Over the last few months, our fearless infectious disease leader, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the Ivory Tower of medical journals, the New England Journal of Medicine, have clearly informed us that mask wearing by the healthy is little more than symbolic ‘Virtue Signaling.’
For those Karen’s and Felicia’s who have tried to shout me down like a Tourette’s tick with ‘Social Media Science,’ in Wal-Mart, in the big box stores, at the gas station and at the burger shop, lets look closely at what the New England Journal of Medicine said on May 21, 2020.
We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection. Public health authorities define a significant exposure to COVID-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic COVID-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 30 minutes). The chance of catching COVID-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal. In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.
So, why have we been ordered to wear are masks everywhere by mayors and governors and city officials across the country? Symbolism. Pure and simple symbolism. From that same NEJM article:
It is also clear that masks serve symbolic roles. Masks are not only tools, they also serve as a talisman [an object that acts as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune] that may help increase health care workers’ perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals.
The Surgeon General was widely mocked and ridiculed for suggesting in March that masks might even increase the spread of the virus. Yet, here, in the “journal of all medical journals,” the NEJM provides the same warning to mask-wearers:
What is clear, however, is that universal masking alone is not a panacea. A mask will not protect providers caring for a patient with active COVID-19 if it’s not accompanied by meticulous hand hygiene, eye protection, gloves, and a gown. A mask alone will not prevent health care workers with early COVID-19 from contaminating their hands and spreading the virus to patients and colleagues. Focusing on universal masking alone may, paradoxically, lead to more transmission of COVID-19 if it diverts attention from implementing more fundamental infection-control measures.
However, suddenly on June 17th, 2020, Dr. Fauci suddenly changed his tune, and contrary to all the scientific evidence and over 50 years of medical literature on the subject, said wearing a mask is “better than nothing.” Within weeks, executive orders for mask wearing were signed across the nation.
The argument should have been over. Anyone advocating for universal mask wearing by the healthy, according to all the mask wearing literature, is merely engaging in virtue signaling, not actual public health.
Cities and states across the nation have mandated mask wearing (some even advocate using bananas). I’m not telling you to break the law. I am saying that the mask mandate has done nothing to “slow the spread” as so many people have now bought into. Research demonstrates that homemade masks do little to stop the spread of viral infections. It also demonstrates that properly fitted surgical masks worn correctly decrease this risk of viral spread in a highly controlled setting at the very best by only 2-5%.
In the most recent comprehensive review of the mask wearing literature, the authors stated, “The evidence is not sufficiently strong to support widespread use of face-masks as a protective measure against COVID-19. However, there is enough evidence to support the use of face-masks for short periods of time by particularly vulnerable individuals when in transient higher risk situations.”
What is effective is washing your hands regularly with soap and water, avoiding those who are actually sick or have fevers over 101 degrees, eating a healthy diet that prevents diabetes risk and getting adequate sleep. Those at high risk for infection can and should be vigilant about avoiding exposure to those who are sick.
For the rest of us, it’s time to unmask. I, myself, struggle daily to maintain enough virtue in my bones for myself, let alone signal others about it all day long.