> Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus...
https://twitter.com/surgeon_general/status/12337257852839321...
It's not surprising people got "masks don't work" from that messaging.
> but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
“ CDC does not currently recommend the use of facemasks to help prevent novel #coronavirus. Take everyday preventive actions, like staying home when you are sick and washing hands with soap and water, to help slow the spread of respiratory illness. ”
Look at the most recent CDC mask advice. They're not saying "masks work", they're using much more cautious language: "masks may work". https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-si...
Bullshit. Most of all because it's not a binary issue at all. Even if masks reduce the number of particles you exhale and inhale only by 30%, that makes a huge difference for the population as a whole.
Parent comment doesn't claim it is binary, or rest on it being binary. Post good quality evidence to show that marks work.
It. Was. Not. The WHO and CDC both issued guidance that public use of personal protective equipment was a bad idea, for fundamental scarcity reasons. And in both cases the messaging was done poorly in a few spots and could have been interpreted as statement that masks don't work against covid. They were heavily criticized for this at the time, and the criticism was carried by the media. No expert ever told people that masks don't work, or that the public shouldn't wear them. They were telling people to save them for the health care workers!
And getting to the point upthread: that bit of misinformation is, again, something being deliberately propagated by people with a political agenda.