wgdsr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 10:48 am
NattyBohChamps04 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:32 am
wgdsr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 1:14 amxxx.
i question how we've used them as policy. and what we haven't done instead.
ftr, because of your wording on a post (studies showing ineffective), that i had already adjusted re: study conclusion, i suspected you weren't looking to be provided a link with your 2nd pass with that phrase, as it maybe wasn't what you wanted. (a study showing masks "ineffective" vs inconclusive). but of course you then decided to be your pleasant self.
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/m20-6817
so... where is that best study? or have i been given what i asked for?
Policy questions are a very different matter vs. actual effectiveness.
Inconclusive is very different from conclusive ineffective results. So yes, still waiting on those, even though we provide conclusive results for other negative outcomes when asked. Not sure there will ever be a "best" study that would make you happy.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02457-y
I have to be my pleasant self because a portion of the population is screwing the rest of us over. And I'm tired of it. And even if we had perfect policy and communications, it will still be flat out rejected by many.
nah. you don't have to be your pleasant self in a debate here on fanlax unless someone throws the first stone at you. that's your choice, my man.
so short digging last night didn't locate a peer review on your best study for me. doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
and we'll dispense with problems with the study as they all have them and you've shown good faith on your end. let's assume it's spot on.
what we have, then:
- surgical masks are "effective"
- cloth masks are "not effective/can't tell/inconclusive"
so for just this one policy decision and you are the new mask czar and get to do the great reset: what do you do?
Too simplistic a question, which of course you know.
Is there a predicted surge in infections of a highly transmissible, too often deadly respiratory virus? What's the prediction for hospitalizations if not slowed down? EG Omicron. With only half the country partly vaccinated ala Delta. Or with no vaccinations and known effective therapies ala Alpha?
Varying situations, but all highly problematic if hospitalizations overwhelm staffing and other capacity.
If dire, you betcha that the 'czar' is encouraging masks for everyone in proximity of others, especially indoors with little ventilation. Social distancing when possible.
And yes, the Czar is encouraging, perhaps even providing, the very best known masks. Or working to get many more such produced. Meanwhile, encouraging whatever the best available 'mask' can be found...a little help is better than no help.
Confused by all this? Look at the Asian countries that have previously experienced respiratory epidemics in recent decades, fresh experiences in their population's memory...what do they do?
Do you mandate wear in certain situations? The Asian countries certainly do.
When do you stop mandating? Gets even more complicated, right?
Seems to me we get back to predicted hospitalizations. At some point (in a country like ours) we let people do as they want if hospitalizations are low and predicted to stay low even with restrictions lifted.
But they go back on if another major surge is coming.