Opinion by Kip Hansen — 15 May 2021
If there was ever a surer example of the perversion of the Power of Experts than the Covid Mask Mania, I am unaware of it. I doubt that there is a single self-aware person in the world that does not know what the Covid Mask Mania means, even most of those who have been stanch supporters and promoters of The Mask are aware that it is, in fact, a product of a world-wide Mass Hysteria that grew out of the unknowns surrounding the outbreak of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China in late 2019.
Those of you who still have the ability to remember the recent past, despite endless propaganda aimed at making you forget, the original CDC Guidance on Face Masks for Covid-19 was this:
Wear a facemask if you are sick
If you are sick: You should wear a facemask when you are around other people (e.g., sharing a room or vehicle) and before you enter a healthcare provider’s office. If you are not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), then you should do your best to cover your coughs and sneezes, and people who are caring for you should wear a facemask if they enter your room. Learn what to do if you are sick.
If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a facemask). Facemasks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers.
[ source CDC website dated 28 March 2020 via WayBack Machine ]
The Famous Fauci, back when he was just Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and not yet a global media star – let me be clear, we are talking about when Dr. Anthony Fauci was the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases of all kinds – he said the following in a televised interview on March 8, 2020:
[ Quoting the opinion checking website, FactCheck.org which found that history requires a revision in order to comply with “latest guidelines” in its current coverage here. ]
Here’s what Fauci told Dr. Jon LaPook, chief medical correspondent for CBS News, in the clip circulating on social media:
LaPook, March 8: There’s a lot of confusion among people, and misinformation, surrounding face masks. Can you discuss that?
Fauci: The masks are important for someone who’s infected to prevent them from infecting someone else… Right now in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks.
LaPook: You’re sure of it? Because people are listening really closely to this.
Fauci: …There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is. And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face.
LaPook: And can you get some schmutz, sort of staying inside there?
Fauci: Of course, of course. But, when you think masks, you should think of health care providers needing them and people who are ill. The people who, when you look at the films of foreign countries and you see 85% of the people wearing masks — that’s fine, that’s fine. I’m not against it. If you want to do it, that’s fine.
LaPook: But it can lead to a shortage of masks?
Fauci: Exactly, that’s the point. It could lead to a shortage of masks for the people who really need it.”
Other than adding a link to the definition of schmutz – I have not highlighted any of Faucci’s statement. I don’t need to catch Fauci out in anything because Fauci was absolutely scientifically correct in everything he said. In this, he totally depended on the existing science on the prevention of the transmission of coronavirus illnesses. And the science on the topic has not changed – if anything, it has been reinforced over and over throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet, FactOpinionCheck.org decided that Fauci, the USA’s leading expert on Infectious Diseases and their transmission, was not expert enough – so they check his knowledge against the opinion of the Director of the CDC? No….against the opinion of Dr. Dean Winslow, a well-known infectious disease physician at Stanford (University) Health Care who told FactOpinionCheck.org:
“In early March, so few patients had been tested that public health officials didn’t yet know that people could spread the virus without showing symptoms, said Winslow.
“That was just not known at that point.”
There was no new science that suddenly made masks effective for the general public but something maybe about Covid-19.
And what does that science really say? “…there’s little scientific evidence that the various face coverings we call ‘masks’ do much if anything to stop the spread of the coronavirus.” [ source ] There are just too many peer-reviewed, high-powered, definitive studies and meta-analyses to list here. The Big List of such studies is in the book: “The Price of Panic. . . .” by Jay W. Richards, Douglas Axe, and William Briggs.
It is, of course, as in all things that deal with the political interference in things that should depend on strict empirical science, worse than that.
In April 2020, the Famous Fauci said
“So, we want to make sure that this issue of having a broader community approach towards putting on a facial covering doesn’t, in fact, get in the way of the primary purpose of masks.
[ which was, he had just explained: “masks that are most appropriately used and necessary for the front-line health care workers, who do need it for the clear and present danger that they find themselves in when they are taking care of people who are actually sick with coronavirus disease.” ]
And in that regard, that’s why what we’re talking about are things that may not necessarily need to be a classical mask, but could be some sort of facial covering.
