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Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

directorsblog.nih.gov

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Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#61

Post by herp23 »

nradov wrote: post #58
herp23 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a nonsensical comparison to wearing a mask and washing your hands during a global pandemic.

Perhaps my point was too subtle but this appears to be the emergence of a new form of secular "ritual purification" among a subset of the population, and it's only loosely tied to real science. Mask wearing can certainly be helpful for reducing the risk of contagion in some limited close contact situations but it's also become a form of virtue signaling. I see people wearing masks while driving alone or walking outsi…

It wasn't too subtle. It was a bad comparison.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#62

Post by ezekg »

quicklime wrote: post #56
nradov wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For most people, regular consumption of Taco Bell is probably a worse health risk than COVID-19. Obesity and hypertension are known killers on their own, and also increase the risk of a bad COVID-19 outcome.

But their consumption of Taco Bell is their own individual problem - their obesity and hypertension can't harm me or others. COVID-19 is different.

It does harm you and others. By continually weakening their immune system, they are more prone to viruses which they spread to others.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#63

Post by mindslight »

ezekg wrote: post #53
mindslight wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick search says that Sweden still has a growing number of new covid cases. So no, it does not look like they have achieved herd immunity.

Herd immunity will likely never equal zero cases... the point is to prioritize herd immunity in the low-risk populace for the sake of the high-risk.

That's a nice hypothesis, but until it has been tested, that's what it remains. If Sweden is testing it that's nice for everyone else, but there's no need to run the experiment multiple times in parallel.

It's amazing to me that people so purportedly pro-freedom eagerly want the government to perform a public health experiment on the entire country. That's quite totalitarian if you ask me.

BTW by saying that mask wearing is opposed to herd immunity, you are tacitly agreeing that masks work to slow the spread.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#64

Post by AnimalMuppet »

ezekg wrote: post #53
mindslight wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick search says that Sweden still has a growing number of new covid cases. So no, it does not look like they have achieved herd immunity.

Herd immunity will likely never equal zero cases... the point is to prioritize herd immunity in the low-risk populace for the sake of the high-risk.

But herd immunity should not equal a rising number of cases, which is what mindslight said. Your reply therefore doesn't actually answer the parent's claim.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#65

Post by ezekg »

mindslight wrote: post #63
ezekg wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Herd immunity will likely never equal zero cases... the point is to prioritize herd immunity in the low-risk populace for the sake of the high-risk.

That's a nice hypothesis , but until it has been tested, that's what it remains. If Sweden is testing it that's nice for everyone else, but there's no need to run the experiment multiple times in parallel. It's amazing to me that people so purportedly pro-freedom eagerly want the government to perform a public health experiment on the entire country. That's quite totalitarian if you ask me. BTW by saying that mask we…

How is me calling for less government totalitarian?

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#66

Post by ezekg »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #64
ezekg wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Herd immunity will likely never equal zero cases... the point is to prioritize herd immunity in the low-risk populace for the sake of the high-risk.

But herd immunity should not equal a rising number of cases, which is what mindslight said. Your reply therefore doesn't actually answer the parent's claim.

You're right -- I should have said "on their way to real herd-immunity." Their death rate is what you should be watching, not cases.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#67

Post by NortySpock »

ezekg wrote: post #46
theplague42 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess anything that is fined or outlaws is eventually "enforced by violence" but it's still a silly argument. If a store asks you to leave, and you don't, and the store calls the police to arrest you, you aren't being arrested for not wearing a mask. You're being arrested for not leaving when asked.

Do you really think the businesses are enforcing masks for the sake of public health? I encourage you to ask them -- 9 times out of 10 they will say they are fearful of the government fining them and shutting down their business. Trust me, I ask them every time they ask me to leave and it's always the same answer. If they resist the government, it will eventually result in violence.

So are you not wearing a mask? If not, why not?

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#68

Post by jasonv »

ezekg wrote: post #46
theplague42 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess anything that is fined or outlaws is eventually "enforced by violence" but it's still a silly argument. If a store asks you to leave, and you don't, and the store calls the police to arrest you, you aren't being arrested for not wearing a mask. You're being arrested for not leaving when asked.

Do you really think the businesses are enforcing masks for the sake of public health? I encourage you to ask them -- 9 times out of 10 they will say they are fearful of the government fining them and shutting down their business. Trust me, I ask them every time they ask me to leave and it's always the same answer. If they resist the government, it will eventually result in violence.

There are dozens to hundreds of regulations governing the activities of retail establishments.. the requirement to enforce mask mandates is only one.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#69

Post by pstuart »

mathgorges wrote: post #49
pstuart wrote: post #8

It's patriotic to wear a mask in public.

Thats why mine has American flags on it (:

I know that it's gauche to comment on downvotes, but FFS getting downvoted for my comment is a snapshot of why this pandemic has been so bad.

Re: Masks could save 130k American lives from COVID19 by March

#70

Post by jjgreen »

polote wrote: post #12

I can't buy it, European citizens almost all have to wear masks and we can clearly see that this measure alone doesn't seem to have an impact on the epidemic as the speed of the increase of cases is more or less the same that what we had in march. And nobody was wearing masks at that time.

Masks are like violence, when they don't work, use more!
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