MAGAThread XX: A Journal of the Plague Year

[Esalia]

Masks prevent me from spreading corona to you. Masks prevent both of us from catching the flu from random other people. Did you get a flu shot yet? You should.

Always get my flu shot, yup.

if - hypothetically - 50% of people wear masks, that's like 49.8% more masks than normal. So, if masks are effective at all, the flu will be down from it's normal numbers.

But 50% (or whatever the actual number is) will not be effective enough to completely stop coronavirus, just as it is not enough to completely stop the flu.

This is really obvious when you think about it.

Flu is down 95%. I'm not so much trying to push the "a ton of COVID cases are the flu" (because while possible that seems dumb) as I am pointing out the contradiction.

There isn't really a contradiction, since the flu and Covid aren't the same thing.

If Covid is significantly more infectious than the flu, you can get to the point where you have 95% fewer flu cases but Covid is still running rampant.

The flu being devastated by the current levels of mask-wearing doesn't mean enough people are wearing masks to deal with Covid.

[Albrenia]

Also, increased hand-washing, awareness of not touching one's face all the time when in public and social distancing all help fend off other illnesses.

It would be really nice if the Flu season in the US didn't cause the upswing in deaths that was originally expected though, if the Flu is a less severe one for whatever reason this season.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Also, increased hand-washing, awareness of not touching one's face all the time when in public and social distancing all help fend off other illnesses.

It would be really nice if the Flu season in the US didn't cause the upswing in deaths that was originally expected though, if the Flu is a less severe one for whatever reason this season.

The Flu gang have a nice little business, even with vaccines against them. This damn Covid gang is drawing so much heat though, Flu thinks its a good time to keep a low profile. A virus still has to infect of course, keep up the numbers and evolve some new strains, but this is not the time for an epidemic. "Elimination" must be avoided at all costs!

[Loben III]

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/11/17/poli ... index.html
Hey that’s pretty neat.

[Ifreann]

There is still job security?

Job security is a myth boomers made up.

Job security are the people who escort you out of your job.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html
Hey that’s pretty neat.

Yeah, that's pretty good!

But it's kind of akin to fighting your way through a Dungeons and Dragons session of orcs and dragons just to find a treasure room at the end, with nothing but a wooden chest in the middle of it and strange carvings on the wall. Sure, I want to open the chest, and I am happy with loot, but there is no way that this was it.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Job security is a myth boomers made up.

Job security are the people who escort you out of your job.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html
Hey that’s pretty neat.

He could do it today. But he chooses to do it 5 days before Inauguration Day. So Biden will take the blame for any consequences.

What a lovely man he is ...

[Ranoria]

Always get my flu shot, yup.


Flu is down 95%. I'm not so much trying to push the "a ton of COVID cases are the flu" (because while possible that seems dumb) as I am pointing out the contradiction.

There isn't really a contradiction, since the flu and Covid aren't the same thing.

If Covid is significantly more infectious than the flu, you can get to the point where you have 95% fewer flu cases but Covid is still running rampant.

The flu being devastated by the current levels of mask-wearing doesn't mean enough people are wearing masks to deal with Covid.

I would argue that it is. I'm aware that they're different diseases. The ineffectiveness of mask-wearing on stopping the flu is why I'm not a fan myself.

Funnily enough, that's (the flu and COVID being different) the only reason I don't completely lash out against masks, because there's plenty of evidence to show that they don't help stop the spread of influenza. Cloth masks make it worse, surgical masks don't help or hurt enough to be able to make a decisive statement on the matter, but it's marginal either way. I think N95 masks are pretty effective "It" referring to the flu.

And have you been in public? Everyone has a mask on. I'd put the number of people wearing them up around 98%, and that's counting myself not wearing one.

That being said, they spread pretty much the same way, through the air. But I'm going to stick with the flu below. To be clear again, everything below here is regarding the flu, not the 'rona.

Cloth masks don't do jack.

Surgical masks didn’t stop the spread of flu and other respiratory illnesses during a five-week study involving 1,936 health-care workers at 24 hospitals in Beijing last winter. Thicker versions designed to better fit the face, called N95 masks and made by 3M Co., reduced flu by 75 percent.

“It would not be ethical to recommend surgical masks for health-care workers,” MacIntyre said in an interview prior to her presentation. “They have significant leakage around the face. The findings fit everything we know from the experimental data about the poor quality of filtration, the poor fit.”

https://www.massnurses.org/health-and-s ... nItem/3201

[Esheaun Stroakuss]

Job security is a myth boomers made up.

Boomers made a lot of shit up so that it only benefited them and screwed over everyone else.

[The Black Forrest]

Job security is a myth boomers made up.

Boomers made a lot of shit up so that it only benefited them and screwed over everyone else.

I knew WW2 was a fraud!

[Jerzylvania]

Always get my flu shot, yup.


Flu is down 95%. I'm not so much trying to push the "a ton of COVID cases are the flu" (because while possible that seems dumb) as I am pointing out the contradiction.

There isn't really a contradiction, since the flu and Covid aren't the same thing.

If Covid is significantly more infectious than the flu, you can get to the point where you have 95% fewer flu cases but Covid is still running rampant.

The flu being devastated by the current levels of mask-wearing doesn't mean enough people are wearing masks to deal with Covid.

It's not just the masks driving down flu cases. The effectiveness of wiping down surfaces with Lysol and other antiseptic cleansers make a difference, especially in schools.

[Ranoria]

There isn't really a contradiction, since the flu and Covid aren't the same thing.

