Denouncing homemade masks as only 2% effective, Dr. Betsy McCaughey, chair of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, says "career officials at Health and Human Services knowingly allowed the nation to be under-supplied" as they focused on global initiatives.
"Don't blame any president, Democratic or Republican, for this oversight," McCaughey, former Lt. Governor of New York, wrote in a Fox News opinion piece Sunday, headlined "Coronavirus masks – what works, new rules and explaining the shortage." "The career officials at Health and Human Services knowingly allowed the nation to be undersupplied.
"They never requested enough money to adequately stock the Strategic National Stockpile. Their agenda was global, tracking down polio in Pakistan, pouring nearly $5 billion in the fight against Ebola overseas, and funding a Global Health Security Agenda serving 49 countries. But no masks for Americans."
McCaughey added the warning a homemade mask is just 2-3% effective against stopping airborne virus particles, as woven cloth masks allow in 97% of viral particles,
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has bungled the handling of recommendations on Americans wearing masks, too, she wrote.
"When the coronavirus struck here, the CDC offered only mask double talk," according to McCaughey. "The agency said on the one hand masks are vital to protect healthcare workers, and on the other hand, masks won't make the public safer. It defies common sense.
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22 comments:
I think we all knew the home-made masks weren't going to be very effective. I suppose they're better than nothing, but it's more of a 'feel-good' thing than protection.
And a lot of ladies are staying very busy making them, so they aren't so bored while on lock-down.
Speaking of lock-downs.. what do you think would happen if they locked down the prisoners at ECI for 6-8 weeks like they've locked us down?
Lawsuits galore. There would be lawyers coming out of the woodwork.
The material the sterile surgical instrument sets are wrapped in after sterilization is rated N99 and gets thrown away before the patient or procedure begins in the OR. This material could be made available to people willing to make masks. It would be a more effective use of their efforts.
Finally, a public official who presents one of the real reasons we were so unprepared - our globalist mindset. Care for the world first and leave the dregs for Americans. They seem to believe that this will cause everyone to love us. To quote a popular trite phrase - How is that working for us?
A national stockpile of just about anything is not realistic because nothing has an indefinite shelf life and the old materials must be thrown out and replaced on a regular basis. Remember the fallout shelters from the 1960s?
And all the crackers and dried foods stored in them? Even the barrels of water had gone bad and started leaking.
Good idea, 8:34. Or perhaps the material could be acquired in bulk amounts.
That's a management problem, 9:12. If the stuff is things you use regularly, it should be rotated out for use elsewhere before expiration and replaced with new stock.
That's how we maintain our emergency food stock here at home. Take stuff from the front and put the new stuff in the back.
Masks provide a false sense of protection at the very least. Depending on age, type, exposure and continued use, it may be more hazardous than not using one. Unfortunately, most of us do not have an unlimited supply of sterile and effective masks, and probably for the most part do not practice and follow the procedures in placing the mask on and maintaining the integrity of its sterility. Therefore,, depending on individual circumstances, other than psychological, the use of a mask generally speaking, may actually increase the harboring of germs.
Don’t wear masks, they do no good.
Plus, Health Care workers need them, because they do no good.
912 - yeah old mindsets and standard operating procedures. Reminds me of the old MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) in the military. They were awful in the 80's and 90's, got revamped after Desert Shield Desert Storm only because when the troops tried to consume the old stuff everyone realized the shelf life is not that long or awful for any nutrition. So a V8 moment took place and they revamped MREs.
Another V8 moment is happening now and hopefully we are better prepared in the future.
Hopefully.
It's going to depend on the material you use. Something stretchy like a t-shirt can make the holes bigger when stretched, letting more and bigger particles through. The tighter the threads the more it will block. I add polypropylene air filter between the layers and the testers say it blocks 87%, two layers of filter and it blocks 94%. Either one is better than even a surgical mask.
35 years ago there was a mask and glove shortage because of HIV. It was new, very deadly, and at the time,no one knew the exact route of transmission. Cloth does not filter out viruses very well, 0.1 microns. The masks would, however, filter many the large particles, 10 microns, which carried viruses. I fortunately never ran out of masks, but I did run out of latex gloves, and had use vinyl, for about 6 months. It is not like the CDC and Hogan pulled this recommendation out of thin air. I've seen studies that cloth is about 25% effective, and was the masks that were used in the 1920-30's. Better than nothing.
Yes, 9:49, I remember MREs. They were not easy to swallow, but it could be done. The real problem, however, was trying to get it out the other end, if you know what I mean.
9:46
They DO NO GOOD for the average citizen who walks around with loose fitting face covers all the while they are touching their face and pulling it down to talk.
This is mass stupidity brought to us by dumbocrat governers and the rino in MD.
The masks are not meant to protect the wearer. They're meant to protect those around the mask wearer by reducing the range of dispersal of potentially infected droplets from the wearer.
Even disposable medical masks that aren’t n95 aren’t effective either. They’ve got to be form fitting to your face so air can’t go around it. They are more effective on stopping what’s coming out of you then what’s going in.
Well, that's still better than the Democrats who are less than 1% effective !!
ANON April 20, 2020 at 9:49 AM: How about the MRE Chocolate Chip and Maple cakes in the old MRE's? They were not too bad. Also, the "pork patty" (just add water) was pretty good with the fake cheese spread and being really hungry!!
The masks are really useless in my opinion. Unless you can't breath through it, just how effective is it? I miss my old Army Gas Mask from Dessert Storm.
That was Obama theory - buy your friendship. That's why I would cringe when Kerry would visit foreign countries. You could just see Kerry reaching into his deep pockets for money to hand out - be my friend please that's all Obama expects of youđ
Absolutely correct. Not many people follow that logic.
If you want a mask that protects just ask a person that does asbestos removal what they are issued and required to use by the Government. Only mask that works.
Hogan just wants a feel good moment.
Good information that not many people know. Why isn’t someone on this already??
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