We're not testing people; there is clear asymptomatic/mild/undetected case transmission. How are people supposed to know when they should mask up? What is "sick enough" given this isn't like SARS—no consistent febrile presentation? Truth is, there aren't enough masks.
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Replying to @zeynep
That’s exactly my point. There aren’t enough masks. In the same way people can perform the flawed mental math that decides “Hey, I’m at some increased risk and I should wear this mask,” they can instead decide to stay home.
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Replying to @domillima
Telling people "there isn't enough masks" is what I propose rather than telling them masks don't work, or that they only need them if they are sick (since they cannot know when). Hong Kong, Taiwan etc. aren't all staying home. They masked up and life goes on, epidemic contained.
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Replying to @zeynep
“There aren’t enough masks” sounds akin to “there aren’t enough lifeboats.” I don’t know how this is any less hysteria inducing. Strictly speaking I believe that masks alone do not work. The virus lives 10-12 hours on contact surfaces.
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Replying to @domillima
It's not all or nothing. If that were the case, health care workers wouldn't be wearing them. There are papers out of Wuhan, comparing mask wearing and non-wearing healthcare workers, by the way. No infections among mask wearers, many among non-wearers. (I'll find paper again).
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Replying to @zeynep @domillima
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.02.18.20021881v1.full.pdf … Look at what Taiwan did again. They distributed masks, blocked hoarding, ramped up domestic production. Much saner, and health care people have the masks they need, plus lower rate of infection among the public, too.
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Replying to @zeynep
That’s exactly the paper. Methodologically flawed. N95 use in a particular ward generalized to people out in public. Yes if we had unlimited supply everyone could do what they please. These public health recommendations are couched in the context the resources we have.
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Replying to @domillima @zeynep
The paper does not generalize to the public. Its conclusions are occupation-specific. Baffling to see the resistance to a tool that almost certainly carries no harm, yet has epidemiological support, several possible mechanisms, and some modest evidence of effectiveness.
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Replying to @ataraxisfinch @domillima
The issue is the shortage, and I think a lot of people in health think telling folks to preserve them for the sick will work when, in my view and experience, it backfires and encourages hoarding.
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Replying to @zeynep @domillima
There is no shortage! I know several suppliers that have stock. It’s just poor supply management and resourcing.
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No, there is a real shortage. They are cancelling all sorts of things here at the med school/hospital at my university (UNC) because of the mask shortage. It's terrible.
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