[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I don't know where you get your info from, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that masks work...
Luckily all the people who came into contact with me escaped from the virus and I attribute it to the masks.

How do you know it was not the vaccine, bleach or Ivermectin?

[M35]

Originally Posted by mvadg

How do you know it was not the vaccine, bleach or Ivermectin?

Why would one take Ivermectin and the like if asymtomatic?

Proper masking + appropriate hygiene etiquette and practices help for sure (which isn't any common though)

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by mvadg

How do you know it was not the vaccine, bleach or Ivermectin?

You are right, now I feel it was the banging of plates that saved them. Masks and vaccines be damned.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

I don't know where you get your info from, but I can tell you from first-hand experience that masks work.

I think it can be said that masks prevent disease! Depending on the type of mask, they protect the wearer, others, or both. That is well established pre-covid. In this respect, is covid not just another virus? (Asking. I don't know)

Seems to me that wearing masks is a very good idea. And having said that, I have to admit that I have recently slipped from being strict straight into not wearing them. So I guess I'll have to put up with the old rounds of colds, flue and maybe covid (which I have probably not had so far) again <--with self.

Originally Posted by mvadg

How do you know it was not the vaccine, bleach or Ivermectin?

I vote for vinegar!

[DigitalOne]

CDC guidelines does not mandate masks for influenza. This is from their guidance from March, 2019, and still not revised. The Sars-Cov-2 virus is perhaps very stupid to get thwarted by 2-rupee cloth masks .

No recommendation can be made at this time for mask use in the community by asymptomatic persons, including those at high risk for complications, to prevent exposure to influenza viruses.

Masks are not usually recommended in non-healthcare settings;

-----

I do carry a 10-rupee mask at all times because I don't want to get into arguments with petty local "tyrants" and their rules , and wear it whenever they ask me to. I have managed 2+ years of the pandemic with just 5 masks !!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

CDC guidelines does not mandate masks for influenza

In my 70 years I don't recall masks being mandated for members of the public before this covid. They were always a choice though. However in neither of my two countries was the choice made to wear them, outside of medical care staff.

More people in some other countries did so, though, whether because of fear of pollution or infection. We always have that choice.

[Gansan]

I continue to wear a mask. Nowadays I have switched to surgical masks instead of washable cloth masks, since they are quite cheap now. I wear one and put on my full face helmet with the visor closed over it while riding my motorbike. Since I wear it only for a couple of hours a day while going out, I use one mask for three days before discarding it. I wear it while driving the car as well. So do my family members. We take the public transport very rarely, but use the same surgical mask while doing so.

[warrioraks]

I think masks do not help in reducing the overall number of cases. But effective usage of masks can lead to slower transmission of the virus so that at any point of time, lesser number of people are infected. This helps in the overall healthcare system not getting overloaded. Having 10 million people infected across an year is so much better than 1 million getting affected within a single week.

I also have a gut feel that all of us have been infected with Covid over last two years, especially Delta and subsequent variants. For some of us, it was just asymptomatic so we never realised. But there is hardly anyone untouched by it.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I continue to wear a mask. Nowadays I have switched to surgical masks instead of washable cloth masks, since they are quite cheap now. I wear one and put on my full face helmet with the visor closed over it while riding my motorbike. Since I wear it only for a couple of hours a day while going out, I use one mask for three days before discarding it. I wear it while driving the car as well. So do my family members. We take the public transport very rarely, but use the same surgical mask while doing so.

What is the perceived benefit of wearing a mask under your helmet or when driving unless it is required by law? I have been in the US for the past couple of months and no one is wearing a mask here. Not outside, not on buses or aircraft nor in stores. It has been very refreshing to go around without needless fear. I had a similar experience on a month long vacation in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab last November when I could skip masks as almost no one wore them. Dreading coming back to India now.
Note: before people get worked up, I always wear masks in India inside buildings, lifts, metro, airports etc. I see no need to wear them outside unless required by law. I haven't worn a mask here in the US anywhere, not even on airplanes or buses or in stores as almost no one is wearing one and it is no longer required.

