Thanks Karl, I took a quick look at the first three on your list. The first discusses the fluid flow of droplets from coughing and sneezing, and yes that is pretty much common sense that if one is coughing / sneezing then wearing a mask is a good thing. No argument there. Even better, do what has always been recommended by medical professionals: Stay home when you are sick!
The second paper relies on a lot of assumptions and estimates and (here we go again) models to reach their conclusions. We all know how dishonest researchers can manipulate the models (see global warming) to get the results we want. No thanks. The third paper is not yet peer reviewed but strongly recommends that countries that had their populations wear masks saw a large decrease in the infection rate. However some countries that did not impose mask wearing also did not suffer high infection rates. Hmmm, that is a curious bit of data, what could be going on there? My guess: this paper does not account for differences in medical treatment regimens (use of HCQ and Budesonide and other treatments). I like this paper, but I think they need to re-run their models and take into account the factor of medical treatment. This one has promise for actually producing good science to support mask wearing (to be determined yet), and I like that they also take into account border closings (86% decrease in mortality rate when international travel was restricted) and testing / tracing (did not significantly reduce mortality rate). Obesity and an older population are also major factors in an increased mortality rate. So, are masks effective? I think they are, they certainly can reduce the infection rate. How effective, and how much liberty do we give away in the interest of reducing the risk of living? I'd much rather that our elected representatives focus on providing the public with reliable information on individual actions that will reduce the infection rate, promoting good hygiene practices, and making possible the medical treatments that are safe and effective. The use of bad models and the confusing and contradictory advice from "experts" has severely damaged the public's faith in government. Personally, if I become ill with this disease, I'll ask my doctor about HCQ and Budesonide as treatment options. Until then, life is worth living so let's get on with it. ------------- Max Charleston SC On Sun, Jul 19, 2020 at 11:05 PM Karl Wittnebel via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > I think the imposition to liberty here is very minimal. It's not like they > are bringing back the Stamp Act, or requiring vaccination. It's like > wearing a seatbelt or something. I will be happy not to wear the masks but > we have some work to do as a society to get there. > > I can see how people with little direct exposure to this illness might > think the risk is minimal. We are seeing these sorts of attitudes change > with increased disease prevalence in affected areas e.g. Texas. > > To Don's point, until the prevalence in your immediate area is below about > 1.5%, it's probably a good idea to do what you can. I have five people in > house right now with it. One is a 43yo RN with a 7yo daughter who tested > positive a few days ago and was toughing it out at home but could not > breathe well so came in satting 82%. She is doing OK on a few liters of > oxygen. Three are guys in their 50s and 60s with no predisposing > conditions. Two of them were intubated for about a month and still cannot > tell you the name of the building they are in. They will stage extended > recoveries but unclear if they will regain previous functional levels. One > of them had several strokes and will be permanently severely disabled. My > colleague in house this weekend rounded on 9. We have about 80 total in > hospital, 60 confirmed, 20 suspected. > > There are plenty of papers out there for anyone interested in masks. This > list is a good start: > > > https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1m-o_9N9Yq3cq7toP1-nZKtAHTIQ-Nqeqaj866sycl6w/mobilebasic > > On Sun, Jul 19, 2020, 5:41 PM Max Dillon via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
