Major spikes in spread will be driven by people, even in the minority, not adhering to masking guidelines. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/201...2019-ncov/more/masking-science-sars-cov2.html
For someone who is so active in this community and likes to pretend that you are educated on the subject, you sure are clueless. Masks have been proven effective. Models have been ran by experts based on data that has been extracted from masks studies and these have proven that it has reduced the spread. No one, and I mean no one, has claimed that masks are 100% effective at preventing virus particles from leaving or entering one's airways. You are right, IMPROPER MASK WEARING, is absolutely idiotic. I'm glad I have self-restrain, but man, the amount of stupid mask wearing that I've seen over the course of the last year and a half is really really really infuriating. That doesn't mean that we should eliminate mask mandates. The masks work. Nothing is 100% effective. The vaccines are not 100% effective (since you want to argue this BS "it either works or it doesn't"). To date what has reduced catastrophic events is mask wearing, social distancing, and vaccines. Granted, each one has levels of effectiveness, which is why a vaccine would have a ton more effectiveness than a mask. However, as this virus mutates into other variants, the vaccines could potentially have less effectiveness as shown in studies and as also shown in the uptick of cases that we are seeing this summer. Stop arguing based on your opinions and feelings. Those mean absolutely nothing. What has happened this summer is that people relaxed because they felt safe with the vaccine, but as has been proven time and time again during this pandemic, we are still gathering more and more data to fully understand this virus and now that it is mutating, we have to start looking at alternatives to curve the spread. Vaccination is key, however, our unvaccinated friends have made this summer more miserable for everybody with their idiotic conspiracies and lack of critical thinking skills.
If you're unwilling to read authoritative sources of information relating to the virus that provides ample citations to the relevant scientific literature, then what are you basing your opinions on? I asked for a single scientific study that supports your contention that masks aren't effective, and you've yet to provide anything.
I don't get it. IIRC the virus thingy magically went away the after the 2020 election, just like Trump said it would. I can hardly wait until the end of August when Trump returns to the White House so he can "only fix" this virus once and for all.
Ah, the good folks of Tennessee. To e fair, it is one group of people from Tennessee. Can you guess who they voted for?
Seriously, if somebody takes CDC as gospel at this point, they simply can't be helped. This is the same CDC that based it's re-masking proposals on a rejected paper from India. Then you have them using the NYT as source material... https://www.wpr.org/cdc-said-delta-variant-contagious-chickenpox-thats-not-accurate
I agree with most of what you're saying. But it's those same critical thinking skills that I feel are lacking when it comes to mask efficacy.
I've been swabbing coughing sneezing covid patients with only a simple blue mask on and these Trump supporters are saying it doesn't protect me? This cult is insane.
You make the assertion that masking is useless unless N95/KN95. you are presented with data. You assert said data is useless. your “support” for your position is that the vast majority of the country was masked but covid spread like wildfire. You provide no basis for that assertion because there is none. Millions were unmasked, or don’t you remember the summer of trump telling his people not to wear masks? And millions today still refuse to wear masks. so basically, you believe what you want to believe based on unsubstantiated assertions that belie actual science, facts, and reason. Are you a Trumper? Serious question.
@SuraGotMadHops to be clear, masks significantly limit the likelihood of the wearer transmitting covid. N95/KN95 masks provide meaningful protection to the wearer from getting covid. I don’t know if you understood the difference. Both are significant weapons in the fight against covid.
You mentioned the paper from India earlier. The re-masking guidelines were not exclusively based on the India study. That was one among several citations given. The increased viral load of Delta in vaccinated people is very well established by this point. Also, you don't know why the reviewers initially rejected that India study. Revision of the paper is in progress. Community masking recommendations to curb spread of coronavirus is not limited to places guided by CDC by any means. Masks are being recommended world-wide where there is high transmission. Is there an authoritative health organization who's information you'd trust that has provided information on effectiveness of masks for the coronavirus? One questionable statement from one slide in an internal presentation doesn't invalidate all the information about the coronavirus that the CDC makes available to the public. The main message of the presentation, as your link points out, is that Delta is far more contagious than the alpha strain and requires stronger preventative measures to curb spread. No serious person disputes this.
In Hong Kong where masking is universal, is enforced, and has long been practice for people who are ill even before COVID the number of cases are miniscule compared to the US and there have only been 212 deaths TOTAL... This is even with HK being significantly denser than most of the US and also lagging behind vaccination compared to the US.
I find it rich that many of the people who are going around saying that the CDC is wrong and Fauci is wrong also were touting Hydroxychloroquine and that Sweden's model was the best.
Well some Americans pointedly scoff at Asian cultures who are more "compliant" and would use your case as reason to fight further masking initiatives here.