[rohitoasis]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

What is the perceived benefit of wearing a mask under your helmet or when driving unless it is required by law?

To be honest not even the law cares about masks here in both the states (Kerala and Tamilnadu) that i encounter on daily basis. In my company which is a manufacturing campus of nearly 1000 people. 3 people at best have masking habit. But one good thing of having it under the helmet or in the plant is a massive relief to my asthma. Maybe i am inhaling less of dust and smoke.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

What is the perceived benefit of wearing a mask under your helmet or when driving unless it is required by law?

I may have to stop the bike and go into a store or something. Can't wear helmet inside. May have to remove the helmet and speak to someone. Same issue while driving the car as well. Better to wear it than to pull it out of one's pocket and wear when it becomes necessary.

Here too most people don't wear a mask. Government had some months back notified it is not a must anymore, but it is advisable if people continue to follow protocols.

[dragonfire]

There is no consensus on whether masks are effective in preventing you from catching the virus.

How about people here? How many of you regularly used masks (the N95 one, not the useless cloth masks) and still caught Covid?

Also why is there a sudden surge in Covid cases? The last two surges were because of Delta and Omicron. Didn't hear about any new variants coming our way. So what is happening now?

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

There is no consensus on whether masks are effective in preventing you from catching the virus.

I can vouch that masks are effective in preventing one from catching the virus. Source - my mom, she's a banker so she has to deal with lots of people on daily basis. She's using masks since day 1 of lockdown and still uses it everyday. Last year in second wave of Covid, in addition to masks, she used faceshield and gloves daily, followed safe distance guidance, she has not caught covid once.. touch wood ! Not even cold, flu in this time. So if one follows basic guidelines set by authorities, it'll work !

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

There is no consensus on whether masks are effective in preventing you from catching the virus.

How about people here? How many of you regularly used masks (the N95 one, not the useless cloth masks) and still caught Covid?

Also why is there a sudden surge in Covid cases? The last two surges were because of Delta and Omicron. Didn't hear about any new variants coming our way. So what is happening now?

Been using wildcraft masks for a long time or regular n95 masks. During the covid lull a few months back, started using cotton masks and promptly caught a cold (only that, whew). Back to wildcraft again.

It's just become a part of my face and am subject to ridicule most of the time when i meet family or friends.

The rise in cases here could be because of the election campaigns? And the general lowering of caution among the public. I see a lot of people shopping without masks these days and the shop owners have also given up on asking them to wear masks.

With two young ones at home, I hate to take any undue risks.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by dragonfire

There is no consensus on whether masks are effective in preventing you from catching the virus.

How about people here? How many of you regularly used masks (the N95 one, not the useless cloth masks) and still caught Covid?

IMHO, the key is to reduce inhalation of viral-aerosols, and it depends on factors like viral-aerosol density, time spent in an environment, filtration etc. An N95 mask, when fitted well, is expected to be only 95% effective. So, if one spends several hours in a 10x10 poorly ventilated room with 10 Covid+ people, the aerosol density may be so high that 95% filtration will not provide enough protection.

Coming to my own experience, we have been working at office through most of the pandemic, and I believe I have managed to avoid catching the virus (confirmed with Antibody testing before getting vaccinated and then a couple of more times to track how the Igg levels fall over time - mostly out of curiosity). Our work environment is airconditioned, so I don't take off my mask ( a 3M Aura 9320+) inside the work-env. At the start of pandemic, the company I work for, increased fresh air-intake and ACPH to improve ventilation, and I think that also helps.

Some of my colleagues are as dilligent about masking as I am, while some others are not. Over the last two years, when some infected individual ended up coming into office (as they hadn't developed symptoms yet), it was the chin-maskers who ended up catching Covid. Not every chin-masker caught it, but several did. But, not a single person using a properly fitted N95 caught it. This may not be conclusive evidence, but it is good enough for me to say masks work.

Overall, I think of masks as one of the several tools (albeit a powerful one) to reduce the amount of viral aerosol inhalation. It works better when combined with other measures like avoiding crowding, improving ventilation or filtration (with HEPA filters when improved ventilation is not feasible)