The other day I had a discussion with a friend of mine about the pandemic and wearing masks. Without a twitch he said that the pandemic was no big deal and masks don’t work anyway. Being the calm cool collected guy I am, I retorted, “Na ha!”
He really got me flustered, which is very easy to do and it had me in a dither. He just threw out a bunch of things, as if facts, and pointed out how wrong I was. Having a mind like a vegetable strainer, I could not quote any facts off the top of my head even though I know they are true. He was not at the same disadvantage. It seems he just made up stuff to support what he wanted the world to think. So the best retort I could come up with to his flawed argument was, “Oh yea…” Guess I told him.
As I was driving home, I spent most of the time coming up with clever and witty comebacks, but by the time they came to me, this guy was 40 miles behind me, satisfied in how he trounced me in our little debate. Fortunately, I know a person who is educated and works in public health. He is quite versed in the wearing of masks and how things like disease spread. I gave him a call and asked if he would mind letting me interview him for this little response. When I told him about my little debate over masks and Covid-19, I’m pretty sure his head exploded. Heard a loud boom and a bright light from the direction of his house. I also altered all the nasty words he directed at my debating partner.
Q: What is your profession?
A: My job is in public health protecting from environmental diseases (communicable and non).
Q: So your job is to save lives, like a superhero?
A: You could say that. Kind of like Superman, but not as good looking in Spandex. Guess I need to hit the weights.
Q: What is your knowledge about wearing face protection?
A: My work includes evaluating, testing and training on the proper selection, use and limitations of respirators to protect against dangerous airborne hazards including gases, dusts and biological agents. My profession’s certification requires I continue reading, researching and educating myself on environmental health issues. Comes in handy when trying to keep myself up-to-date for my job. My knowledge about face coverings, like surgical masks, comes from experience and ongoing education of public health protections.
Q: What have you determined?
A: Masks or face coverings are not100% protective. Properly fitted/worn N95s offer 95% efficiency for keeping dust/viruses out of your lungs and your lung juice out of others’ lungs, gross. Good quality surgical masks can offer from about 80-90% protection from exhaling particles (viruses in droplets). They also protect you from inhaling others’ droplets, but at a lower efficiency. But this discussion is pointless in light of the greater issue. Seat belts aren’t 100% protective, heart/seizure medications are not 100% protective, no safety measure is 100% protective; but they save more lives than they don’t. And 80% is like playing Russian roulette with one bullet. Not wearing a mask is like playing with 5 bullets. And since you might be the carrier, you not wearing a mask is like pointing the gun at someone else, even if they are wearing a mask.
Me wearing a mask is more protective for you. It stops the virus from escaping from me to getting into you. If everyone wears one, the transmission of the disease falls to almost zero. While the 80% protected number is not solid and not necessarily the same for all face coverings/masks, it’s higher than 0%. As a result, we reduce that 6 million dead number.
When people don’t wear masks, they are gambling and should know the odds. Wearing a mask beats the odds, not wearing one is as dumb as hitting on 20 while playing Black Jack. Hey, I like to gamble every once in a while but I’ll stick to losing my hard earned money instead of my or a loved one’s life.
Q: How do you respond to people who say that Covid-19 is not a big deal and the death toll is only .02 percent?
A: Math, the answer to everything is math. First off, the mortality rate is 2%, which is the ratio of those that caught the disease and died from it, divided by those that caught the disease (which equals 0.02 or 2%). Multiply that rate by the population of the United States, which is 327 million, and it will result in 6.53 million dead. Who is willing to accept that number of dead? Is there a member of your family you’re willing to sacrifice so you don’t have to wear a mask?
Q: What do you think of How Sweden addressed the virus?
A: If we followed Sweden’s plan, it would be a disaster. They started out by just letting the virus run its course without restrictions. They have now started doing shutdowns because it is decimating their economy and packing their hospitals. The only herd immunity that won’t decimate our economies is through vaccination.
Q: Do you believe there are other consequences of the disease?
A: So if you’re willing to accept 6 million dead, what about the untold millions more that will have permanent disabilities (called long haulers) like neurological issues, diminished lung capacity and heart disease. Our tax dollars will be going to pay for the long term care of these victims. Is that OK? Or here’s a fun one for men, it’s been found to cause impotency. Is that worth putting a piece of cloth over your face when you’re at the store?
Another side effect of this pandemic is the fact that our hospitals are slammed with those infected with the virus. As a result, patients with other life threatening diseases are at risk because they can not get proper medical care.
Q: Why should I trust your opinion over my friend’s?
A: So what are your friend’s credentials and what makes anything he says gospel? On the other hand, why is the scientific community’s consensus considered %^$#@(?! (I had to cut out the word he used here. It’s not very nice) and what he’s heard is the truth? I’ll believe your friends opinion of how viruses work after he’s taken epidemiology, public health, pathology, anatomy/physiology and biochemistry courses and practices a career of protecting people’s health from known hazards. In the meantime, your friend should stick with clarifying the differences in Letter and A4 paper sizes.
Wow, now I’m loaded for bear. If my friend wants to continue our debate, I’ll be ready for him. Hope he sticks to this subject though. If he doesn’t, I’ve been practicing some snappy comebacks just in case. How’s this? “So’s your old man.” That should put him in his place.
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