Re:Lyme disease bacteria eradicated by new drug in early tests
by djmips on Friday April 03, 2020 @05:02AM
(#22767428)
Right but if you can't tell if you're infected then you should always wear a mask. I mean how much more additional trouble is that then making everyone stay home.
Re:Lyme disease bacteria eradicated by new drug in early tests
by didibus on Saturday April 04, 2020 @01:23PM
(#22779751)
That there wasn't enough masks?
To be clear, I'm just saying the CDC never lied. You can disagree with its recommendation to try and save the masks supplies for Health Workers and people showing symptoms, but it never said that masks are ineffective. If anything, it might have said that it's still unclear how effective they are, but even then, it clearly took the cautionary approach.
If you read to the contrary, that was probably just a poor news source spewing misinformation. Or at least, I cannot find where on the official CDC channels they would have lied.
Their Jan 8 publication says:
> CDC currently recommends a cautious approach to symptomatic patients with a history of travel to Wuhan City. Such patients should be asked to wear a surgical mask as soon as they are identified and be evaluated in a private room with the door closed. Personnel entering the room to evaluate the patient should use contact precautions and wear an N95 disposable facepiece respirator
- https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/HAN00424.asp
And on Feb 21 their FAQ said:
> Q: Does CDC recommend the use of facemask in the community to prevent COVID-19?
> A: CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it. A facemask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected. The use of facemasks also is crucial for health workers and other people who are taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).
- https://wayback.archive-it.org/13529/20200221195555/https://...
So I'm not seeing where they ever said they were not effective. It says that if you are sick or showing symptoms you should wear a mask, but that they don't advise the general public to wear a mask because they are crucial to health care workers. To me this sounds like very good advice.