This post is a sequel of part 1. See part 1 here. Below are some of the data showing the physiological—and in some cases health—impact of masking in pregnant women.Forbidden Science is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
While this is good, IMHO it is much like reinventing the wheel each time we wish to go for a drive.
First, the N95 is a respirator, not a mask. However, it still can be used to refute the claims of mad maskers as respirators have been demonstrated to have superior filtering capabilities, in part due to the fact that they form a seal around the face of the wearer and masks do not. Several factors must be met in order for a filter to do what it is designed to do, these include being placed in a position such that the fluid being filtered cannot bypass the filter. Without a seal, surgical masks fail this. They are no different than putting a 1’11’ square screen in a 2’ x 3’ opening and expecting to be able to keep bugs out.
However, what is true for the incapabilities of a respirator in regards to filtering out viruses is even more true with masks; respirators cannot filter out viruses and if they can’t, neither can masks.
Respirators do have known health risks. This is why the insert clearly states that if used commercially in the US or Canada, (perhaps it states this for elsewhere too in languages other than English.) the wearer must be certified to wear respirators which requires a specialized medical exam to ensure that there are no underlying health issues that when paired with a respirator could lead to injury or death. Please read this again, for it is packed with meaning. First, if such a law exists, and it does, would it not indicate that there are known health risks for wearing a respirator? Secondly, any and all employers that forced their employees to wear a N95 without having them certified have violated the law and are at risk both civilly and possibly criminally.
Does this translate to masks? Some of it does. The findings of the studies cited in the OP do not as they tested respirators and not masks and the two are not the same. However, both do collect bacteria and fungi which will grow amongst the fibers of each and both have the same hygiene protocols.
Do the legal issues? Possibly. If I, as a supervisor allowed any of my employees to not use required safety equipment or use safety gear not suited to task, then I and my employer would be at risk under civil law. If there was a mishap involving a subordinate using safety gear not suited to task, then I and my employer could be held accountable under criminal law too. This applies to all safety gear. I do not see how it would not apply to masks, it certainly does for respirators.
A series of questions I have often asked mad maskers from the West starts with, “Have you ever worn a mask against a virus before Covid? “. Of course they have not. Then I ask why that is? “Do you think that masks are a new invention?” The answer with some form of “No, they have been around for a long time.” “Yes they have, for well over a century.” I reply. Then I ask the last one, “Do you believe that medical researchers just suddenly discovered that masks exist at the start of Covid, having been completely ignorant of their existence prior to early 2019?”
With the continued ignoring of all that is known of masks outside of medicine, it seems like the answer to my last question might actually be yes; medical researchers knew nothing and still know nothing about the century + long existence of respiratory protection of any kind nor the laws, regulations of rules governing their use.
Beyond this, there is real world evidence that masks do in fact have perverse effects. Studies between two pairs of cojoined counties, each pair in different States of the US found that the counties that enforced mask mandates had a high incident of covid. Yes, lost of limitations there’s however, how about Japan? Here 99% of the population wore masks as “recommended” for 3 and 1/2 years. Many still are. My med school still requires them. Yet, we had 8 waves of covid. The waves got bigger, with the 7th wave larger than any that preceded it and the last wave under the reign of mask madness bigger still.
Wheels are round, they roll. Masks and respirators do not stop viruses and they have perverse effects.
While this is good, IMHO it is much like reinventing the wheel each time we wish to go for a drive.
First, the N95 is a respirator, not a mask. However, it still can be used to refute the claims of mad maskers as respirators have been demonstrated to have superior filtering capabilities, in part due to the fact that they form a seal around the face of the wearer and masks do not. Several factors must be met in order for a filter to do what it is designed to do, these include being placed in a position such that the fluid being filtered cannot bypass the filter. Without a seal, surgical masks fail this. They are no different than putting a 1’11’ square screen in a 2’ x 3’ opening and expecting to be able to keep bugs out.
However, what is true for the incapabilities of a respirator in regards to filtering out viruses is even more true with masks; respirators cannot filter out viruses and if they can’t, neither can masks.
Respirators do have known health risks. This is why the insert clearly states that if used commercially in the US or Canada, (perhaps it states this for elsewhere too in languages other than English.) the wearer must be certified to wear respirators which requires a specialized medical exam to ensure that there are no underlying health issues that when paired with a respirator could lead to injury or death. Please read this again, for it is packed with meaning. First, if such a law exists, and it does, would it not indicate that there are known health risks for wearing a respirator? Secondly, any and all employers that forced their employees to wear a N95 without having them certified have violated the law and are at risk both civilly and possibly criminally.
Does this translate to masks? Some of it does. The findings of the studies cited in the OP do not as they tested respirators and not masks and the two are not the same. However, both do collect bacteria and fungi which will grow amongst the fibers of each and both have the same hygiene protocols.
Do the legal issues? Possibly. If I, as a supervisor allowed any of my employees to not use required safety equipment or use safety gear not suited to task, then I and my employer would be at risk under civil law. If there was a mishap involving a subordinate using safety gear not suited to task, then I and my employer could be held accountable under criminal law too. This applies to all safety gear. I do not see how it would not apply to masks, it certainly does for respirators.
A series of questions I have often asked mad maskers from the West starts with, “Have you ever worn a mask against a virus before Covid? “. Of course they have not. Then I ask why that is? “Do you think that masks are a new invention?” The answer with some form of “No, they have been around for a long time.” “Yes they have, for well over a century.” I reply. Then I ask the last one, “Do you believe that medical researchers just suddenly discovered that masks exist at the start of Covid, having been completely ignorant of their existence prior to early 2019?”
With the continued ignoring of all that is known of masks outside of medicine, it seems like the answer to my last question might actually be yes; medical researchers knew nothing and still know nothing about the century + long existence of respiratory protection of any kind nor the laws, regulations of rules governing their use.
Beyond this, there is real world evidence that masks do in fact have perverse effects. Studies between two pairs of cojoined counties, each pair in different States of the US found that the counties that enforced mask mandates had a high incident of covid. Yes, lost of limitations there’s however, how about Japan? Here 99% of the population wore masks as “recommended” for 3 and 1/2 years. Many still are. My med school still requires them. Yet, we had 8 waves of covid. The waves got bigger, with the 7th wave larger than any that preceded it and the last wave under the reign of mask madness bigger still.
Wheels are round, they roll. Masks and respirators do not stop viruses and they have perverse effects.