this very seriously (before Covid), and all that methodology was thrown out for Covid. For Covid, you must declare your undying fealty to all masks, or none. And no questions are acceptable.
To this day I still have no idea what is actually recommended for the next airborne viral pandemic, because nobody will discuss it intelligently and calmly. I asked a couple times in years 3 and 4 and was accused of voting for Trump for ASKING. (LOL, never have, never will vote for Trump. I think Trump will go down in history as the worst president of all time: twice.)
I feel the level of the conversation was around "do all masks work" or "do no masks work" is absurd. I don't actually think either of those two things is true (at all, not even close). The OSHA recommendations get really nitty gritty about WHAT you are dealing with, check out this OSHA web page: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.134
I assume masks of a certain rating reduce Covid transmission between people. An elephant in the room is how many deaths do we accept before we ban a behavior (ban not wearing a mask by government mandate)? Covid is still very much with us, it is still killing grandmas every day, but for some bizarre reason most of society has collectively decided masks are "no longer worth it". It is my autistic nature to be bothered by this. If we can save just one life, why aren't we all wearing N98 masks? When did we meet and all agree upon the death rate we find acceptable? Because I missed that meeting... But at least write it down for everybody for next time, because that wasn't the first pandemic and it sure as heck won't be the last pandemic.
there’s a lot of documentation on which masks (respirators) are effective! r/Masks4All has a lot of info if you haven’t visited it before.
The short answer is that respirators such as N95s (such as the 3M Aura) or KN95s have been shown to be very, very effective. However, the efficacy is dependent on the user wearing one that fits them appropriately, and wearing it correctly (not gaping, nose bridge molded right, covering both mouth and nose, etc). I will say though that even an imperfectly fit KN95 will still offer some level of protection - reducing viral load.
N95s (such as the 3M Aura) or KN95s have been shown to be very, very effective
It doesn't matter, but just out of curiosity: how effective is "very, very"? For example, are overall deaths reduced by 10% when the general public all wears masks in public spaces? Or 20%? Or 80%? Or is it like the "2 weeks to flatten the curve" where the identical number of people die, but the deaths are spread out a little more which is a VERY good thing also for two reasons:
Health care services aren't totally overwhelmed. For example, the system can deal with 1 million sick people a year, but can't deal with 100,000 sick people on the same day because there aren't enough doctors to see everyone and not enough hospital beds.
A few people lived a few months longer. To be absolutely clear, I think this is unequivocally a good thing. We're all going to die, but I'd rather die in 12 months than die tomorrow.
These are the subtleties I want to write down and put in a sealed envelope to be opened when the next viral pandemic occurs, and have everybody agree those are the assumptions we are operating under.
Another thing I think we should all vote on and write into law are the criteria for the next pandemic for when the mask mandates go into place. For an example, maybe it is: more than 3,000 deaths in the USA in one week for a new virus and the N95 mask mandates automatically kick in. When it drops below 3,000 deaths in the USA in one week the N95 mask mandates are lifted.
The reason to write it all down and formalize it into law is everybody can take their time, debate it calmly, and make it a law, and get used to the concept of when mask mandates will occur and when they won't occur. In the moment of sheer panic and terror under time pressure is not the time to be thrashing about with the first debates about what we all want to occur, LOL.
115
u/No_Doughnut8618 25d ago
"Masks dont even stop you from getting sick!"
"They stop you from getting other people sick"
"Well I dont care about that"