Lately, much chatter in the media, as well as talk heard ’round my neighborhood, leads to one simple question. Do masks prevent the spread of Coronavirus? The answer is yes. A recent study shows wearing masks could reduce the incidence of Coronavirus by 80% or more. Are masks perfect? No. Do they work really well? Yes.
Do Masks Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus?
Recently Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus response coordinator, emphasized there is “clear scientific evidence” that masks work. On top of that, the Annals of Internal Medicine just published a landmark analysis of 64 studies finding that masks prevent the spread of Coronaviruses and other airborne illnesses.
Half Of Americans Stay Home Due To Coronavirus
The US is plowing ahead with opening businesses to restart the economy. Unfortunately, more than half of Americans don’t yet want to leave their homes to patronize these businesses. One simple way to address this problem is to commit as a country to wearing masks.
Is Coronavirus Spread Through The Air?
Furthering mask initiatives around the US, an esteemed panel of experts from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) stated that because Coronavirus is aerosolized and lingers in the air, masks are a good option for preventing its spread. In their formal letter, the NAS panel let the current administration know that Coronavirus is transmitted not only through sneezing and coughing, but also by speaking and breathing. In effect, the Coronavirus is an airborne disease. This is why masks work, they prevent the virus from being emitted, or sprayed (heavily via sneezing, or lightly by breathing) from infected persons to others. Masks prevent the virus from spreading into and pooling in the air. For this same reason, it’s safer to be outdoors than inside, because in this scenario the virus is dispersed, rather than concentrated. Still, masks are needed both inside and outside to protect our population from infected individuals, prevent its spread, and open up our economy quickly.
Think Of Coronavirus As Glitter
It may help to think of Coronavirus as glitter. A mask is going to stop those who may have COVID-19 from efficiently spreading corona-glitter to others. In a recent article in the Washington Post, Joseph Allen from the School of Public Health at Harvard emphasizes that masks prevent the spread of Coronavirus very effectively. Getting this information out so that more people comply with wearing masks will unite our country around a cheap yet effective initiative that erases the false dichotomy between health and economics because it addresses both with fairly little effort.
What Types of Masks Are Protective Against Coronavirus?
Dr. Harvey Fineberg, head of the NAS committee that sent the letter on the effectiveness of mask use to the current administration, said he would wear a mask to the grocery store, and that among other options, items ranging from a bandana to a balaclava would work well in preventing the spread of Coronavirus. Handpicked by the current administration, Dr. Fineberg leads the NAS Standing Committee Requested by White House in Response to Coronavirus.
Masks Save Lives
I interviewed Dr. Todd Dorfman, Director of EMS for Boulder County Colorado about the use of masks to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. He states, “Face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as social distancing, help slow the spread of the disease,” adding, “Asking everyone to wear cloth masks can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by people who have the disease but don’t realize it. Countries that required face masks early in the pandemic seem to have had the best success slowing the disease’s spread.” He pointed out that these countries also used testing far earlier and more frequently than the US at the outset of the pandemic in January.
To Mask Or Unmask
Unfortunately, asking our citizens to do the right thing when it comes to Coronavirus may not be that simple because mask use is now a very heated topic. Here in Colorado, a man walked into a restaurant in Aurora, just outside Denver. He was told he needed to wear a mask to be served. In response, he shot a restaurant employee. Thankfully, we can all agree that this extreme overreaction is not even close to an appropriate response under any circumstances.
Japan Used Masks To Prevent Spread of Coronavirus
On the other hand, an article in Forbes called New Study Shows That This One Thing Could Cause 80% Decrease in COVID-19 Cases, points out that while the US is slowly trying to reopen, Japan didn’t ever really close.
The Land of the Rising Sun has had no lockdown, no stopped subways and most businesses have remained open.
As of this writing, the US has suffered over 100,000 Coronavirus deaths, yet Japan has endured less than 1,000. While Japan’s population is around one-third of ours, they’ve suffered 1% of the deaths incurred here in the US. Why? One reason is that the Japanese have willingly used masks while waiting for a cure.
