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What is meant by "masks work"?

Paradoxical

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I have asked scores of people this question to the sound of crickets. I have heard the mantra so much that it seems as if I am in some AA group where the participants say "Keep coming back. AA works". For the record, I have never attended or have any need for AA but have done research on them and their success rate is dismal. No better than someone using one of those dials that have a "Yes, No, or Maybe" on it.

So, this is what I see on "masks work" where it reminds me of a Christian saying "prayer works" and when asked to explain what they mean will go into a long dissertation about communing with Jesus/God and getting close to him and talk about everything EXCEPT what they mean by "prayer works." What it really is, is that everyone else in their cult is doing it and a few people CLAIMED that after they prayed for Sally to get better, lo and behold, she did, like some snake oil salesman dragging a few shills on the wagon train from the previous town swearing that the magic elixir healed them.

I grant the "scientific testing" because I am NOT a Christian as anyone can tell by my above comments. That testing was in a lab that showed how far sneezes and coughs travel and the size of the H2O molecules emitted and then figuring out the size of particles that a mask would stop. I am not aware of any other testing or double-blind studies or any other testing that would be considered even weakly scientific. If a reader here is, please submit that "scientific" report. Thus, if any of you are going to say that masks work against sneezes, coughs, and loud talking", I am not going to debate that. It's like saying a mask protects you against someone throwing up in your face, a situation that is as rare as someone coming over and whipping it out and peeing on your bare leg.

Is there any scientific evidence one can show me that in the states that don't require masks are faring worse? One would expect that if masks worked so great, we would have solid evidence that the death rates in those states are twice as much as those who do, but we see just the opposite.

So, folks, do masks work like prayer and AA "works"?
 
'So, folks, do masks work like prayer and AA "works"?'

No. Masking works much better than prayer or AA based on evidence of fact. For prayer, there is little or no evidence of fact. For AA, 7 Addiction specialists cite success rates between 8% and 12%: Alcohol Rehabilitation - How Alcoholics Anonymous or AA Works? (americanaddictioncenters.org) . As evidenced by the link in post #2, there is reliable evidence that masking is effective, variously, at much higher rates than either prayer or the AA "effective" range.

Don't expect any acknowledgement of the evidence given of mask effectiveness as being acceptable proof of such from the OP poster, though.
 
I have asked scores of people this question to the sound of crickets. I have heard the mantra so much that it seems as if I am in some AA group where the participants say "Keep coming back. AA works". For the record, I have never attended or have any need for AA but have done research on them and their success rate is dismal. No better than someone using one of those dials that have a "Yes, No, or Maybe" on it.

So, this is what I see on "masks work" where it reminds me of a Christian saying "prayer works" and when asked to explain what they mean will go into a long dissertation about communing with Jesus/God and getting close to him and talk about everything EXCEPT what they mean by "prayer works." What it really is, is that everyone else in their cult is doing it and a few people CLAIMED that after they prayed for Sally to get better, lo and behold, she did, like some snake oil salesman dragging a few shills on the wagon train from the previous town swearing that the magic elixir healed them.

I grant the "scientific testing" because I am NOT a Christian as anyone can tell by my above comments. That testing was in a lab that showed how far sneezes and coughs travel and the size of the H2O molecules emitted and then figuring out the size of particles that a mask would stop. I am not aware of any other testing or double-blind studies or any other testing that would be considered even weakly scientific. If a reader here is, please submit that "scientific" report. Thus, if any of you are going to say that masks work against sneezes, coughs, and loud talking", I am not going to debate that. It's like saying a mask protects you against someone throwing up in your face, a situation that is as rare as someone coming over and whipping it out and peeing on your bare leg.

Is there any scientific evidence one can show me that in the states that don't require masks are faring worse? One would expect that if masks worked so great, we would have solid evidence that the death rates in those states are twice as much as those who do, but we see just the opposite.

So, folks, do masks work like prayer and AA "works"?
Deaths in Japan where most people wore masks: 8,509
Deaths in the US where people politicized mask wearing: 546,605
 
Is there any scientific evidence one can show me that in the states that don't require masks are faring worse?
The nominal rules would be the key factor. The question would be if and when people are actually wearing masks. You could have places they're not required but most people choose to wear them anyway and other places where they're required but lots of people ignore the rules.

You'd also need to account for all the other factors than might influence overall statistics relating to the pandemic. Infection rates will be influenced by all the measures people take (or don't), not just mask wearing and a single super spreader incident could significantly impact the overall figures regardless of what the majority of the population are doing. Death rates will be influenced by age and general health of the population (and specifically of the people who happen to get infected) and the quality and scale of healthcare infrastructure.

