The new variant and masks

[dolphins4life]

Covid cases are on the rise again.  There's a new variant out there.  I continue to wear my mask and will continue to do so

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3AMslS6cKw

This is Dr. Fauci being interviewed by CNN about masks.

He is asked to respond to a study that claims they did not work

His response is rather confusing

He says, "When you are talking about at the population level that the data are less strong than than knowing that if you look on a situation as an individual, protecting themselves or protecting them from spreading it, there's no doubt that masks work"

I don't understand what he is saying.  Is there anybody who could break that down for me?

He goes on, 'Different studies give different percentage of advantage of wearing it."  This is clear and easy to understand.

Then, the Cochrane study is brought up:

Fauci seems to contradict himself.  He says, "The data is less strong on the effects of masks on the pandemic as whole, but on an individual level, there's no doubt there is an advantage."

Individuals are part of the pandemic as a whole.  Isn't that contradictory?

He goes on to repeat that at the broad population level the data are less strong, but is strong at the individual level.  What does that mean?

[CF DolFan]

Fauci is a fraud who follows the money so his opinion will always vary according to who is paying him. If you feel safer wearing a mask then by all means go for it. My family and I just got over having Covid again and it was much, much, nicer than the original version. I spent 4 days in the hospital the 1st time and haven't seen anything to convince me that wearing a mask is better than not. If you can smell a fart or cologne then you will breathe in Covid regardless.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

He didn’t contradict himself.  He admitted that one study found it was unable to prove masks were effective on a global scale.  Note that isn’t the same as proving they weren’t effective just that the particular data set wasn’t conclusive either way.  Multiple other studies proved they are effective.

[masterfins]

The typical masks people wear (NOT N95 type masks) do very little to protect you from GETTING Covid, their purpose is to prevent the WEARER (who already has covid) from spreading it to others.  If you think about a surgeon wearing masks/gloves/etc. it's to protect the patient from catching something from the hospital staff, not from catching something from the patients (yes there are some times it's the opposite, but not normally).

[Dave Gray]

^ I don't think people WANT to understand this.  It's been said again and again for three years and it's just ignored by the people who want to ignore it.

I saw a study the other day that was basically about how people are too dumb to understand science in relation to COVID.  That, in a lot of these places, it came down to intelligence in order to get people to understand how to protect themselves and that was the failure -- people's science understanding and education is so poor that even when the information is available to them, they don't get it.

[CF DolFan]

That’s a BS perspective and one that’s just trying to shame people into following directives. For instance … the science showed kids were least affected by Covid and yet people wanted them home schooled or no schooled. Those same people were freaking out because I chose not to wear a mask or stay home because I saw it was only a threat to people who were already compromised by something else. I also knew I had antibodies after having Covid which our leaders were telling us were useless. We all saw the same science but now more people believe like I did and are refusing to mask back up. Interpreting science results has somehow become political and I’m not entirely sure why as there are very intelligent people on both sides.

[Spider-Dan]

I spent 4 days in the hospital the 1st time and haven't seen anything to convince me that wearing a mask is better than not.

As I recall, spending 4 days in the hospital did not change your opinions on masking.
So it's hard to imagine any less severe event changing your mind.

[Dave Gray]

I only read the headline originally, but I think this might be the study about intelligence and COVID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8584527/

[Brian Fein]

The facts on COVID evolved as time went on and scientists learned more.  At first, they said not to wear masks because there was a supply shortage and literally hospital employees needed them the most.  

Once that was cleared, they said "everyone should wear masks OR stay home" and them people got mad about that because of the evolution of the instructions.  Its common sense that wearing a literal particulate filter over your face would HELP prevent the spread of germs of any kind.

Now people have pretty much stopped wearing masks, although some still do an I am fine with that.  But that's largely because of the implementation of vaccinations.  When people started getting vaccinated, masks became less important because COVID became less deadly.

Here's the thing - SCIENCE DOESN'T HAVE "SIDES" - Science is the discovery of fact.  There is no beliefs, no persuasion.  Its fact.  Like anything, science discoveries can evolve and change over time, and we have to accept that and adapt as it comes.  The denial of science, for some people, isn't a political stance, its just rhetoric.

[CF DolFan]

As I recall, spending 4 days in the hospital did not change your opinions on masking.
So it's hard to imagine any less severe event changing your mind.

I spent 4 days in the hospital because they said I had double pneumonia. I never had any breathing issues per se. All I wanted was an IV at a walk-in ER because I was dehydrated and they transported me to the hospital. Fat guy with high blood pressure did well because I was only 50 and exercise pretty regularly.  Had I been 65 I might have been taken more precautions as senior citizens need to do but I didn't feel the need.

We actually took 3 vacations out of the state of Florida that year (2 to Gatlinburg, Tn and 1 to Blue Ridge, Georgia) to heavily populated areas and never got sick because we maintained safe distances but no masks. It wasn't until my daughter brought it home and we physically touched that we got it.  Even then if we had known her "sniffles" were covid and not allergies we would have probably been ok.

[CF DolFan]

I just remembered this which will probably really freak you out Spider. I found out Christmas Eve day I had covid although I had been sick for a few days. My wife was just starting fevers etc. On Christmas Day my in-laws made us come over if just for a bit as my SIL and BIL were visiting from out of town. They all hugged us, ate with us, and opened presents without the first mask on and no one else got sick. Crazy right? hahaha

[Fau Teixeira]

the science showed kids were least affected by Covid and yet people wanted them home schooled or no schooled.

Teachers and school staff exist and they also count in this whole decision to shut down in-person schooling.

Teachers are not first responders, they have no ethical responsibility to be exposed to potentially lethal threats because people chose to send their sick kids to school.

[Dave Gray]

It's really not all that complicated:

In times of a pandemic with airborne virus, everyone distancing and wearing masks where possible helps reduce chance of infection in a variety of ways.  You could not wear a mask and have someone sneeze in your mouth and you still might not get COVID.  Or you could both wear masks and get COVID anyway.  It's just about swinging the percentages to reduce exposure.

Vaccine, distancing, extra care to hygiene, masking...even not putting yourself in certain situations, understanding your personal risks -- they are al just tools in the tool box that when used in conjunction can help reduce the chances of severe illness and potential death.  Those that used these tools did better statistically than those that did not.

[Fau Teixeira]

Vaccine, distancing, extra care to hygiene, masking...even not putting yourself in certain situations, understanding your personal risks -- they are al just tools in the tool box that when used in conjunction can help reduce the chances of severe illness and potential death.  Those that used these tools did better statistically than those that did not.

It's obviously the people that know better than anyone else that most obviously don't understand this.
Resist masking, Resist vaccines. Resist social distancing. All as some sort of political statement.

Herman Cain award winners, all of them.

[dolphins4life]

Can anybody explain what Fauci means by the global level vs the individual level?

The big question is, do they help against Covid? 

For CF, this link is for you. Covid does affect children

https://www.news4jax.com/news/2021/08/10/pediatric-covid-19-hospitalizations-spike-in-florida/