You know, we’re pretty good in making things in a way that spontaneously becomes effective just because of your own creativity.”
[ source – PBS interview here. ]
Once the CDC changed it’s tune on masks, demanding that The Mask be worn at all times under almost all circumstances, the rhetoric ramped up not only demanding that everyone everywhere wear masks, but accusing those who fail or refuse to wear masks of “killing their grandmothers” (Andrew Cuomo – Governor of New York – a charge he repeats in the present about those who don’t get vaccinated).
In a mass-hysteria-type reaction, everyone who could find a public megaphone jumped on the bandwagon, making wilder and wilder public statements about the deadly-serious importance of wearing masks:
“Everyone should wear a mask,” Blumberg said. “People who say ‘I don’t believe masks work’ are ignoring scientific evidence. It’s not a belief system. It’s like saying, ‘I don’t believe in gravity.’
“People who don’t wear a mask increase the risk of transmission to everyone, not just the people they come into contact with,” he said. “It’s all the people those people will have contact with. You’re being an irresponsible member of the community if you’re not wearing a mask.” [ source ]
Wearing a mask became a virtue signaling bellweather: “I’m a good person, a patriot, a saint….” Because I wear a mask, even in my own home or when alone in my car.
And now?
In an unexpected change if heart (must have been as there has been no new science or breakthrough understanding), the CDC has said:
Vaccinated Americans May Go Without Masks in Most Places, Federal Officials Say
Fully vaccinated people do not have to wear masks or maintain social distance indoors or outdoors, with some exceptions, the C.D.C. advised. [ source ]
Directly from the CDC:
“Update that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in any setting, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance
Update that fully vaccinated people can refrain from testing following a known exposure unless they are residents or employees of a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter”
[ source: CDC here 13 May 2021 ]
End BQ
What does this mean for the real world?
Up to 13 May 2021, US News and World Report list the following U.S. states as having NO Mask Mandate previous-to-CDC-announcement:
Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | Florida | Georgia | Idaho | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Louisiana | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | New Hampshire | North Dakota | Oklahoma | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Wisconsin | Wyoming | Northern Mariana Islands (an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the U.S.)
That’s 26 out of 50 states with no mandate before the new CDC guidelines.
So far today:
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear says the state’s mask mandate will end June 11, 2021. On that date, the Bluegrass State will also return to 100% capacity at venues and events. [ source ]
Minnesota — Following New CDC Guidance, Governor Walz Announces End to Statewide Face Covering Requirement — Minnesota will align with CDC guidance and recommend unvaccinated Minnesotans continue to wear face coverings indoors [ source ]
North Carolina has removed its indoor mask mandate for most settings and lifted all mass gathering and social distancing limits. This step forward is effective immediately and follows yesterday’s guidance from the CDC. [ source ]
Rhode Island — paraphrasing “fully vaccinated people, as of this coming Tuesday, will no longer need to wear masks or social distance”. [ source ]
Michigan – paraphrasing “everyone who is two weeks out from their second vaccine dose can go without a mask”. [ source ]
Oregon – “Starting today, Oregon will be following this guidance, which only applies to fully-vaccinated individuals. That means Oregonians who are fully-vaccinated no longer need to wear masks or social distance in most public spaces.” [ source ]
Florida — “Floridians should not be penalized for rejecting the overreach of local authorities through unnecessary mask mandates,” [Governor] DeSantis wrote on Twitter Thursday about his decision to pardon the Carnevales. [ who had been arrested for failing to require masks and social distancing at their business, a gym.]” “The governor confirmed his intentions to pardon people at a press conference Thursday in Ormond Beach, Florida, saying he would “remit” the remaining outstanding fines that have been issued against people at the state’s next clemency meeting.” [ source ]
Connecticut — Masks Not Required Indoors For Fully Vaccinated People in Connecticut Starting May 19: Governor [ source ]
Illinois – “Gov. J.B. Pritzker says that he will revise executive orders to sync up with new CDC guidelines on mask wearing by vaccinated individuals in indoor and outdoor spaces.” [ source ]
Nevada – “On May 3, Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an emergency directive updating mask and face covering requirements for the state to align with the CDC’s recommendations, including any subsequent guidance. As a result, the new guidance from the federal agency became effective immediately, according to a news release from the state.” [ source ]
