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Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

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Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#31

Post by dailykoder »

sonofhans wrote: post #25
dailykoder wrote: post #14

I still desperately want to know the current (scientific) state of wearing a mask. On the one side we have people that say 'our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses' and the other side which wants you to put on a mask even if you have the smallest sign of a common cold. - Though, I do understand the fear of people who have/had long covid, MCFS or do know people who have, but I don't know what conclusio…

You can literally plug your last sentence directly into Google and get good information.

I did that and clicked through the first 5 links. Doesn't sound that obvious to me. I found this one interesting: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10446908/

> More studies found that masks (n = 39/47; 83%) and mask mandates (n = 16/18; 89%) reduced infection than found no effect (n = 8/65; 12%) or favoured controls (n = 1/65; 2%). Seven observational studies found that respirators were more protective than surgical masks, while five found no statistically significant difference between the two mask types.

So as a dummy I conclude that masks do work, as expected. But the question is still: Do we need them?

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#32

Post by zahma »

dailykoder wrote: post #14

I still desperately want to know the current (scientific) state of wearing a mask. On the one side we have people that say 'our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses' and the other side which wants you to put on a mask even if you have the smallest sign of a common cold. - Though, I do understand the fear of people who have/had long covid, MCFS or do know people who have, but I don't know what conclusio…

Masks were absolutely good at first as the medical services were at a loss how to treat patients even under the best circumstances, so disease prevention was crucial. There is an argument to be made now that we’re going to have to deal with a perennial virus with recurring infections throughout our lifetime. Some people react more adversely, so why shouldn’t they wear masks?

I’ve seen groups in Asia wearing masks as a gesture of respect for their community. It’s not to say we’ll all fall hopelessly naive to disease if we don’t wear masks, but we would all certainly be happier not getting a debilitating virus at least every year.

FWIW, a lot of the research money has dried up, so I’d be surprised if any longitudinal studies will arise now about disease prevention and masking. Seems like a study tricky to control.

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#34

Post by baxtr »

dailykoder wrote: post #14

I still desperately want to know the current (scientific) state of wearing a mask. On the one side we have people that say 'our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses' and the other side which wants you to put on a mask even if you have the smallest sign of a common cold. - Though, I do understand the fear of people who have/had long covid, MCFS or do know people who have, but I don't know what conclusio…

My understanding solidified around this take:

Masks are great to slow the spread of the virus. So if you have a big wedding party coming up you might want to wear a mask in the subway in the weeks before your big day.

But: Masks won't save you from the disease in the long term. There's no way you can escape viral respiratory infections in our society.

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#35

Post by ducdetronquito »

dailykoder wrote: post #14

I still desperately want to know the current (scientific) state of wearing a mask. On the one side we have people that say 'our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses' and the other side which wants you to put on a mask even if you have the smallest sign of a common cold. - Though, I do understand the fear of people who have/had long covid, MCFS or do know people who have, but I don't know what conclusio…

To continue on sfblah's comment (just above mine): in France, before the mask mandate that came after the first covid lockdown, I don't remember a single doctor/nurse* to wear a mask to do their job even during intense period of sickness like in winter or even during previous pandemics.

I don't remember anyone wearing a mask either in the doctor's waiting room, even when it was fool of sick people (old and young mixed)

* except for dentists, surgeon and their assistants during

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#36

Post by alex1138 »

sonofhans wrote: post #25
dailykoder wrote: post #14

I still desperately want to know the current (scientific) state of wearing a mask. On the one side we have people that say 'our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses' and the other side which wants you to put on a mask even if you have the smallest sign of a common cold. - Though, I do understand the fear of people who have/had long covid, MCFS or do know people who have, but I don't know what conclusio…

You can literally plug your last sentence directly into Google and get good information.

No. Sorry. Google, whether through fault of its original creators or not, is actively known to do partisan censorship (which is a hard thing to consider, seeing as how a search engine points at internet sources, but it's still true)

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#37

Post by yieldcrv »

defrost wrote: post #19
paulddraper wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The response was truly insane.

It seemed entirely appropriate and exactly on point from my PoV: On 24 March, Western Australia closed its borders to the rest of Australia, and on 1 April, the state implemented borders between regions in the state. By mid-April 2020, the state had eliminated community transmission of COVID-19, becoming one of the few places in the world to do so. Elsewhere (the UK and US in particular) looked like a total clusterf*…

> During May 2022, Western Australia experienced sharply rising cases amongst the highest per capita cases seen anywhere in the world throughout the pandemic.

Just delaying it to 2022 according to those same articles, as it had already exited the evolutionary fit population’s memory everywhere else in the world

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#38

Post by modeless »

forgetfreeman wrote: post #4

The deep stupidity with which this subject has been met by political organizations and the broader populace has caused me to reexamine most of my expectations of "adult" behavior from both groups. In 50 years on this planet I've never been closer to losing the battle with nihilism.

This comment could have easily been written either by someone who thinks the response went too far or by someone who thinks it didn't go far enough.

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#39

Post by friend_Fernando »

dailykoder wrote: post #14

I still desperately want to know the current (scientific) state of wearing a mask. On the one side we have people that say 'our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses' and the other side which wants you to put on a mask even if you have the smallest sign of a common cold. - Though, I do understand the fear of people who have/had long covid, MCFS or do know people who have, but I don't know what conclusio…

All the legitimate studies that did not find masks to be effective had glaring omissions, such as adherence to guidelines. Would you wear the mask properly or let it droop?

E.g. from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8499874/

Results: When the adherence to mask usage guidelines is taken into account, the empirical evidence indicates that masks prevent disease transmission: all studies we analysed that did not find surgical masks to be effective were under-powered to such an extent that even if masks were 100% effective, the studies in question would still have been unlikely to find a statistically significant effect.

Re: Covid 5 years later: Learning from a pandemic many are forgetting

#40

Post by Mistletoe »

dailykoder wrote: post #31
sonofhans wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can literally plug your last sentence directly into Google and get good information.

I did that and clicked through the first 5 links. Doesn't sound that obvious to me. I found this one interesting: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10446908/ > More studies found that masks (n = 39/47; 83%) and mask mandates (n = 16/18; 89%) reduced infection than found no effect (n = 8/65; 12%) or favoured controls (n = 1/65; 2%). Seven observational studies found that respirators were more protective than su…

Do we need them now? Probably not. But if we get another pandemic? Definitely.
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