It’s difficult to keep pace with ever-changing scientific consensus about masks. The White House COVID-19 advisor Anthony Fauci advised the public to not bother wearing them in the initial days of the pandemic. However, the administration changed their mind and now recommends that everyone wear a mask. After the availability of vaccines last spring and winter, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that no one needed them. Then, after determining that delta was far more contagious, the CDC reversed its decision. The CDC still supports the use of masks at schools, despite a significant debunking of the study.
Leana Wen is a CNN medical analyst and was once president of Planned Parenthood. Wen, a cable news anchor, is a strong supporter of COVID-19 coercive measures. She has previously proposed that government ban unvaccinated individuals from travelling (and perhaps from ever leaving their home). On Monday, Wen said provocatively that cloth masks used to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant were essentially ineffective.
She advised that a cloth face mask should not be worn. She said that cloth masks were little more than cosmetic decorations. In light of the omicron, there’s no need for them.”
.@DrLeanaWenAvoid wearing a cloth mask. Cloth masks should not be considered facial decoration. Omicron makes them unfit for use. pic.twitter.com/Kpoj18sxdi
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 21, 2021
Huh? Huh? TownhallSpencer Brown of the CDC points out that Wen’s interpretation of science is contrary to the White House’s guidance. The CDC believes cloth masks can be used safely. The CDC actually gave instructions to people. Not Wear N95 masks
Wen supports mandates so it is possible that she believes higher-quality masks should only be used in certain settings. Yet if she’s right, it means the masks that the overwhelming majority of people are wearing in order to comply with mandates—in public schools, on public transportation, in many workplaces, gyms, and even social settings—aren’t doing any good. Another element of pandemic hygiene is the public health obligation that forces people to wear them. Feel You can make them safer, but they don’t offer much in the way of protection.
Some studies showed that COVID-19 spread was reduced when a mask was worn. Others were less successful. Of course, omicron and delta are more contagious, so Wen’s assertion that masks don’t do much to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is likely correct. This argument should not be taken as a criticism. Not removing all mask mandates. A government inspection of the quality and safety of the masks used by people would be an unreasonable overreach. It is already very difficult to enforce the mandate, since people are known to pull the masks below their noses for easier breathing.
It is better that the public health bureaucracy admits we can’t avoid this pandemic. COVID-19, at this stage, is far too infectious to be controlled by government tools. The only way to stop COVID-19 from spreading is by transforming the United States into a totalitarian China-like state.
We must end the mask mandates at schools and on planes. These mandates are a failure for rational policymakers. weakens their legitimacy.