Pennsylvania – “In short, the Health Department says it is following the CDC’s lead. That means Pennsylvanians who are fully vaccinated no longer have to wear masks outdoors or indoors except in certain situations.“ [ source ]
Washington – “Masks off: Fully vaccinated people can shed masks in Washington, [Washington Governor] Inslee announces following new CDC rules” [ source ]
New York – “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance on mask use for fully vaccinated people. The guidelines state that fully vaccinated people, defined as two or more weeks after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, no longer need to wear masks outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues.” [ source ]
Virginia – “Governor Ralph Northam today lifted Virginia’s universal indoor mask mandate to align with new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Governor Northam also announced that Virginia will ease all distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, May 28, two weeks earlier than planned. The updates to Virginia’s mask policy …. will become effective at midnight tonight along with previously announced changes to mitigation measures.” [ source ]
Colorado – “Coloradans who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks, and people who aren’t vaccinated are only required to wear them in limited settings, Gov. Jared Polis said Friday.” [ source ]
Delaware – “Governor John Carney on Friday announced that – effective May 21 – the State of Delaware will lift its requirement that Delawareans and visitors must wear face coverings anytime they are indoors with others outside their household. Delawareans should instead follow masking guidance issued on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for all indoor and outdoor activities.” [ source ]
West Virginia – “West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced that he is signing an executive order to modify the face covering requirement during a press conference on Friday. The governor says West Virginia will immediately begin following the updated CDC guidance for those who are fully vaccinated. The facial covering requirement will still apply to those who have not been vaccinated until June 20.” [ source ]
The Governors of the states (in the United States) are announcing allegiance to the CDC so quickly that I literally cannot keep up with adding them in above as I write this column.
How long do you think the other governors, who have not yet fallen into line with the new (and very welcome) diktat from the CDC, can delay? Does anyone think that citizens of one state seeing freedom restored in the neighboring state will not demand the same freedom?
I think that reasonable people will realize that the mask mandate was unnecessary from the beginning — especially as The Science from The Epidemiologists has been telling them all to expect to have to wear masks for at least another six months, a year longer, two years, or maybe forever. In a poll conducted by the NY Times that was completed just 4 days ago, 81% of professional epidemiologists expected mask mandates to continue for at least 1 more year. 52% expected masking to last for more than a year. The minimum expected was “a few more months”. Up until yesterday, Epidemiologists represented The Science….no longer, they have been kicked to the curb.
In my opinion, this new CDC Guideline breaks the back of the oppressive Covid-19 Panic Power Grab by presidents, governors, city councils and mayors who have reveled in their free pass to rule by executive order under emergency powers without oversight by elected law makers.
There will be no going back, I don’t think the people will stand for it, at least not in the United States.
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Note: A few typos and other editing errors have been corrected on my first review of “as published”. — kh
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Author’s Comment:
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have never worn a mask unless absolutely required by a “no mask, no service” rule at a place of business. Despite signs requiring masks, I have never worn a mask at a gas pump.
I have been appalled at the sight of nuclear family groups walking in the woods, hundreds of feet from the nearest non-family members, wearing masks. I have had the same reaction seeing married couples bicycling on rail trails in the bright Spring sunshine, wearing masks.
The Power of Experts, abused, for the sake of fame. The intentional ignorance of the truths of medical science, gained over the last fifty years but abandoned by today’s self-serving “experts” in the throes of a Mass Hysteria who have gone-along-to-get-along, bandwagoning and cheerleading whatever the current Covid Hysteria message from WHO and the CDC and unknown/unnamed political forces have demanded.
It is entirely possible that the CDC has issued the “vaccination will free you from mandates” guideline as a tool to increase vaccinations (not a bad thing) and/or as a political tool to improve the sitting President’s miserable approval ratings.
Address comments to “Kip . . .” if speaking to me.
Thanks for reading.