Like so many social policy questions, this one is much more complicated than a lot of people give credit.
 
Man. The OP really bought into the Trump/Republican Media propaganda against being safe during a pandemic.

It's why he starts threads about a virus only being an US East Coast thing and such.
 
I have asked scores of people this question to the sound of crickets. I have heard the mantra so much that it seems as if I am in some AA group where the participants say "Keep coming back. AA works". For the record, I have never attended or have any need for AA but have done research on them and their success rate is dismal. No better than someone using one of those dials that have a "Yes, No, or Maybe" on it.

So, this is what I see on "masks work" where it reminds me of a Christian saying "prayer works" and when asked to explain what they mean will go into a long dissertation about communing with Jesus/God and getting close to him and talk about everything EXCEPT what they mean by "prayer works." What it really is, is that everyone else in their cult is doing it and a few people CLAIMED that after they prayed for Sally to get better, lo and behold, she did, like some snake oil salesman dragging a few shills on the wagon train from the previous town swearing that the magic elixir healed them.

I grant the "scientific testing" because I am NOT a Christian as anyone can tell by my above comments. That testing was in a lab that showed how far sneezes and coughs travel and the size of the H2O molecules emitted and then figuring out the size of particles that a mask would stop. I am not aware of any other testing or double-blind studies or any other testing that would be considered even weakly scientific. If a reader here is, please submit that "scientific" report. Thus, if any of you are going to say that masks work against sneezes, coughs, and loud talking", I am not going to debate that. It's like saying a mask protects you against someone throwing up in your face, a situation that is as rare as someone coming over and whipping it out and peeing on your bare leg.

Is there any scientific evidence one can show me that in the states that don't require masks are faring worse? One would expect that if masks worked so great, we would have solid evidence that the death rates in those states are twice as much as those who do, but we see just the opposite.

So, folks, do masks work like prayer and AA "works"?

I would have to guess you have started dozens of threads on this and have literally thousands of posts on this. Your compulsion to challenge the science on this is strange as you have brought no facts in these thousands of posts. A simple dislike of masks is all you bring.

To answer the thread cap, what "masks work" means is that when everyone wears a mask and socially distances infections plummet.

Pretty simple. Cut and dry.
 
Man. The OP really bought into the Trump/Republican Media propaganda against being safe during a pandemic.

It's why he starts threads about a virus only being an US East Coast thing and such.

it is an unhealthy obsession
 
Deaths in Japan where most people wore masks: 8,509
Deaths in the US where people politicized mask wearing: 546,605

this is objective, numbers.

the op is demanding that his irrational rejection of masks be overcome by us, which cannot be as he is determined not to drink the water of knowledge on this.
 
the is objective, numbers.

the op is demanding that his irrational rejection of masks be overcome by us, which cannot be as he is determined not to drink the water of knowledge on this.
Surgical masks have been used since the late 1800s. It's indisputable that they work, bigly.
 
'So, folks, do masks work like prayer and AA "works"?'

No. Masking works much better than prayer or AA based on evidence of fact. For prayer, there is little or no evidence of fact. For AA, 7 Addiction specialists cite success rates between 8% and 12%: Alcohol Rehabilitation - How Alcoholics Anonymous or AA Works? (americanaddictioncenters.org) . As evidenced by the link in post #2, there is reliable evidence that masking is effective, variously, at much higher rates than either prayer or the AA "effective" range.

Don't expect any acknowledgement of the evidence given of mask effectiveness as being acceptable proof of such from the OP poster, though.

So far my prayers for the ability to fly unaided have not been answered. I guess I'll have to rely on human invention.

Prayers - 0
Invention - 1
 
If we had masks that sound proof the wearer, they'd work even better.

More so if they'd also disable the typing fingers.:rolleyes:
 
Exactly how do masks work ?
The virus slips through with ease , so many times smaller than the air holes .
Meanwhile oxygen deprivation increases and all sorts of bacteria get trapped .
Where is the Magic factor ?

Or , do the viruses register the masks , take evasive action and look for other victims ? Ho , ho .
From Ms Puzzled .

P.S. Do the Sheeple know that visors are a safer form of protection even though neither they or the killer masks will stop those Pesky little Covid flies ?
 
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Exactly how do masks work ?
The virus slips through with ease , so many times smaller than the air holes .

Viruses don't travel alone - they hitch rides on droplet particles. Stop the particles and you stop the virus from being expelled into the air.

