Posted on 03/31/2020 9:26:12 AM PDT by Kaslin
Our officials' lies have now damaged both the public's trust in any future top-down guidance, and backfired on their efforts to 'flatten the curve.'
As Americans slowly woke up to the seriousness of the pandemic, and their own lack of preparedness, our media and government elites discouraged the general public from stocking up on masks in an effort to preserve supplies for health-care workers on the front lines. Whether they genuinely believed masks would be useless for everyday, non-medical use, or they were bracing for shortages to come, their lies have now damaged both the public’s trust in any future top-down guidance, and backfired on their efforts to “flatten the curve.”
The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, tweeted on February 29, “STOP BUYING MASKS!”
Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
https://t.co/UxZRwxxKL9— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) February 29, 2020
On Fox News in early March, Adams told viewers that “you can actually increase your risk of getting a respiratory disease like coronavirus” if you wear a mask improperly.
On March 1, both Vice President Mike Pence and CNN Anchor Jake Tapper pleaded with viewers not to buy masks. “It is not necessary for Americans to go out and buy masks,” Pence said.
“It’s not going to do anything for you. It’s the people who actually have coronavirus that have the masks, need the masks,” Tapper said.
New York City’s official coronavirus guidelines instruct New Yorkers, who are at the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, that they “do not need to wear a face mask if you are not feeling sick.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still advising Americans that they should wear a mask only if they are sick or are caring for someone who is sick.
The World Health Organization warned just a few days ago that “masks can give you a false feeling of protection and can even be a source of infection when not used properly.”
“No, You Do Not Need Face Masks To Prevent Coronavirus—They Might Increase Your Infection Risk,” says a Forbes headline. “Seriously, Stop Buying Face Masks,” pleaded a senior writer at The Cut. “Why experts say healthy people should stop wearing masks,” reads a local Denver news report. “CDC says surgical masks won’t protect you from the coronavirus,” reads another local report in Washington state.
Government and health care officials worked hand in hand with a compliant media to get their message across, but at what cost? In early March, the Department of Health and Human Services said the country had only about 35 million of the 3.5 billion high-grade N95 respirators needed in the event of a full-blown pandemic. So what did we really save, if even after all the “no mask” messaging, the government is still having to ask companies to ramp up production anyway? Could infection rates have been reduced if the general public was not warned against wearing masks?
Scientists are beginning to weigh in with research showing that if we all wear masks, people unknowingly infected with the coronavirus would be less likely to spread it. This advice, which is seemingly obvious, makes much more sense than the confusing message that ordinary people couldn’t possibly figure out how to wear a mask properly, or that masks somehow only work when worn by health care providers.
Jeremy Howard, a research scientist at the University of San Francisco, wrote in the Washington Post that at least 34 scientific papers have found that basic masks, meaning even a cut up T-shirt, can be effective in reducing virus transmission in public.
“Studies have documented definitively that in controlled environments like airplanes, people with masks rarely infect others and rarely become infected themselves, while those without masks more easily infect others or become infected themselves,” Howard writes.
Yes, U.S. health-care workers are short on masks and they desperately need them, and of course healthy people should not be stockpiling them, especially N95 masks. But studies have also found that even surgical masks, the ones that do not have a tight fitted seal, can “reduce exposure to aerosolised infectious influenza virus.” That sounds better than no mask at all. The combination of masks and hand washing have also been found to reduce infection rates.
Lest it even need to be said, face masks are not a novel concept yet to be proven. This is not some new technology we are convincing society to get on board with. We know they work. It’s why they’re worn by health-care workers, people with compromised immune systems, and even WHO officials during COVID-19 public health briefings.
Now, our intelligentsia are sowing more confusion and distrust as they back-peddle on their previous confusing instructions to not take this obvious precaution for yourself and those around you. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he could see a recommendation, proposed by former Food and Drug Administration head Scott Gottlieb, that all Americans wear masks. “We are not going to be wearing masks forever, but it could be for a short period of time after we get back into gear. I could see something like that happening for a period of time,” he said.
In a matter of days, masks have gone from “source of infection when not used properly” to “recommended for all Americans.” So do we wear masks now, or not? Does it matter what kind? If I display symptoms of coronavirus, how long should I wait before being tested? Can I treat it at home, and for how long? It’s easy to see how the botched messaging on such a simple precaution early on will now have bigger consequences for other guidelines delivered to us down this long road.
Now that it seems obvious the surgeon general was wrong to say I don’t need a mask at the grocery store, should I trust his next instruction that seems counter-intuitive? What about what I hear from the CDC, politicians, the media, or neighborhood gossip? Is there even a difference between them all anymore?
I bought a case of N95s with exhale vents, a case without vents, and a case of N100s with vents when Obama invited infected from Africa into the country. I have asthma.
I have no qualms about wearing the 100s and sharing the 95s with my family. Yes, it’s sad the idiots in charge didn’t stock up to protect our first responders and medical community. Too bad they didn’t have the foresight I did. I bought them on Amazon, and they weren’t that costly.