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“In my opinion, this new CDC Guideline breaks the back of the oppressive Covid-19 Panic Power Grab by presidents, governors, city councils and mayors who have reveled in their free pass to rule by executive order under emergency powers without oversight by elected law makers.”
Kip: isn’t everyone in this list an Elected Lawmaker? Aren’t they providing oversight above healthcare people?
-/-
Isn’t this pandemic a perfect example of the message that WUWT writers and readers have been claiming:
=> “the science is always changing”?
Lorne ==> Which list is that? List of Governors? Governors are NOT NOT NOT lawmakers. Governors are elected and in most cases head the Executive Branches of their state governments. Legislatures make laws — those elected to be legislators (representatives and senators in most states) are charged with making the laws for their states.
The idea that “The science is always changing” is an almost right idea. science is our species cumulative knowledge about the world around us and how and why it does what it does. Solid science — such as the laws of mathematics and Newtonian Physics — are sometimes slightly modified when there is a new understanding brought to light.
However, while DNA vaccines are a new idea, how viruses are transmitted and under what circumstances is not. Whether masks are effective at preventing the transmission of viral diseases has been subject to exhaustive careful double-blinded studies for many years and that science has not changed over the last decade and is unlikely to change very much in the future.
There are a lot of good links provided by other readers here that lead to original medical studies done on the issue. The findings are very consistent and show that medical face masks are of no or very little use for the general public outside of the sick room.
Not sure the <b>CDC Guidelines</b> have had much to do with science.
PMHinSC ==> I wouldn’t have accused them of such. In fact, I specifically point out that CDC did not follow the Consensus of Epidemiologists. I suspect the whole thing is political.
Went to the market this morning (Sat. 5/15) in Colorado. A number of folks were shopping without
masksrandom bits of face cloth. Wearing mymaskrandom bit of face cloth I felt foolish and will join their rebellion henceforth.tommy ==> That’s my boy!
The mask, for many, has become the modern-day equivalent to Linus’ security blanket. They refuse to give it up. I’d burn mine (which is just one of those freebie cheap masks -months old), except stores like Rite Aid still require it, and some towns (not ours) still mandate them. I hate masks. We’re having a get-together here tomorrow. Two mandates – must be fully vaccinated, and NO MASKS allowed.
Bruce ==> I’m not sure substituting one’s own mandates for those of the State is a “plus”.
Our house, our rules.
Bruce ==> I wasn’t entirely joking…..but mostly.
The local public pool is requiring people to wear two swimsuits this summer.
Scissor ==> With the latest styles for girls, doubling the area covered by the suits might be a good idea — unless you are a teen-aged boy, in which case you might appreciate the current sizes.
I still appreciate the current swimsuit sizes. I may be old but I am not blind.
Drake ==> Keep them eyes open and peeled!
That was the attitude during Jim Crow when businesses would only serve whites. Doesn’t apply when it violates civil rights.
Inoculated or vaccinated? Perhaps immune, or merely virus free.
That said, check for symptoms at the door. Be wary of fecal transmission around the commode. Close the door. Wash your hands. Ventilate to minimize the greenhouse effect.
Fauci was telling the truth the first time when he called masks window dressing. None of his statements later on supporting the dictates once it became a political weapon – the equivilant of a cross waved at a vampire – negated that, nor contradicted the truth of that statement.
My guess is the Biden administration wants have a big Biden Recovery Summer celebration this summer with a big 4th of July blowout and cross-country “victory” tour. The narrative will be Biden saved the day and America is in full economic and covid recovery.
The masks are part of the old narrative and have to go so the new narrative of Recovery Summer Thanks to Biden can be implemented.
Kevin ==> A bit cynical of the motivations behind the CDC decision?
The poor Biden Administration has had a rough week with a worsening economy and the misery index coming back to life, so getting rid of masks was one way of trying to get the people distracted by this “new shiny object.”
noaaprogrammer ==> A viable theory
Kip,
Thanks for the article and a chance to clear the air of the miasma of the Fauxi virus hysteria!
It seems pretty clear that the entire mask mania was an attempt by our dear leaders to instill obedience and fear into as many of the sheep as possible! It was also an opportunity to put new voting regulations into effect to make voter fraud easier to perpetrate and conceal!
