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Monday, June 15, 2020

Let’s talk about masks

My hippy/groovy protection
During these Trump Plague riddled days, I’m spending entirely too much time on social media and witnessing WAY too many human train wrecks.

Yesterday I stumbled across a post by an acquaintance from high school. She was ranting about masks – how she doesn’t want to wear one. I can completely relate. I don’t like wearing them either. With my wonky sinuses it's harder to breathe which triggers my never-far-off claustrophobia. Here's the thing though, I like being plague-free – that outweighs my discomfort every damn day.

I totes know that the mask alone won’t save me BUT it’s an important and effective tool in my arsenal of defense.

In any case, this high school Shoutyface woman, who used to be a nurse, reposted some pseudo science-y bullshit about ALL masks being completely useless in limiting or preventing transmission of the plague. The original poster, a friend of hers, is supposedly a “heath care professional.” His name and credentials were, oopsie, unspecified though. Yeah...NO, I’m not gonna take the advice of some Shoutyface rando, no matter how much I’d like to believe the fairy tale he/she is pushing.

Funny how actual research scientists at Texas A&M and UCSD have found the exact opposite to be true.

They compared Trump Plague infection rate trends in Italy and New York both before and after face masks were made mandatory. Both locations started to see infection rates flatten only after face masks became de rigueur.

Our analysis reveals that the difference with and without mandated face covering represents the determinant in shaping the trends of the pandemic. This protective measure significantly reduces the number of infections. Other mitigation measures, such as social distancing implemented in the United States, are insufficient by themselves in protecting the public. (source)
I believe I NEED this!
I’m happy as hell that this wickedly gullible former nurse never worked the neuro wards at MGH. I imagine her solution to my pesky tumor garden issues would involve eucalyptus and lavender oil massage and deeply unscientific and confused (but authoritatively dispensed) lectures on the dangers of vaccines.

NOW let’s talk about my new hero Linsey Marr.

Most of us had never heard of aerosol science before the pandemic. Then Virginia Tech’s Linsey Marr showed up and became our tour guide to the invisible world of airborne particles. (source)
The talented Dr. Marr
She has an engineering degree from Harvard, got her doctorate in civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley and completed post-doc work at MIT with Mario J. Molina, a Nobel laureate recognized for research into ozone damage caused by chlorofluorocarbon gases. 
She has access to top-rated N95 medical masks, but she chooses to wear a cloth mask, like the rest of us. “We could drive ourselves crazy thinking about all the what-ifs,” she says. “I try to explain what we do know and what we don’t know. For the things we don’t know, it’s good to err on the safe side, but also to not be paranoid.”  
Dr. Marr said she personally focuses on a “top four” for lowering risk — social distancing, avoiding crowds, wearing a mask and washing hands. (source)
Go read the whole column – Dr. Marr explains, amongst other things, how I/we can safely hug friends and family not seen in months (FYI – I miss hugs), whether it’s safe to return to the gym and more.

She wears a goddamn mask don’cha think YOU should?

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