WHO still recommend not wearing mask, unless you are infected or caring for an infected person.
Yeah, it's a stain on scientific institutions that the WHO and CDC are peddling unscientific nonsense. Makes me sad.
Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
51–60 of 156 posts
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#52Is there any real evidence that masks provide any value for healthy people (excluding health care workers)? All I've seen are anecdotes from internet armchair experts.
It's all linked on the website: https://tiny.cc/maskswork
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
> for some reason They recommend against wearing medical to help cull the shortage, and they recommend against wearing non-medical because they can provide a false sense of security, especially when worn incorrectly. Both very good reasons, IMO. I just assume that anyone wearing a mask is doing so because they're infected, as per the recommendations, and I'm giving them a wide berth.
>>> ...and I'm giving them a wide berth. Another reason to wear a mask.
Non-medical masks don't keep stuff out. They just keep stuff in, so the only reason to wear it is to not spread your water droplets when you sneeze or cough. Medical masks keep stuff out, but are in short supply.
I think I'm helping more by going with the recommendations and not wearing a mask. Some people feel better wearing them, and that's fine too.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#54Is there any real evidence that masks provide any value for healthy people (excluding health care workers)? All I've seen are anecdotes from internet armchair experts.
[deleted]
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#55WHO still recommend not wearing mask, unless you are infected or caring for an infected person.
They do not recommend wearing a mask, which is different from recommending not to wear a mask.
Edit: Here's the WHO's stance on wearing masks: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good point. Also, from the site: > "Note: Please do not buy surgical or N95 masks because we need to keep those available for the doctors, nurses and first responders so they can stay healthy and care for the ill."
Kinda dumb point, since a healthcare worker is the one who gave me my single surgical mask in the first place. They don't want you to "donate" back a single used mask that your doctor gave you in the first place.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that you donate used masks, but you make a good point that we shouldn't assume that someone wearing a professional-grade mask is wearing one that should have gone to a healthcare worker.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
> for some reason They recommend against wearing medical to help cull the shortage, and they recommend against wearing non-medical because they can provide a false sense of security, especially when worn incorrectly. Both very good reasons, IMO. I just assume that anyone wearing a mask is doing so because they're infected, as per the recommendations, and I'm giving them a wide berth.
Yes, but the messaging is not consistent which leads to public distrust, which might actually be worse. Don't wear masks, they don't help! But we need them because they do actually help! It's obviously not that simple but that's the way it's being perceived.
> which leads to public distrust
Maybe a minority, as there will always be, but I think most people are aware of the difference between medical and non-medical masks, and feel the messaging is consistent.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's stupid. N95 masks are in short supply and so should be reserved for healthcare workers and those caring for the infected but sugical masks can still help slow the spread. People should be weraring those in public. But the only messaging from the top is not to wear the masks
There seems to be evidence that masks can make your exposure worse by trapping some amount of air containing the virus under the mask, making you more exposed. If you are sick they can protect others around you, but if you are healthy, less so. In that context the flip of public opinion makes some sense: as we go from assuming most people are healthy to assuming most people are sick, masks for everyone in public can…
> At that point it’s like putting your shirt over your nose: looks like you are protected but there are giant gaps that let in air.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3373043/
A cut t-shirt over your nose is actually quite good, so long as the pattern is somewhat tested. No, its no where close to an N95 mask, but even aerosol sprays can be somewhat mitigated with a simple cut t-shirt.
There are some internet studies suggesting an efficacy of 70% for T-shirts against 1-micron (bacteria) and 0.02 micron (viruses) particles. That's 6x worse than an N95 mask, but much better than unprotected.
EDIT: It seems like the flu (also a 0.02 micron virus) is primarily on water-droplets 5 microns in size. So we don't actually have to reach N95 mask levels for a major amount of protection, aiming at the 5 micron sized moisture bubbles is already going to help us severely.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#59Interesting how the public opinion on this turned around as the virus spread. I wonder if this will lead to people in the west wearing surgical masks during flu season like people do in Asia.
While I agree, it wasn’t just general public opinion. In NYC at least, it was widely stated in the media by government officials and doctors that masks were unnecessary if you’re healthy, and actually could be bad because people were 1) removing surgical/n95 masks from supply, 2) wearing a cloth mask improperly sanitized can make you sick with other things. I like how Jeremy’s site has directly addressed those origin…
does it have to be n95 to prevent spread? my understanding was the n95 rating protects you from infected people where a plain old surgical mask protects others from you. In other words, the n95 mask has what it needs to prevent you inhaling the virus where a regular mask has what it needs to prevent a sneeze or cough from escaping to the people around you.
Re: Masks4All: Wear a mask to stop the spread of Coronavirus (Jeremy Howard)
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's stupid. N95 masks are in short supply and so should be reserved for healthcare workers and those caring for the infected but sugical masks can still help slow the spread. People should be weraring those in public. But the only messaging from the top is not to wear the masks
There seems to be evidence that masks can make your exposure worse by trapping some amount of air containing the virus under the mask, making you more exposed. If you are sick they can protect others around you, but if you are healthy, less so. In that context the flip of public opinion makes some sense: as we go from assuming most people are healthy to assuming most people are sick, masks for everyone in public can…
Not an expert but I have never heard of this air trapping phenomenon, unless it is introduced by putting on the mask with infected hands I suppose. How would it get there in the first place?