Have you considered doing a retrospective on the therapeutics like ivermectin and HCQ? The meta analysis of ivermectin I found stated that over one and a half million deaths could have been prevented with proper use; and then there’s HCQ and the nursing home deaths!
2020 could still be an opportunity to learn the real shortcomings and faults of our government agencies, but it can’t happen until we fully look at what went wrong!
AB ==> HCQ/Zinc/Antibiotic treatment to prevent serious Covid-19 outcomes has not been seriously studied to the best of my knowledge. . WHO and others only wanted to test it to see if it would save lives of those already seriously ill enough to require hospitalization or ICU.
WHO/CDC/EU only wanted a Magic Bullet treatment that would cure the very very ill.
Not in randomized clinical trials, but there is an observable, reproducible consistency and signal diversity across populations, venues, nations, and geographies. Also, observation in vitro. Ironically, good enough evidence to discern cause and effect of prospective climate change, but not as evidence for an inexpensive, low-risk, available early treatment.
New insights on the antiviral effects of chloroquine against coronavirus: what to expect for COVID-19?
Zn2+ Inhibits Coronavirus and Arterivirus RNA Polymerase Activity In Vitro and Zinc Ionophores Block the Replication of These Viruses in Cell Culture
No not a magical elixir, only a complement to normal system function, but a credible part of a risk management protocol.
n.n ==> Oh, yes, I agree that HCQetc was a victim of anti-Trump madness (and in France, victim of a similar political situation).
There have been positive studies, but they are generally ignored — less so now that Trump is no longer US President.
See: https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-021-05773-w
Kip,
Meta analysis of 55 different studies of ivermectin come up with 79% effective in early use and 85% in prophylaxis! There are several other off-use drugs that showed promise but it seems that government control and corporate profits are more important than tens of thousands of lives being lost unnecessarily!
The next shoe to drop will be the experimental injections. According to the US VAERS, in only 5 months there have been more reported post-vaccine deaths (4434) than for all vaccines combined during the past 20 years. I think it was the swine flu vaccine that was pulled off the market after only 50 or so deaths. Not a good idea IMO to turn the human body into a factory that produces a protein implicated in blood clotting.
icisil ==> Personally, I do not think the VAERS data has been properly vetted enough to allow us to be able to draw any conclusions at this time.
But Kip, if it saves just ONE life……gag….
Pictures are always nice. Something unusual appears to be happening.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1YScUyXIAcV6eo?format=jpg&name=medium
Always only proprietors have the power to require particular attributes for service. No shoes, No shirt, No mask, No SERVICE. We reserve the right to refuse service.
At lunch it today perhaps 80% of customers are still compliant subjects.
Doug ==> What state? Watch over the next week — people are shy — slow to change — afraid someone will shout at them (my wife is an example — even though she has enough medical knowledge to know the mask does nothing but protect her from public scorning).
As more and more people thrown their masks away, more will follow — vaccinated or not.
You can take this prediction to the bank. It is basic human nature.
Thank-you Kip, it is about time someone with some sense presented something of the real story on this entire what I believe is an overblown event!
Rod ==> Thank you, we do our best.
The mask I wear on public transport when I am forced to is yellow with the words – AGAINST MY WILL on it. It does grab attention and thumbs ups. Nobody has been stupid enough to have a go at me for this mask. They know they would be torn to shreds for flagrantly violating my freedom of speech and freedom of belief. If more people did the same, it would catch on. You can bet that the mask edict would end rather quickly if it caught on.
Yes, there is a song for this https://youtu.be/xjH1wjglBY4
High ==> WHEN people realize that they can’t be forced to wear a mask — most will stop wearing them.
At least one state Governor simply said (paraphrase) “No one can tell who is vaccinated, so no one needs to wear a mask.”
It is still good to rub it in how I feel about the scamdemic without having to say anything. It is a simple act of resistance along with having a QR code linked to a web site or video with the words-COVID PROPAGANDA VACCINE on your letterbox or as a large sun shade for the car.
