A couple of interesting studies have recently been reported about masks:
FIRST STUDY:
Coronavirus infections would plunge if 80 percent of people wore masks, study says | Fox News
"Universal masking at 80 [percent] adoption flattens the curve significantly more than maintaining a strict lockdown," researchers wrote in the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
And
SECOND STUDY:
Men less likely to wear face masks because they see them as '''sign of weakness,''' study suggests | Fox News
“A new study suggested that men are less likely to wear face masks, despite the risk of COVID-19. According to the research, it appears that some people see wearing a face covering as a "sign of weakness." Many of the men also reported they didn’t believe they would become infected.
TWO QUESTIONS:
1) Why weren’t masks thoroughly studied before? Several Asian countries adopted mass mask-wearing long ago so why didn’t anyone study their effectiveness? The talking heads have made it seem as if we are flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants because this virus’ transmission is so new and novel. Really? Masks haven’t changed very much and other coronaviruses had been around for a long time. SARS and MERS should have caused some expert to study the probable outcome of masks versus shutdowns long before COVID-19. Does that study (^) make anyone else angry?
2) How did our government know almost immediately that there would be an inevitable shortage of N95 and surgical masks? (That is why we were told very early that we should not buy them—to protect the limited supply) If they knew a shortage was certain, why weren’t there contingency plans and adequate stockpiles to mitigate that risk? PPE might not last forever but they probably have a pretty long shelf life. The Swamp Rats should have had PPE covered, especially after several other recent problems like SARS, MERS, Ebola, and H1N1. Why is no one ever held accountable?
Thoughts?