How To Use A Mask Properly To Prevent Coronavirus Spread
Dr. Dorfman pointed out that The Mayo Clinic has a simple, reasonable set of instructions for putting on and taking off a cloth mask:
- Place your mask over your mouth and nose
- Tie it behind your head or use ear loops and make sure it’s snug
- Don’t touch your mask while wearing it
- If you accidentally touch your mask, wash or sanitize your hands
- Remove the mask by untying it or lifting off the ear loops without touching the front of the mask or your face
- Wash your hands immediately after removing your mask
- Regularly wash your mask with soap and water in the washing machine, it’s fine to launder with other clothes
President Trump’s Surgeon General Recommends Wearing A Mask
It’s true, when there was a shortage, the Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Robins, advised against the use of masks. This was when we were in the initial stages of Coronavirus, unprepared, and perilously short on personal protective equipment (PPE). However, he now not only recommends mask-wearing but has a video demonstrating how to make one.
Why Didn’t Vice President Pence Wear A Mask At The Mayo Clinic
Prior to his visit, the Mayo Clinic briefed the Vice President’s team on their mandatory mask-wearing policy. Unfortunately, he did not comply. During this tragic time with so many lives lost, and little to no way to properly grieve them, it is more important than ever to show patriotism by protecting our medical warriors in any way we can. More people have died in the last 2 months than in the Korean and Vietnam wars combined. We can easily protect our front line heroes at places like the Mayo Clinic with little to no sacrifice. Why not wear a mask in public? Especially when you cannot social distance.
Why Doesn’t President Trump Wear A Mask?
Perhaps this administration thinks it would be a show of weakness to don masks everywhere. However, it’s not too late to lead by example. It would demonstrate inspiring strength and bravery for our highest public officials to wear masks in public.
Will You Wear A Mask To Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus?
Do masks stop the spread of Coronavirus completely? No. Are they perfect? No. But let’s not allow perfect to be the enemy of the good. Masks save lives. The important thing is that we don’t let nuances deter us from the most important public causes when it comes to health. Will you wear a mask?
Sheila Perl says
Wonderful, timely article, Elana, thank you for speaking up about mask wearing! My husband and I both wear masks as do our grown children. We want to protect ourselves and everyone around us!
Elana says
Thanks Sheila.
esther says
I am one who believes I have to take care of my 76 year old body, mind, and spirit to improve my immune systems so that I am able to fight off anything that comes my way. Living in the epicenter (NYC), I have continued to see my Acupuncturist and Chiropractor to that end, much to the dismay of my children!! That said, there are those whose immune systems are compromised or less able to fight off infection. It isn’t giving up my rights or any other ridiculous sense of independence to wear a mask in order to be a good neighbor, citizen and person and try to reduce the possibility of transmitting any disease I might be carrying (even if I have no symptoms). Is it inconvenient? Yes. So what!
Elana says
Esther, thank you for sharing your perspective here, it’s nice that you do it for others when you don’t need to.
Manessa says
Thank you for being a voice of reason using educated, scientific facts from experts!
Elana says
You’re welcome Manessa.
Luci Laird says
Elana, very good article. I wear a mask everytime I go out the door of my house. I am in my 70’s and have COPD. The mask is a little uncomfortable, but I know I am doing my part to prevent the spread of a deadly virus and that makes it all okay. All of our extended family wears a facemask when outside their homes. They too want to stay healthy and not spread the virus. Most other countries where masks are a social norm have seen a much less infection and death rate. Not certain why this has failed in America. Perhaps its at mental illness maybe Obsessive Defiant Disorder, that causes people to rebel to ;proper social manners. Who would purposely want to spread this?
Elana says
Luci, I too have come upon a good deal of data suggesting that countries where masks are widely used have less infection and death rate. I wonder if ODD is in the DSM. At any rate, I have several relatives on the front lines of this and I wear a mask to protect them, as well as for other reasons.
Sheila says
Thank you for this post, Elana. Yes, we could learn from other countries. I spent three weeks in Japan one November and saw a lot of people wearing masks. That’s when I learned that they wear masks to prevent others from catching their colds, flus, etc. Masks have helped not only reduce the spread of the virus, but helped their economy, as they did not have to fully shut down. We could use a bit of that sort of civic-mindedness here.
Elana says
Sheila, yes I love that their economy did not ever really close.
Marylou says
I am 76 years old, will stay home as much as possible and will wear a mask when I do go out. This was not a negative post, just factual. Thank you, Elana.