Here is a sober analysis of the lies being promoted about COVID from a former Pfizer executive. Wish the headline was different…
Are We Being Set Up for Mass Depopulation? (mercola.com)
Kip,
What is so appalling about families wearing masks while outside enjoying themselves? It might be pointless but it doesn’t effect anyone else and if they feel safer while doing it then what is the harm? Personally I am constantly bemused by the number of people I see wearing masks while driving in their cars alone. It really is hard to imaging a more pointless activity but again it is hardly appalling.
What is appalling is the number of people who object to wearing a mask claiming it is an affront to their personal freedom. Masks are not 100% effective but neither are they 0% effective at stopping transmission of airborne diseases. And they are a very small price to pay for slowing the transmission of COVID-19.
IW ==> I was and am appalled because it represents, to me, how ignorant and easily manipulated the American public is.
Opinions may vary.
Kip,
Masks are cheap and are effective at slowing the spread of COVID-19. As with all public health measures there are trade-offs. Do you object to fluoride in drinking water for example? Or folic acid in bread? Both result in people being forced to consume chemicals they might not want to consume in order to improve the general health of the population. Most people think the benefits outweigh the loss of personal freedom. Masks are the same, the benefits are small but non-zero and there is a similarly light burden on people to comply.
Alternatively just think of it as the latest fashion. Crocs for example are currently being sold on the second hand market at double the price of new ones. Compared to that wearing a mask seems to me to be entirely reasonable.
IW ==> Well, it is at least true that masks are cheap. Of course, so is chewing gum — but I don’t recommend it.
Hmmm, Kip why are you against chewing gum to protect against CoVid. Are you aware of any studies that refute the effectiveness of chewing gum preventing CoVid? Didn’t think so. 😉
Mark ==> It has been absolutely anecdotally proven that Chewing Gum is only partially effective in preventing the spread of BOTH Covid-19 and peanut butter.
But that is exactly where you ninnies are wrong. There is no evidence to support that conjecture at all. In fact, all empirical evidence indicates that there is no difference in rate of infection between masked and maskless locations. Your comparatives are perfect examples of false analogy.
In most situations, your “non-zero” results are not only pulled from someone’s backside, masks can easily be shown to do substantial harm … as have most of the entirely arbitrary covid preventions. You seem to be very attracted to logical fallacies … so relying on the precautionary principle fallacy is about par for the course with you.
Like throwing sand at a chain-link fence.
50/50, at best. Increased infections. at worst. The intuitive (e.g. cargo cult) science was debunked by multiple controlled studies and the physics of the problem space.
But it is “an affront to their personal freedom” to have an entirely useless protocol become mandated by “authorities” when no available science supports it. I have to wonder why you have refused to read the many, many examples of actual science that contradicts everything you’ve said. No wonder you’re so confused about climate. It’s at least four orders of magnitude more complex than immunology.
But it is “an affront to their personal freedom” to have an entirely useless protocol become mandated by “authorities” when no available science supports it.
Also: have you noticed this tendency some have to conflate “I am against government requiring X” with “I am against X”? I have seen arguments against the effectiveness of masks, but I haven’t seen anyone saying that people can’t voluntarily choose to wear them if they want. Only that if they do so, it doesn’t do any good.
Through the mechanism of gas-lighting and shaming the authorities have reversed several of our rights. Using false cause and precautionary principle fallacies they have placed the duty of care on the general population on the basis of “just in case”.
As you pointed out there’s a world of difference between making everyone wear a mask and only those for whom they might have some remote benefit. If someone is worried about infection, they have always had the option to isolate and wear a mask.
Exactly right – and it’s EASIER than actually removing those rights by rule of law (or fiat). First, you get other people to do the dirty work for you. And you get to claim that it’s individuals doing it, not government. (which, technically, it is – but the end result is the same)
One of the Left’s primary tools of subversion is to incorporate “henchmen” who will take the blame if something goes wrong. Government collapse and transition to a police state is always accomplished to a large degree with the consent of the people. Naivete and misplaced trust in government intentions is the best asset of corrupt politicians.
Masks have become a sign of obedience and imbecile acceptance
Roger ==> I did a series pf training films for IBMs clean rooms. The requirements are not based on the same underlying reasoning.
