Does a mask stop the Spread of COVID-19?
As armament in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, face masking has had a bumpy, convoluted, and torturous path. An insistence on baring one’s face has been frequently expressed, sometimes violently. The fervor is further fanned by a sense of loss of civil liberties by some, as never before have healthy people been quarantined. The loss of employment and future security has left our society on edge.
Earlier this month, a store security guard in Flint, Michigan told a woman that to enter the grocery store, her child had to wear a face mask. The mother and child left. Twenty minutes later, the child’s father arrived at the store and killed the guard. The guard was merely doing his job; Michigan has a statewide rule that mandates face coverings in those stores that are open.
A week later, here in Los Angeles, a security guard had his arm broken in a brawl with a customer who insisted that he didn’t have to follow the masking rules.
Mask wearing guidance has been inconsistent
Our government and health experts have also been unclear regarding facial masking. The Coronavirus Task Force Medical Response coordinator, Deborah Birx, advised that masking is not as important as social distancing and washing one’s hands and Dr. Fauci now suggests that there may be no second wave and face masks remain a formality. Dr. Birx has stated early on, that, “We don’t want to send the signal that we think a mask is equivalent.”
Our own position has been that masks are prudent and not a panacea. Because of our need to continue seeing patients throughout the Pandemic, our staff continues to wear masks and we encouraged our patients to do so as well.
An expert comes to the aid of wearing cloth face coverings
Jeremy Howard is a respected data scientist at the University of San Francisco. He currently teaches online courses in machine learning. In late March Howard used the mask-wearing-in-public issue as a case study, to show his students how to deal with diverse types of evidence.
He discovered that the evidence in favor of wearing masks in public is strong. It became clear to him that mask-wearing could be one of the most important public health weapons against the spread of the virus.
Cloth face coverings should be worn in all public places
Howard collaborated with 18 other experts in a meta-review of the currently available research on the efficacy of face coverings as a weapon against the coronavirus pandemic. When that study even more emphatically underscored the value of mask-wearing, Howard recruited one hundred of the world’s top academics.
On May 14, 2020, Howard’s cohort jointly released an open letter to each U. S. governor, asking that: “officials require cloth masks to be worn in all public places, such as stores, transportation systems, and public buildings.”
The evidence in favor of facial masking
National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers used lasers to illuminate and count the number of saliva droplets sprayed into the air by a person talking with, and then without, a fabric face mask. Howard calls the results, “Shockingly obvious. When the researcher used a simple cloth face covering, nearly all the droplets were blocked.”
COVID 19 is primarily transmitted by droplets emanating from a person’s mouth. Masks, even cloth face masks and bandanas, block those droplets. Why then, isn’t everyone required to wear masks when in public?
4 reasons why mask-wearing hasn’t become universally mandatory
- Researchers were asking how well a mask protects the person wearing it. That’s the wrong question. On February 29, 2020, the Surgeon General of the U. S provided an unhelpful answer to that wrong question when he tweeted: “Masks are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching Coronavirus.”
- But a mask worn in public isn’t personal protective equipment (PPE) such as worn by healthcare workers. It isn’t meant to protect the wearer. A mask is worn to protect those who might come in contact with the person wearing the mask. When viewed from this perspective, a mask is properly seen as a potent weapon against the spread of COVID-19.
- Researchers are trained to wait for the results of a peer-reviewed study. Such a study requires a control group. In this case, that control group would be a large group of people who would be studied while not wearing masks. A study like this would have been both practically impossible and completely unethical.
- It was believed that in order to be protective, the masks needed to block the actual viral particles (rather than simply blocking the much larger droplets which carry them), and there was thus an emphasis placed on P95 masks which were difficult to obtain and even more difficult to tolerate wearing.
- When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave its initial advice (that only those with symptoms should wear masks) there was a domestic shortage of surgical masks, as their production had been outsourced to China some years ago. It was recognized that the available masks should be reserved for those medical professionals on the front lines.
The CDC does an about-face on wearing masks
On April 3, 2020, the CDC dramatically changed its initial opinions, that only people with symptoms should wear face masks and that masking was third in importance to physical distancing and hand washing. The CDC now advises that all Americans, even those who are asymptomatic, should wear masks.
Today there’re so many websites selling face coverings
Non-professional, but effective, washable cloth masks with handy ear loops are now readily available to the public.
Often made from layers of cotton fabric in bandana prints, paisley prints, and other creative expressions, CNN and Allure feature a great assortment of styles that can be tossed in the washing machine.
Why should everyone wear face masks in public?
On May 22, 2020, the CDC announced new findings that even more strongly support masking (something to keep in mind for future pandemics).
The latest data shows that fully 35% of those who are infected with the coronavirus have no symptoms. And these asymptomatic people with the virus can be contagious. That means they can pass the disease along to others without even knowing they have it.
If only people with symptoms could infect others, then only people with symptoms would need to wear masks. But the fact that more than a third of infected people have zero symptoms means that everyone should be required to wear face coverings in public.
The downside of facial masking
Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth can be annoying and inconvenient and even fog up your eyeglasses. For most of us, however, wearing a simple cloth mask for short intervals is not a great sacrifice. Some folks are even using them as fashion statements.
And when the issue is weighed in the balance, between my inconvenience and someone else’s death, the ultimate choice is equally unavoidable.
There is one additional potential benefit to wearing a mask in public that deserves consideration. Constantly smelling our own breath will certainly lead us to much-improved habits of dental hygiene!
Why choose Assil Gaur Eye Institute for your eye care?
The doctors at Assil Gaur Eye Institute offer world-class eye care and vision correction specializing in LASIK, cataract, cornea, retina, glaucoma treatments, and a lot more.
At AGEI, you will experience state-of-the-art medical facilities that bring together revolutionary technologies with the most experienced hands in ophthalmology. Our goal is to help you achieve your personal best vision.
Please call 866-945-2745 or visit us here to make an appointment online if you are experiencing any concerning symptoms to determine the best time to schedule an exam.
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