Elana says
Thanks Marylou.
Kristina says
Bravo Elana, for another well-written article, and for responding with such grace to your occasional unhappy commenters. You are an excellent role model for us all.
Yes for masks!
Elana says
Thanks Kristina.
Vicki says
Not everyone in the medical world agrees with mask wearing. Our immune system is educated by some exposure to various germs. We are meant to breathe in fresh air.
Elana says
Vicki, I totally agree, we all need fresh air, but not when we are within 6 feet of someone who may have COVID, and when we don’t have enough hospital beds if everyone is infected simultaneously.
Lucy says
Some immunologists say that wearing a mask is antithetical to human safety against viruses due to the increased oxygen stress they cause which potentiates and makes us susceptible to the hundreds of thousands of latent viruses we carry. The barrier they form also reduces our daily immune hits that keep our immune system exercised and in top shape to protect us. (Same issue with social distancing; it too is negative to immune function.) Frankly, if we can keep the dirty business of political maneuvering out of our health care we would be better served as a nation and individually. Now back to cooking…
Elana says
Lucy, thanks for your comment. I reached out to a number scientists and physicians about this prior to writing this post, and they all stated masks were imperative at this time. I would be so happy to get some of your sources on this as it is very important to me to stay up to date and continue learning more.
Lucy says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWBy3-4_lVc
Here is the latest.
Best,
Lucy
Elana says
Lucy, thanks for sharing this video, very interesting. At 12 minutes in I began to encounter issues. First, there are a number of documented cases where people are not immune for life after testing positive:
https://www.stripes.com/news/navy/five-uss-theodore-roosevelt-sailors-test-positive-a-second-time-for-the-coronavirus-18-others-taken-off-the-ship-1.629831
Further and anecdotally, the people my family lost were healthy, non-smokers. not over 70.
I agree with Prof Cahill in that we would not have needed a lock down. I talk about this in the section of my article that refers to Japan.
In terms of the discussion on herd immunity, we let the virus circulate in NYC unchecked for weeks and the result was a shortage of hospital beds and refrigerator trucks full of dead bodies, so not sure how the theory from the video translates into reality.
In terms of hydroxychloroquine there are reports that there is not enough for those who take it for lupus, etc., so can’t agree that this is over-supply. Further, numerous studies are finding this drug may not be an effective prophylactic treatment for Coronavirus.
In terms of the idea that COVID-19 has been blown out of proportion by the media and its current classification is not approopriate, the scientists I spoke with said researchers were getting closer to moving it from BSL3 to BSL4.
Interesting also that Prof Cahill said the chase up time for vaccines is a year or so. Generally, 5 years is the time frame to develop and deploy and the scientists I spoke with refer to that as lightening speed. I do agree with her on thimerosal, I think it’s outrageous that mercury is used. Also agree with her on surveillance which is why I don’t use a cell phone, I don’t want my movements tracked by big-data.
In terms of mask use, her idea that only those who have COVID-19 wear masks is theoretically fantastic, however, she does not address the incubation period during which subjects are asymptomatic.
In terms of a toxic drug like hydroxychloroquine it’s odd to recommend taking it prophylactically when masks are an option, again, please refer to the section on Japan in my article.
I spent some time looking for the trial of 68,000 on hydroxychloroquine in China but came up empty-handed. If you have it please forward to me. Also plenty of peer-reviewed papers that show COVID-19 was not developed in a lab.
Professor Cahill is very intelligent, confident, and well spoken, but as she advocates, it’s important to investigate ideas. I was very excited when the video began and wanted everything in it to be so, as life would be a lot simpler, but could not corroborate much if anything in it.
Sandy says
I’m surprised that someone with health issues as you have would promote the wearing of a mask. As I cannot condone wearing one just to show strength and solidarity and the fact that I do have a health issue, I stand in support of those who cannot wear one. In my opinion you using this forum (as is your right) to promote mask wearing was in poor choice. Better use of your forum might be to ask why the Covid deaths are hitting the elderly the most and most of those deaths are in care centers. We are not getting the whole story.
Elana says
Sandy, thanks for sharing your opinion.
DARLEEN M EDERER says
Great comment.