An imposter has been posting crap under my name, using my email address which I included in a post many moons ago.
Meanwhile in Canada we now have secret “contempt of court” trials where a judge can decide without you having any representation, that you are as dangerous as terrorist because you refuse to follow health guidelines and order you arrested by a swat team. We are currently not allowed to have any guests in our homes, even outside, and we must wear a mask at all times. Not doing so results in hefty fines which will be enforced by making it impossible to renew your driver’s license if the fines are not paid. At least one province has enforced an 8:00pm curfew for months. Parks are closed to children. Doctors and other health professionals who dare to question the lockdowns, prescribe treatements like ivermectin, or do anything else outside of the directives from government can have their licenses to practice revoked. The insanity does not appear to even be slowing. If anything it’s getting worse.
Justin ==> Maybe you can escape to the US? A Covid refugee? Political asylum?
A reverse of the sixties draft dodger flow?
My wife is an American Jew. We have applied to emigrate to both Israel and to the USA. These things take time. I would rather face the HAMAS rockets than continue living under this growing fascism. The black jack booted (literally if you watch the clips about Pastor Artur Pawlowski) have a particular hatred for Christianity. They have declared Christianity to be nonessential but the stupid pigheaded Christians keep defying them. It enrages the jack booted.
Justin ==> Well, best of luck to you.
They have declared Christianity to be nonessential but the stupid pigheaded Christians keep defying them.”
Unfortunately, IMO, nowhere near enough.
TonyG ==> Yes, not enough.
Some of us have been quietly getting together throughout. But my identical twin grandsons are 11 months old on the other side of the country and I have not yet met them.
Fran ==> I hope you will be going to visit now that most mandates are being lifted. Good luck! and God Bless.
Assuming the vaccines are effective the only possible reason to wear a face mask is ostensibly for those unvaccinated, for whatever reason, to protect themselves from infection.
I can’t fathom any other reason to wear one or the insistence that others, vaccinated or unvaccinated, wear them.
Christopher ==> Outside of sick rooms and hospitals there has never been a medically sound reason for the not-sick to wear a mask. And the sick should never have been allowed to be in public.
Kip there is another possible veiled intention behind the irrational mask regulations viz. population compliance training, but that sounds too much like a conspiracy theory.
Christopher ==> Yes, but it doesn’t explain the CDC’s sudden abandonment of masks.
this whole thing is BS… besides the fact that masks dont work to prevent covid 19 spread, nit needing masks is OK if you have covid antibodies in your system from a vaccine but not from an actual covid 19 infection? and governors are picking randoms days to lift these bull feces mask mandates? It’s all bull and not one shred of science was involved by CDC…. from masks studies that suddenly (after april/may 2020) show masks work, to PCR tests that were waaaaaay too sensitive (and the CDC knew it), to CDC guidance for classifying a covid death…. it was all political, let no one have any doubts.
Since July 2020, the government of Ontario (Canada) has made it clear, “face coverings will not protect you from getting COVID-19.” They’ve softened, somewhat, by noting that face coverings “may help protect others.” The insanity continues, however, with many jurisdictions requiring face coverings before entry. Hopefully the latest CDC recommendations and other evidence will penetrate the group-think currently infecting our decision makers.
Paul ==> You have a link for me on that official statement?
Here you go Kip.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/face-coverings-and-face-masks?_ga=2.90333400.398933639.1590009412-1513980180.1565282628
Mark K ==> Thanks a bunch….I keep all of these in a huge file . . .
Mark beat me to it. I should note that I created my screen-cap July 11, 2020, in case someone at the Province decided to change and/or disappear the guidelines. 😉 I’ve shared that page with other people and many seem annoyed that masks offer little protection. Usually, they say “my mask protects you” or something similarly nonsensical.
Kip;
Thanks. I now have good data to beat people over the head with.
As an overweight, 74 yr old, diabetic, I have not worn a face mask except when actually required to, or when with people who were maskers, as a social convention. I have frequently eaten in a restaurant where the mask mandate was not enforced, and police would come in and eat without masks, and be given a table not 6 ft. from another. I did get vaccinated as soon as possible, even though all of them would normally be classified as experimental.
