NOTE:
The author apparently does not use upper case letters.
The third chart (a mask study summary)
is difficult to read, even after I improved it.
Ye Editor
"masks failed. they do not stop covid, masks never stopped covid, could not stop covid, and were known for 100 years not to stop respiratory viruses. the data from schools is outlandishly strong.
sorry to all the talismanic adherents out there who want to feel like they “did something” and visibly show tribal affinity and signal virtue, but you have all been had.
the studies supporting this pseudoscience are all junk (mass gen, kansas, bangladesh, 200 silly droplet models) and the high quality studies all show inefficacy and have for generations.
they do not even work as source control when worn by trained medical staff in operating theaters.
that is not what they are for.
why are once more the fonts of fallacious talking points overflowing with prescription and “you need an n-95 cuz omicron”?
it seems to be everywhere. i suspect this is likely because so many others have finally had to acquiesce that “yes, cloth masks are pandemic cosplay and do nothing to stop spread..”
... the new tactical retreat into “we just need better masks this time” is just more of the same.
it’s just a way to climb down and avoid addressing a huge body of evidence by claiming everyone did it wrong.
... best i can tell, it’s entirely made up (just as “source control, your mask protects me”) was made up and then post facto justified with a bunch of utterly irrelevant “mannequin sneeze mask” studies and other such stage magician legerdemain to avoid having to measure actual clinical outcomes.
these are populist political talking points, not epidemiology.
... omicron changed nothing from a mask perspective. it’s the same virion. same size, same ability to pass through mask fibers, same aerosol characteristics, same ability to flow out the sides and edges because your mask is not (and cannot be) sealed.
it may well be more contagious, but this has nothing to do with anything that a mask would affect.
it’s incredibly obvious this does not work:
all the breath comes out the top and sides and the virion hangs in the air for ~2 weeks afterwards. the idea that you just need 6 feet of space and droplet control was entirely invented.
it never had any basis in fact.
... masks have become a literal addiction. (this is a known and studied phenomenon)
... discernment and logic went out the window.
and people who really ought to know better are inflicting great harm onto those unable to defend themselves.
this is not some harmless precaution, it’s an alienating and isolating symbol of fear and abnormality.
it breaks human contact, communication, empathy, and community. it is not helping. it’s just more needless damage.
and it’s time we said “no more.”
