We’re going to war culturally over whether we should wear masks or cloth face coverings out in public but it’s BS?
From Dr. Michael Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota:
The University of Minnesota's Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Dr. Michael Osterholm says that despite guidelines to the contrary, masks for the general public just don't help all that much.https://t.co/0nXxWJmz5A
— KDKA Radio Morning Show (@kdkaradioamnews) May 6, 2020
From the article:
“People want to wear a mask. That’s great. But I think we’re going to show in the end that many more health care workers were infected by working with only surgical masks and not N95 [masks]. I realize and understand the shortage of N95. I get that [surgical masks] are better than nothing, but I don’t think that it offers anywhere near the protection that we need for this virus.
“The next time you see the sunlight, peer through your room in your home and you see all that dust floating there, that’s an air assault. When you and I just talk, we create those.”
While many people are going out in public with cloth masks, Osterholm says the perceived protection they offer just isn’t there.
“Cloth masks, I think are at the very bottom of the list. They have little impact if any. But they’ve become basically something that people feel like they have to do or want to do it. If they want to do it, go ahead.”
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Great. We had security theater after 9/11 and now we’re going to have to deal with this? How many other doctors are telling us to wear masks because it will make us feel like we’re helping prevent the spread in some small way?
A month ago: "If you want to wear a cloth mask, use it," said Dr. Osterholm. "Know that I don't believe, or none of my colleagues, that this is going to have a major positive impact.” https://t.co/t3xEBziHkP
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) May 1, 2020
Dr. Osterholm also warned that the pandemic could from last 18-24 months until we hit herd immunity (without a vaccine):
Sunday morning perspective. Dr. Michael Osterholm says #COVID19 pandemic could last up to two years. "If you look at previous pandemics, that's exactly what happened" to get to 60-70% of the population getting infected and building immunity. https://t.co/cKkm7yqRVj pic.twitter.com/betCVTm2Ot
— Timothy Blotz (@TimBlotzFOX9) May 3, 2020
From the summary of the report above:
Whichever scenario the pandemic follows (assuming at least some level of ongoing mitigation measures), we must be prepared for at least another 18 to 24 months of significant COVID-19 activity, with hot spots popping up periodically in diverse geographic areas. As the pandemic wanes, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 will continue to circulate in the human population and will synchronize to a seasonal pattern with diminished severity over time, as with other less pathogenic coronaviruses, such as the betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1, (Kissler 2020) and past pandemic influenza viruses have done.
Watch:
Dr. Osterholm weighs in on new 18-24 month COVID-19 timeline https://t.co/5LzT2fKih5
— KARE 11 (@kare11) May 2, 2020
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