After the swine flu episode I researched masks’ effectiveness, and found the same results you have. Another bit of suggestive data is that the placebo effect in testing covid-19 vaccines is much higher than the claimed effectiveness of masks.
For a while I kept a table of cases and deaths by state, and by EU member, plus UK. As of the first week in March, Hawaii had the lowest case and death rate in the US. I attributed this to the quarantine imposed upon entering. One interesting result is that US deaths per case was lower than the EU.
A related question: What is your opinion of the move to double the US deaths from covid-19?
It is my understanding that in the US anyone who dies and tests positive for covid-19 or is diagnosed with it without testing, is recorded as a covid-19 death. Is that correct?
Also I remember subsidies are paid for covid-19 deaths.
Robert ==> I covered this issue in two posts: Cause of Death and a follow-up. Use the WUWT search function to find them.
Kip .In hindsight I can see a very positive reason to wear a mask.
Defeat facial recognition.
For in this madness of mass hysteria and witch hunting,a mask is a good thing.
Let your hysterical bureaucrats try to identify scoff laws as we break all the petty and ineffectual rules.
For these same fools who seek to “Stop Covid”. The virus, are the same people who have been so effective at stopping invasive weeds and animals..
They have done such a terrific job of stopping drug smuggling and border crossers..But they will stop The Dread Covid…If only we have faith…As they arrest Christians for practising their own faith..
14 months ago could anyone have imagined today?
On the other hand,what a glorious gong show,incredible watching government ineptitude and malice being taken to new and unheard of levels.
John ==> My wife and I did humanitarian work in the DR for years. If one had walked into a bank wearing a mask — the shotgun toting guard would have shot you immediately. The public even had t remove hats of all kinds, even baseball caps.
Dr. Ted Noel — Masks don’t work
https://youtu.be/BslFT9cKZwc
New York seems to be stalling on dropping the mask mandate for indoors for the fully vaccinated, even though the CDC is now saying those people do not need to wear masks indoors in most cases.
jlv ==. Cuomo is just really just saying “Nah Nah Nah — you’re not the boss of me!” He will cave after a week or so.
UPDATE:
Major U.S. Retailers Drop Mask Requirements
Walmart, Costco, Publix and Starbucks are among the retail giants effectively moving to an honor system.
That means “You can’t really tell the difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. And we ain’t gonna ask them….”
They could do a symptom check at the door. A quick visual, perhaps temperature, check would reduce probable transmission by more than the 50/50 standard of masks, especially since there is no conlusive evidence of asymptomatic transmission. That, and regularly disinfecting their commodes, and other standard hygienic practices.
HIPPA laws forbid anybody but my doctor from asking me about my medical record. Besides, If they ask if I’m vaccinated, the answer is yes. They can’t ask which vaccine…
“It is entirely possible that the CDC has issued the “vaccination will free you from mandates” guideline as a tool to increase vaccinations (not a bad thing) “
YES, it is a bad thing.
There is no reason in the world to vaccinate someone who is naturally immune.
We know that Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have nanoparticles that are known to cause autoimmune diseases and ALL of the vaccines are forms of gene therapy.
To pretend that a person should get gene therapy for a virus that is 99.97% survivable is just plain stupid. And gene therapy has NEVER been approved for use before. It is an experimental medical device and NOT a vaccine.
For that matter, the fact that these jabs focus on one protein, the spike protein, means that the best these jabs can do is make a person develop antibodies against the one protein. This means that the resulting antibodies are non-neutralizing and incapable of coating all the proteins on a virus surface and allowing T-cells to take them in and digest them.
With limited antibodies, the non-neutralized viral particles are taken in by T-cells but not digested, leaving the virus free to replicate. This is literally inviting the fox into the henhouse while pretending to be protecting the door. It’s a lie.
The best a jab can do is to have no effect. Otherwise, it can set people up to get infected and sick more easily and worse, and fatalities rise. Fun stuff for those who do not get the jab, but unfortuantely many have.
Charles Higley ==> Opinions do vary. . . .