https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/well/live/double-masking-covid.html

wouldn't it be more productive to just level with people and cop to the fact that you likely need a N95 in public places and that the sort of masks we've been accepting/promoting are pretty useless when it comes to mitigation

PPE works but PPE theater doesn't

There were some earlier studies that seemed pretty good, at least to my non-medical background eyes, at explaining the effectiveness of various mask types. All had some level of effectiveness but a huge range between a handkerchief single layer and an N95. The thin surgical masks - the disposable ones you see that are usually blue - are pretty good and better than most cloth but still not N95. But too many very vocal people are binary, it's either "masks are completely useless" or "covering my mouth with anything will save my life".

We won't be having these discussions by summer.

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We won't be having these discussions by summer.

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I wish I could agree with you

Why not triple masking?

Germany and others in Europe now requiring surgical or N95. It's been obvious for anyone paying attention for 9 months that cloth masks aren't doing anything, but whenever something isn't working they just double down on it or blame the general public.

my confidence in big pharma and American public-facing health care staff is at an all-time high

all they've been doing for the last year is rolling with the punches and delivering

my confidence in American public health officials and their messaging is pretty much zero

Just tell people to put plastic bags over their heads and half the population will comply. That should help solve many of our problems??

I think you have to consider any mask helps keep people from touching their faces. Even if it does nothing against the airborne virus, having that irritating reminder there to not touch your face has got to be doing some good. Can't wait to burn mine.

It seems like people touch their faces a LOT more with a mask on. Constantly adjusting, pulling it up, pulling it down.

GAC06 said:

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It seems like people touch their faces a LOT more with a mask on. Constantly adjusting, pulling it up, pulling it down.

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Everywhere I go, I see people pulling down their mask to talk up close, particularly in loud places. Why? We need to see mouths to communicate. And that's usually right before someone pulls out a credit card or cash and hands it to the person serving.

Public policy that fails to consider how the public actually behaves is a failure, and we see it over and over.

GAC06 said:

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Why not triple masking?

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you can't triple mask a double mask!

Yeah, face touching is massively higher by those wearing masks. People just don't know how to handle these things. Same reason I see food workers touching face/hair while wearing their gloves all the time (and they supposedly have health cards). People don't know how to handle PPE in a sterile way and end up doing harm. I counted one guy touch his neck gaiter and pull it up 14 times in 90 seconds while bored at the bar a while back.

ORAggieFan said:

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Germany and others in Europe now requiring surgical or N95. It's been obvious for anyone paying attention for 9 months that cloth masks aren't doing anything, but whenever something isn't working they just double down on it or blame the general public.

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I thought people were finally figuring it out that the spread was happening at home, and around friends... and not at the grocery store, walking around in restaurants, etc where masks are used? People really think double masking at Home Depot will do anything?

There has to be a reason flu and cold medicine sales are down 45%. Somethings limiting the spread of viruses.

Social distancing, lockdowns, and masks have crushed pretty much every other respiratory virus this year.

Covid isn't magic, it's just super contagious and has basically no resistance in the population.

I am a nurse manager & have 50+ nurses that work for me. Since March, only 3 have had COVID. Why? Because they wear the surgical masks at work. I had one get it this summer & then 2 this month because they were around family for the holidays. No one got it at work. They all wear surgical masks at work.

I swab sometimes 10 people a day. I wear a N95 all day, everyday. I have never had COVID. So yes, a surgical mask works & provides enough protection.

Whats crazy to me is that my gym in Virginia has been open since June and does not require masks. There hasn't been a single case of COVID tracked to my gym in that entire period. You would think it would be a giant COVID petri dish with people huffing and puffing and sweating with no masks on.

Meanwhile other people are now double masking and somehow still catching it. I do not understand this virus at all.

I've been rocking the Nick Saban style mesh mask for the last month. These things are gold. Super comfortable and you barely feel like you have a mask on.



https://store.helmetfitting.com/product/active-mask/

I get a kick out of the folks wearing a mask in their cars, alone, with the windows down. Now that's some hardcore masking.

speck said:

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There has to be a reason flu and cold medicine sales are down 45%. Somethings limiting the spread of viruses.

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There is. People are staying at home at a greater clip, WFH, movie theaters, restaurants, sporting events, concerts, vacations.

Not that I think any of the above was worth the economy we've destroyed.

Does quadruple masks get to 100% efficiency or just 100% stupidity

Pretty sure a plastic bag duck taped around the neck would be super effective in keeping the wearer from spreading or receiving any airborne particles. Let's see how committed these people really are.

this is what happens when you give bad/ineffective advice and rather than say "my bad, let's reconsider" you double-down and again make negative outcomes a matter of public non-compliance

i.e. one of the primary things in public health you're not supposed to do

not a single f-ing mea culpa. it's slightly unreal.

Do double-maskers judge me twice as hard when I don't wear a mask outside in public?

I have not worn a mask in two and a half months. I do not even wear one into federal court anymore. Just don't wear one. When someone says something, ignore them.

My days of wearing a mask are behind me.