If Covid is significantly more infectious than the flu, you can get to the point where you have 95% fewer flu cases but Covid is still running rampant.

The flu being devastated by the current levels of mask-wearing doesn't mean enough people are wearing masks to deal with Covid.

It's not just the masks driving down flu cases. The effectiveness of wiping down surfaces with Lysol and other antiseptic cleansers make a difference, especially in schools.

That's totally fair. I'm big skeptical of the masks driving down COVID, this makes more sense though.

[Ifreann]

Is the argument here that masks don't work because people are wearing masks and the spread of the flu is down?

[The Black Forrest]

Is the argument here that masks don't work because people are wearing masks and the spread of the flu is down?

That’s what I thought I read. It’s wiping down surfaces.....

[Ifreann]

Is the argument here that masks don't work because people are wearing masks and the spread of the flu is down?

That’s what I thought I read. It’s wiping down surfaces.....

Everything we're doing to try to fight the spread of COVID is obviously also going to lower the spread of other diseases.

[Farnhamia]

It's not just the masks driving down flu cases. The effectiveness of wiping down surfaces with Lysol and other antiseptic cleansers make a difference, especially in schools.

That's totally fair. I'm big skeptical of the masks driving down COVID, this makes more sense though.

A guide for the perplexed.

[Autumn Wind]

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html
Hey that’s pretty neat.

He could do it today. But he chooses to do it 5 days before Inauguration Day. So Biden will take the blame for any consequences.

What a lovely man he is ...

Remember back in the day when having a timetable for troop withdrawals was a bad thing, and it should be determined by conditions on the ground, not time tables? I wonder what changed.

[Kungsu]

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/11/17/politics/afghanistan-iraq-withdrawal-pentagon/index.html
Hey that’s pretty neat.

Yeah, that's pretty good!

But it's kind of akin to fighting your way through a Dungeons and Dragons session of orcs and dragons just to find a treasure room at the end, with nothing but a wooden chest in the middle of it and strange carvings on the wall. Sure, I want to open the chest, and I am happy with loot, but there is no way that this was it.

I, for one, am not excited to fight the God of All Mimics.

[Jerzylvania]

It's not just the masks driving down flu cases. The effectiveness of wiping down surfaces with Lysol and other antiseptic cleansers make a difference, especially in schools.

That's totally fair. I'm big skeptical of the masks driving down COVID, this makes more sense though.

The efficacy of masks containing expelled droplets is unquestioned in the medical community.

[Kungsu]

That's totally fair. I'm big skeptical of the masks driving down COVID, this makes more sense though.

The efficacy of masks containing expelled droplets is unquestioned in the medical community.

I mean, there is a reason hospital staff has been using them for decades now, and it's not because it makes them look cool.

[Ranoria]

Is the argument here that masks don't work because people are wearing masks and the spread of the flu is down?

That’s what I thought I read. It’s wiping down surfaces.....

No. The argument is that masks aren’t effective at slowing the spread of the flu. We’re not allowed to say masks don’t work with the COVID lol.

Someone pointed out that the flu and COVID are different, which would explain masks devastating the flu and not COVID. I pointed out that that’s the reason I’m not totally against masks.

That's totally fair. I'm big skeptical of the masks driving down COVID, this makes more sense though.

A guide for the perplexed.

Not perplexed. At all.

That's totally fair. I'm big skeptical of the masks driving down COVID, this makes more sense though.

The efficacy of masks containing expelled droplets is unquestioned in the medical community.

You’d think. I think a couple of the things I linked earlier actually explain thats not the case(they might not, but I came across some sources for that while I was getting ze links). It’s actually pretty interesting to follow the history of the surgical masks, if you’re a nerd like I am.

Edit: if you do go looking don’t worry about digging if you can’t find that, I don’t wanna waste your time lol. I’ll find a piece about it, it’s kinds tough these days though, because obvs if you type in “mask” it’s a bunch of COVID-19 stuff
Edit again: err, actually, this might be getting a bit off topic.

[Farnhamia]

A guide for the perplexed.

Not perplexed. At all.

You didn't actually read the page I linked, did you? Or are you simply being contrary for the sake of being contrary?

[Eukaryotic Cells]

I think it's sort of common sense that masks would reduce spread. If the mask catches some of your spit and snot globs when you cough or sneeze, those globs aren't being breathed in by others.

It's obviously not the same as an N95, but we should save those for people who need them.

[The Black Forrest]

That’s what I thought I read. It’s wiping down surfaces.....

No. The argument is that masks aren’t effective at slowing the spread of the flu. We’re not allowed to say masks don’t work with the COVID lol.

Someone pointed out that the flu and COVID are different, which would explain masks devastating the flu and not COVID. I pointed out that that’s the reason I’m not totally against masks.

A guide for the perplexed.

Not perplexed. At all.

The efficacy of masks containing expelled droplets is unquestioned in the medical community.

You’d think. I think a couple of the things I linked earlier actually explain thats not the case(they might not, but I came across some sources for that while I was getting ze links). It’s actually pretty interesting to follow the history of the surgical masks, if you’re a nerd like I am.

Edit: if you do go looking don’t worry about digging if you can’t find that, I don’t wanna waste your time lol. I’ll find a piece about it, it’s kinds tough these days though, because obvs if you type in “mask” it’s a bunch of COVID-19 stuff
Edit again: err, actually, this might be getting a bit off topic.

It might help if you actually read up on it. Your comments suggest you haven’t.

Masks are a legal topic for this thread as trump is so outspoken against them.