I home schooled my children.
I also have six months of food supply and six months of ammo. Am I supposed to feel guilty because others couldn’t think ahead?
I also have three shepherds and a rottweiler. Should I give them away to those less fortunate who don’t have guard dogs?
Should I take down my perimeter cameras?
Funny how those who looked down their noses at me for prepping and home schooling are now prepping and home schooling.
Sounds like you are not very sure of you efficacy assertions. Regardless, I am fine with supplying health care workers first, with the hope they are more effective keeping well people well than what we have been reading. As to your cute and that way comments, I have no idea where you are coming from or the point(s) you are trying to make with them.
You are obviously incapable of adding 2+2 and coming up with 4 - health care workers are on the front lines so even a 10% potential efficacy as far as a well person wearing a mask makes a significant difference....and they put the masks on the contagious patients to protect the staff and other patients and the staff wears the mask especially in case some of them get sick so they don’t spread it to the patients and/or each other...now go home and dig up your cache of masks and burn them - you are beyond help.
Like I said - you have the whole internet at your disposal...I have enough viable sources to be content - if you’re still “itching” ...scratch it yourself.
Might be useful...
Glad we at least agree that those on the front lines should have first dibs on the masks.
“Have you been watching the Task Force briefings?”
I have. So you disagree with Dr. Fauci where he said they are considering recommending masks to the general public?
Have you been trusting whatever the government says vs. research and common sense? Better tell the President to get on board.
So they lied for what I have always called government’s number one concern relative to any issue, crowd control? As the author states more or less, how can we trust them?
I agree but one day wear them, next day they are useless is destroying people’s confidence in the healthcare system. This is pretty basic, do they work? Obviously yes or nurses and doctors wouldn’t be wearing them. Telling the public yes/no makes for confusion and distrust.
He said the CDC was doing it - he didn’t say it was a personal recommendation...if it makes you feel good, wear a mask...if you don’t get the bug, feel smug...whatever turns your crank.
They were talking about how many want masks but the medical folks on the front lines need them more than anyone else - my daughter is one of them folks - they put the masks on any contagious patients and also on themselves so if one of them does catch something, they are less likely to spread it to patients/each other...and they wear the masks properly sealed and use eye protection and gowns over their scrubs and head covering and do a pretty solid decontamination when getting out of the gear so as to not pick up anything that may be on their clothing and waste the effort of keeping the bug at bay.
Trump was telling folks if they really thought they needed a mask, and none were available, there are options that work similar to a mask.....but you saw a freaking excerpt instead of watching the actual briefing so you have no idea of the actual context...
Rather than formal task force briefings, your post was a remark in response to my refutation of 3 of the U.S. Surgeon General's erroneous statements and reasoning against wearing mask in general made in a Fox interview . While he was targeting the buying of N95 masks, the 3 reasons I took issue with applied to wearing masks in general and were erroneous.
The only reason the Surgeon General's gave was that, as you said, "the medical folks on the front lines need them more than anyone else."
However, you responded to my refutation with, "Have you been watching the Task Force briefings? Might be useful..." which snide remarks was thus taken as a denial of the reproof I provided, but which did not take issue with the need for medical folks needing them being the reason for not wearing masks.
And thus my reproof of 3 of Surgeon General's reasons against wearing masks, which extends to any masks, stands, and contradicts what Trump advised.
Thus you need to direct your reproof to the Surgeon General whose reasons against wearing masks by the general public applies to any masks.
The crew during the briefing is not shy about correcting the President - they did not do so during the briefing....watch the briefings for Pete’s sake.
And just what correction does he need in this case? Since you are criticizing me for opposing the errors of the Surgeon General's opposition to wearing masks (gives a false sense of security, not effective, can increase your risk of getting disease by touching your face) - which apply to all masks - then either you agree with him that they should not be worn or with the President. And me.
Now you’re sounding like Jim Acosta or Peter the Dick Alexander of ConCast.
Your recourse to fallacious ad hominem simply avoids answers the question and argument: "just what correction does he need in this case? Since you are criticizing me for opposing the errors of the Surgeon General's opposition to wearing masks (gives a false sense of security, not effective, can increase your risk of getting disease by touching your face) - which apply to all masks - then either you agree with him that they should not be worn or with the President. And me." Which is it?
Uncle....
A fitting decision: U.S. coronavirus deaths top 1,000 in single day, White House expected to recommend everyone wear masks
Pennsylvania mandates residents wear masks. When will Ohio get on board?
CDC reportedly set to recommend everyone wear face mask
Thanks. Grace and peace thru Jesus the Lord.
Can you cite studies that demonstrate they are effective? Beliefs and assumptions even if quoted in medical journals do not count as scientific evidence.
Pray tell, since a large percentage of our population are children under the age of 10, how do you propose to get them to wear masks in the presumed effective manner? Or do we just lock them inside the house?
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