Weren't you claiming to be a doctor somewhere and you don't know this?
 
What is meant by “masks work” is that particle filters are effective.

Most likely accept that fact when it comes to using (and changing ing) their homes HVAC system’s, their vacuum cleaner’s and their IC engine’s air intake filters.

Are these particle filters 100% effective and being changed (and/or cleaned) as frequently as recommended? Most likely not, but they are better than having no particle filters at all until they become so clogged with particles that they impede air flow.
 
in hindsight all our country was REALLY doing was waiting on a vaccine. there are millions of folks like the OP who were never going to allow us to save the number of lives we should have.

QFT

Deplorable of them.
 
Viruses don't travel alone - they hitch rides on droplet particles. Stop the particles and you stop the virus from being expelled into the air.

Weren't you claiming to be a doctor somewhere and you don't know this?

You cannot argue with someone who just rejects science.

There is no debate with such a person. They are not in search of facts. Facts hold no value to these people. They are agenda driven not in want of knowledge.
 
I have asked scores of people this question to the sound of crickets. I have heard the mantra so much that it seems as if I am in some AA group where the participants say "Keep coming back. AA works". For the record, I have never attended or have any need for AA but have done research on them and their success rate is dismal. No better than someone using one of those dials that have a "Yes, No, or Maybe" on it.

You have asked this in the past, others have answered, yet here you are again.

So, this is what I see on "masks work" where it reminds me of a Christian saying "prayer works" and when asked to explain what they mean will go into a long dissertation about communing with Jesus/God and getting close to him and talk about everything EXCEPT what they mean by "prayer works." What it really is, is that everyone else in their cult is doing it and a few people CLAIMED that after they prayed for Sally to get better, lo and behold, she did, like some snake oil salesman dragging a few shills on the wagon train from the previous town swearing that the magic elixir healed them.

Random rant that reveals more about your issue with Christianity than the topic at hand.

I grant the "scientific testing" because I am NOT a Christian as anyone can tell by my above comments. That testing was in a lab that showed how far sneezes and coughs travel and the size of the H2O molecules emitted and then figuring out the size of particles that a mask would stop. I am not aware of any other testing or double-blind studies or any other testing that would be considered even weakly scientific. If a reader here is, please submit that "scientific" report. Thus, if any of you are going to say that masks work against sneezes, coughs, and loud talking", I am not going to debate that. It's like saying a mask protects you against someone throwing up in your face, a situation that is as rare as someone coming over and whipping it out and peeing on your bare leg.

What's odd is your singular focus on masks when they are only one of the tools recommended to prevent transmission. You would have a point if it were only masks that were recommended, but that is not the case. The practice of social distancing and masks comprise the mitigation measures, If you think just wearing a cloth mask will protect you if you're in a crowded indoor area, then that would be incorrect.

Is there any scientific evidence one can show me that in the states that don't require masks are faring worse?

Conclusively? Not that I'm aware of. Because there's been no way to effectively capture compliance and other variables. What we do have are various trends in states and what we can deduce from the case/hospitalization/death rates. It's also difficult to assess because some places didn't have state requirements but did at the county level.

One would expect that if masks worked so great, we would have solid evidence that the death rates in those states are twice as much as those who do, but we see just the opposite.

Again, you have various trends in the weekly stats where you see spikes and reductions that run pretty much in tandem with state restrictions. The other variable we cannot account for in the data is people's own behavior. None of the data sets I've seen factor this important variable in; that's particularly important in states with little to no restrictions.

So, folks, do masks work like prayer and AA "works"?

That all depends on what kind of mask and how you're using it. Some masks will offer both the wearer and others more protection than others. In the recommendations laid out by the CDC, it is a combination of mask usage and social distancing; not just masks.
 
Deaths in Japan where most people wore masks: 8,509
Deaths in the US where people politicized mask wearing: 546,605
This would have more impact if it was the per 100,000 death number.
 
One of the better studies was the non spread of Covid 19 when 2 stylists who had Covid 19 did not spread it to customers when all were wearing masks / face coverings.

Among 139 clients exposed to two symptomatic hair stylists with confirmed COVID-19 while both the stylists and the clients wore face masks, no symptomatic secondary cases were reported; among 67 clients tested for SARS-CoV-2, all test results were negative. Adherence to the community’s and company’s face-covering policy likely mitigated spread of SARS-CoV-2.


 
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You cannot argue with someone who just rejects science.

There is no debate with such a person. They are not in search of facts. Facts hold no value to these people. They are agenda driven not in want of knowledge.
Quite true.
 
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