Please hear me out, it is my most fervent wish and prayer that everyone comes out of this pandemic with as little harm as possible. SARS-Cov-2 can be a deadly virus, but it is not an equal oppotunity killer. Younger and healthy people overwhelmingly recover, google Infection Fatality Rates published by Ontario Public Health and you can see that for yourself. Those under 40 recover at better than a 99.9% rate as per the province's Enhanced Epidemiolgical Summary.
I will save you the trouble, here is the link. This is from June, and with improving treatments the numbers are dropping even more, Covid has become less of a mortal threat as time has gone forward.
I am not an epidemiologist and I don't have a degree in any field of medicine. With that being said I have taken undergrad science courses at the university level, so I am not completely illiterate in matters of science. Sadly, from the conversations I'm having, both on-line and in person, it seems to me most people are. Many seem to view science as a label to be slapped on something, and if it's from a reputable source people believe it is absolutely and emperically true.
Listen please. Science is a process, it is not about right and wrong. Science evolves, something is observed, there might be comparative studies done....but real tangible proof only comes after a Randomized Control Trial or RCT for short. The best science is when multiple RCTs prove the same thing. In science if something is true on Monday, then it has to be true on Tuesday, Wednesday and every other day of the week.
This brings me to masks, and the fact that there is no emprical proof that they have any utility in preventing a virus from spreading and infecting other people. I will say that again, there is no proof masks have any utility in preventing a virus from spreading and infecting other people.
Yes, there has been observational studies done on people breathing through masks, and what has been observed is a significant reduction in the quanity of respiratory droplets expelled. There have also been comparative studies between countries like Canada and Taiwan that show Taiwan (a country where mask wearing is common) showing lower numbers for Covid.
But correlation is not causation, there could be multiple factors beyond masks to explain Taiwan's better numbers, it may be that they hardly do any testing at all. Taiwan has tested less than one single percentage point of their population, while in Canada we've tested close to 20% of our population.
The problem is what has been observed and indicated by comparative studyt has been shown to be false in every Randomized Control Trial ever done. There have been at least 10 RCTs that have tested the ability of masks to reduce viral infection, and they've failed to prove any statiscally significant benefit.
Again, I'm not a medical doctor, I follow the lead of recognized experts. Some conspiracy types might disagree, but I consider the CDC to be a competent authority on matters of human health. Here is what the CDC says about their review of 10 RCTs looking at the utility of masks in preventing the spread of a viral disease. (All bolding is mine)
In our systematic review, we identified 10 RCTs that reported estimates of the effectiveness of face masks in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the community from literature published during 1946–July 27, 2018. In pooled analysis, we found no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.51–1.20; I2 = 30%, p = 0.25) (Figure 2)
And here is the link:
Please take note, I am not comparing Covid with the Flu, these are two different diseases. They do have some things in common, they also have differences. But both are diseases caused by viruses that are believed to be transmitted by the expulsion of respiratory droplets that are emitted when people breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, sing etc.
If a mask works to prevent droplets containing influenza viruses, then it will work to prevent the spread of SAR-Cov-2 infected droplets. Conversely if a mask has no benefit in preventing influenza transmission, then it won't help for SARS-Cov-2 transmission. Put another way if a cup leaks when holding water, it will still leak when holding milk.
We've gone backwards with the science of masking in relation to Covid-19. We have regressed from Radomized Control Trials that have shown they have no utility, to observational studies and comparisons that suggest they might. And because people are desperate for something, they latch onto inferior scientific evidence.
I can share more. The Ontario government tried to mandate that nurses who refused to be vaccinated for influenza in 2018, that they be required to wear masks while in their medical workplaces. The Province lost that fight because the nurses had science on their side and proved to the court that masks provide no benefit in preventing viral spread, not for the person wearing the mask, or for others.
I invite you to please read the news from the Nurse's Association itself.
Thinking that a mask will aid in preventing viral spread is not only irresponsible when the best science says it's not ture, it is also dangerous. Vulnerable individuals might just head into a store thinking that, because everyone is wearing a mask, that "oh good, it's safe". Perhaps this might explain why we're seeing a big jump in cases in Ontario and an increase in the hospitalization numbers as well. Thankfully our hospital numbers are nowhere close to where they were in April/May when we peaked up around 1,000 in hosptial including 200+ in ICUs.
Personally if a younger healthy person gets Covid, I'm not that worried. But I also have an 87 year old aunt that I adore, and I don't want her getting it, or thinking that the mask she is wearing is doing any good other than perhaps psychological.
In point of fact that is one reason I'm not that bent out of shape about wearing one now, I know that people are scared and seeing me without a mask in an indoor space, it could increase fear and anxiety....I don't wish to cause anyone distress, even though their fears have no basis in scienctific fact, the fear is still real.
Peace all and please try and be safe....if you're younger and healthy, enjoy your self....but let's do all we can to keep those for whom Covid-19 can be deadly as safe as humanly possible.
The best defense against Covid-19 is a robust immune system, if you don't have that please don't think masking is a panacea, it's not. And again, I'm not a medical professional so please verify everything I've shared, and if you have info on an RCT that proves masks have any utility in preventing viral infection please share. Just no observational studies or other low end science, we need to prove the gold standard wrong or follow it until something else emerges.
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