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Dear Readers,
The world is wondering why the U.S., a developed nation, is
struggling to control the pandemic. The answer appears to be what is
no secret: There is a great divide among the elected public servants
with respect to following the advice of scientists from the National
Institutes of Health and the Center for Disease Control. The public
servant holding the highest elected office, i.e., the current
president, Donald Trump, has been recorded saying that he likes to
“play it down” and is well known as being dismissive of face masks,
whereas former vice-president and presidential candidate Joe Biden
has a plan to increase production of masks and other personal
protective equipment should he be elected.
This divide leads some U.S. citizens to be confused as to
whether masks protect the wearer, however, the research is clear: a
well fitted personal respirator generally intended for medical
professionals is highly protective, however these become in short
supply during a pandemic. Home-made cloth masks, depending upon the
type of material used and the fit, offer some protection, although
less than a respirator.
“Governments are preparing for a potential influenza pandemic. 1” So
begins the abstract of a research article published in 2008 in the
peer reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE. The authors cite data
collected during the SARS epidemic and analyzed by respected
researchers throughout Asia who indicate that the use of face masks
by the general public have the ability to significantly decrease
transmission of infectious airborne particles. The authors also note
that personal respirators protect the wearer against the airborne
transmission of other infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis.
The immediate solution seems to be to increase production of
respirators, unfortunately, the machines to create them are
expensive and cannot be built overnight, making private industry
reluctant to invest in such an undertaking. That notwithstanding, a
creative solution was suggested 2 in Forbes, based upon a U.S.
government relationship with private industry, although the author
presciently opined that such a creative solution would not be
adopted in the near term.
Joe Biden refers to his presidential campaign as a “Battle
for the Soul of the Nation;” Donald Trump is holding rallies in
which few of the attendees wear masks or maintain social/physical
distance.
For our common Humanity, let us hope that Science emerges as
the victor.
1van der Sande M, Teunis P, Sabel R (2008) Professional and
Home-Made Face Masks Reduce Exposure to Respiratory Infections among
the General Population. PLoS ONE 3(7): e2618.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002618 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799/pdf/pone.0002618.pdf
2 Baldwin, William “Where’s the Fabric for Masks and Gowns?” Forbes
March 26, 2020 https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2020/03/26/wheres-the-fabric-for-masks-and-gowns/#168d10904d8a
Please feel free to send questions or comments to ecj2@cynthiascenturies.net |
