Posted on 01/29/2021 12:34:14 PM PST by george76
Why are Americans still wearing masks? Why did they ever start?
During the 1918 Spanish influenza, many Americans refused the mask. Even some health care workers refused. A historical account of that era recently printed in the New York Times called them “a symbol of government overreach, inspiring protests, petitions and defiant bare-face gatherings.”
Penalties in San Francisco ranged from $5 to $10, or 10 days in jail. On November 9, 1,000 people were arrested, swelling city jails to standing room only — apparently no social distancing required. Even Mayor Davie of Oakland was jailed. Those who couldn’t pay the $5 fine were jailed for 48 hours. One man, sentenced to five days in jail, said, “That suits me. I won’t have to wear a mask there.”
The city’s Anti-Mask League demanded a repeal of the mask ordinance. The group said there was no scientific evidence that masks worked and it was an infringement on constitutional rights.
The League was right, on both counts. In 1919, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy wrote, “No evidence was presented which would justify compelling persons at large to wear masks during an epidemic.” There is still no evidence today. In February of 2020, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted, “Seriously people – STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus.”
Researchers agree. “Cloth masks will be ineffective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as PPE,” wrote Dr. Lisa M. Brosseau, ScD and Dr. Margaret Sietsema, PhD in April. Physicians in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) further asserted, “wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection.” Even former CDC interim director and epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm quipped in a June 2020 video:
“Never before in my 45-year career have I seen such a far-reaching public recommendation issued by any governmental agency without a single source of data or information to support it . . . The highest frequency of mask-wearing population in the world is in Hubei, China . . . we had virtually everyone wearing one publicly. It didn’t make a difference.”
Despite all this evidence, 93 percent of Americans are wearing masks today — inside, outside, exercising, alone in their cars, on the sports field, and wherever the government demands. Why? According to the NEJM article, “In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.”
Thankfully, the Imperial College London reports the likelihood of catching coronavirus from an infected close contact with no symptoms is only 3.5 percent. An infected person with symptoms has only a 12.8 percent chance of infecting a close contact. The chance of transmitting it in households is just 21.1 percent.
In 1918, most people died because there were no antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections stemming from the Spanish flu virus — not directly from the virus itself. In 2021, we have Vitamin D, supplements like zinc and quercetin, early treatment medications like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, oxygen, antibiotics, steroids, ventilators and more to prevent and treat Covid-19.
Why are Americans still wearing masks? Why did they ever start?
The wildly inaccurate PCR test, and faulty definitions of “COVID death” are just the start. Overzealous governors, state emergency health powers acts, social media and 24/7 news cycles are also to blame. However, another factor may be at play, too.
Does today’s dependency on government encourage compliance? In 1918, Medicare, Medicaid, disability, unemployment and Social Security did not exist.
Freedom is on the line. Mandatory masking sets a dangerous precedent, infringes on civil liberties, restricts speech and obstructs breathing. When will Americans choose freedom and facts over fear?
Which brings us to an important question: Is man really capable of altering the course of an infectious disease through crowd control? The statistics argue a resounding no.. ~Sen. Rand Paul –
https://nypost.com/2020/09/23/fauci-and-rand-paul-clash-over-cuomo-ny-handling-of-covid-19/
During the Spanish Flu pandemic mask mandates were of short duration and never applied even statewide. San Francisco ordered their use for six weeks total in two different stretches. SIX WEEKS!
A shop was selling masks for 49 cents a few days ago but today they had all of them in a large box for free because new requirements on masks made them worthless.
Masks are quite effective for short-term risk situations.
The key is short-term, say 15 minutes at a grocery store every two weeks for a few months.
What new requirements are you referring to?
Because the virions of coronavirus are roughly 100 nanometers, 1/1000 the width of a hair and 1/30 the size of surgical mask filtrations (about 3.0 microns or 3,000 nanometers), surgical masks (not to mention cloth ones) do not help.
https://principia-scientific.com/e-mask-ulation-the-lies-they-keep-telling-us/
I took my husband to the doctor this week for a year check up on bladder cancer. Several sterile measures were taken in the treatment room by his nurse to prepare him for the procedure. He has severe COPD and had his portable oxygen but was having trouble breathing with the mask on. The nurse said, “Take it off - I have mine on so there’s no problem.” THAT surprised me. When the doctor came in, he didn’t say a word about my husband not having a mask on. He asked when he was done if we were going to get the vaccine and I said, “not unless they find 50 people who can agree on everything” and he laughed!
Group think, conformity. It is just setting the stage for the next loss of freedom. Control, control, control...
Click here for details.
LONG overdue...masks should be optional, especially at grocery stores, or facilities providing essential services.
Masks satisfy two objectives.
First, they give the illusion of ‘doing something’, both for people afraid of the virus and for politicians.
Second, they provide an opportunity for social virtue signalling, ie, “I care therefore, I wear.”
Horowitz: E-MASK-ulation: How we have been lied to so dramatically about masks.. What did the scientific literature say before the issue became political?
https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz-lied-to-dramatically-about-masks
The reality is that this has been a topic of much research since Covid-19 emerged. Yes, masks are effective. They have been shown to block virus sized particles in the lab, and they have shown effectiveness in real world use.
Here is a quote from a recent medical journal article discussing face masks: "Compared with the overall cost of social isolation, limited personal freedoms and forced suspension of economic activities, the inconvenience for citizens caused by wearing masks is perfectly acceptable."
In other words, the masks enable people to interact and do other normal activities while minimizing the risk of catching Covid-19.
The wildly inaccurate PCR test, and faulty definitions of “COVID death” are just the start.
PCR tests are not "wildly inaccurate." In fact, they are one of the most accurate and sensitive tests one can perform. That is because PCR tests are based on the RNA sequence, which is very unique to the organism. Antibody tests, on the other hand, can only tell if a person has been exposed to a coronavirus; they aren't much use for determining which coronavirus.
In addition, there are no "faulty definitions" of Covid-19 deaths. People who have preexisting conditions and then catch and die from Covid-19 are not "dying with Covid-19", they are dying FROM Covid-19. Preexisting conditions make Covid-19 much more serious and deadly. Furthermore, Covid-19 deaths are laboratory confirmed.
Whoever wrote this article should have consulted with someone who actually understands the science, instead of collating various bits of misinformation that, unfortunately, have become way too widespread during the pandemic.
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