To Mask or not to two - Mask Megathread cont.

Keep reading back, maybe you'll get it eventually.

For the majority of people it's no more than a mild inconvenience absolutely. For a thankfully very small minority (who are generally also the group most susceptible to a host of other illnesses as well) it can be more serious. I've never said otherwise.

Thankfully we have practical measures and vaccinations to support that second group which is exactly where our efforts should be focused. For the rest though, they will recover just fine with some rest and over the counter medication.

These are the facts after 2 and a half years of us dealing with this. Covid is of little to no risk to the vast majority of people who get it which is a very positive thing. For those it is more of a threat, we have treatments.

What I don't understand is people like yourself who seem to wish it was otherwise and who seem to have a real problem with anyone who doesn't take your views as gospel or doesn't behave the way you think they should behave.

I don't care if you or anyone else wants to wear a mask, socially distance, limit your interactions, stay home, or whatever else. I don't care if you do so because you feel safer doing it, or because you feel like you're protecting others by doing so. It's your life, live it however you wish

However, I DO have a problem when you or people like you overstep into thinking that you have the right to tell anyone else what they should do.

I also have a problem with the attitude that comes with it - effectively throwing a tantrum because people disagree with you or don't immediately validate you or your opinion. I don't care if you agree with me or don't. I don't mind if you post counter arguments (it's a discussion forum after all), but the nonsense like the above posts from you add nothing, and only serve to undermine any point you might actually have.

Your (and others) name calling, deflection, baiting, tantrums and other such guff is wasted on me. This isn't Twitter and I'm not a teenager, nor am I so thin skinned as to be offended or hurt by an anonymous randomer on the Internet.

If you want to engage in a mature way then please do, but otherwise just add me to your ignore list (this goes for anyone else here as well), but be under no illusions - I am going nowhere and I will continue to post my views on this topic as I see them.

Hope this clears it up for you.

It's a discussion forum. If you quote someone or reply to their post, people will generally respond to it.

You're again not reading what was said, or not understanding it, or just ignoring it to make an inaccurate point - no one has said that there aren't those who are actually vulnerable. No one has said they shouldn't mask up, distance or whatever they want to. No one has said that these people shouldn't be supported (see my point above about where our efforts should be focussed)

The rest of your post is just an exercise in irony so I won't bother going through it point by point but safe to say that you're proving my point for me.

As I said, feel free to put me on ignore but this is not a blog. If you post things, people will likely respond with their own views.

The only arrogance is from posters who respond to reasonable, articulate posts from myself and others with things like ...

"Why don't you go work with covid patients in hospitals, give them some paracetamol and tell them to get up and back to work and stop milking it",

or

"You seem to know an awful lot about this. Maybe you should take over from Dr Lambert, infectious disease doctor in Dublin"

or

"That's SCREAMING lol. Good try"

or

"Stay safe behind your keyboard and find somewhere else to troll"

... and then have the neck to play the victim when called out on it - that's arrogance!

If you don't like what I post, add me to your ignore list. If however you have a deeper issue with people having different views and just want to be validated, maybe a blog or Twitter (where you can just block and delete the comments you don't like) is a better option.

To bring it back on topic though, it does seem that the same people who have issues with different opinions are also the same who were the loudest in calling for restrictions, enforcement, "follow the science", "protect others you selfish person", and what not - and not just on this forum.

The "bad faith" as you call it is evident when replies to their posts are met with the above. That's not just to my posts either. There's many others who receive similarly "insightful" replies. Should we just ignore it and thank their posts instead perhaps? I will grant you though that it's not just on this topic/thread, it's all over this site these days.

You have inadvertently highlighted the real problem though - the notion of "sides" and trying to pigeonhole people based on a single opinion on a particular topic. To use your example - yes of course a drink driver is wrong to do that particular thing, but does it mean that their opinions on every other matter should be dismissed?

My replies and views on posters are based on their contributions to the topic in question and posts they themselves make on that topic . On another topic I may well agree with them. I'm someone who can never spot a re-reg or who doesn't remember usernames most of the time because I'm more interested in what they post than what "side" they might have been on in another thread.

Anyway, I'm not derailing this topic anymore. If anyone doesn't like what I post either don't reply to me, or add me to your ignore lists. Simple.

Nobody's forcing 5 million people to do what they don't want. Poll after poll have shown support for some form of mask mandate.

You calling it 'simply moronic' doesn't make it so. The mask mandate legislation is informed by the same public health intent as those against drink driving, or smoking in workplaces \ bars or mandating seat belts or standards of health and safety in workplaces, or for vehicles.

After all a seat belt is just a piece of material. Yet if a back seat passenger isn't wearing one they are more likely to injure themselves and others. They didn't set out to injure anyone. They might find it an inconvenience.

On your first point look at the data between Scotland and Ireland in the last omicron wave. Scotland had mask mandates we didn’t. Scotland had a longer wave, more hospitalisations and deaths.

obviously there are some caveats, but if mask mandates worked then Scotland would have been lower in every metric. We had similar waves and metrics behebend. So at a real stretch you might if you use every excuse say mask mandates and no mask mandates yield the same results. Given what happened you’d say mark mandates made things worse (lots of reasons for this too).

now I’m not saying all masks don’t work. But it’s clear 99% of what is used is useless and worse people think it offers production and become more prone to get infected (eg not social distance, etc)

Interesting. You forgot to note this is a preprint that has not moved on to peer review. It’s been in preprint for a year and a quarter. You should also read section 4 where data assumptions are.

Since it’s not moved on to peer review there are issues with their conclusions and/or methods of obtaining data. Given the length of time since it’s been in preprint I’d say this will never be officially published.

the above is true for anything at this stage. Both sides use something as fact that’s not fact. people love citing pre prints papers in review as final as well, which they shouldn’t.

You can't look at one mitigation measure in isolation without taking account of population patterns , travel from neighbouring jurisdictions where infections may be higher etc . Scotland has suffered all through the pandemic with its proximity and relationship to it's much more laissez faire neighbour , for example .

Don't disagree at all, jackboy.

Masks are never considered on their own. That delaying of the inevitable as you say , is what gives hospitals more time to react , and that is why it is used as a mitigation measure, among other measures like restricting mobility etc .

Having said that some masks properly used prevent more than saliva spray.

Asked and answered 2 pages back- and you will see why the conversation is done.

Yes! he is "trolling" because he says things you don't like and he doesn't think we should all start wearing masks and be terrified and turn into extreme hypochondriacs ...

Hey cool story bro, pity that is all it is though, just a story followed up with a weird personal irrational reaction. If you are getting chills you may have Covid.

I think the point is that they want to be forced to wear masks. It isn’t the masks that they want, it is the forcing.

So essentially people aren't wearing masks because of insecurity? They don't want to stand out, or worry what random strangers might think of them?

If that was actually the case (which I highly doubt - there are still some wearing masks in retail and no one bats an eye lid from my observations), then I think they have bigger issues to worry about to be honest.

And anyone who is that interested/concerned/whatever can wear whatever mask they want (as they've been able to all along regardless of advice or mandates), can research what's out there and recommended (Google is their friend), and buy whatever suits them. You seem obsessed with the notion of people being told what to do on this topic. Why is that?

Plus there's a new round of booster vaccinations available starting next week for the over 60s (with younger/vulnerable cohorts being offered one next), so there's that too. That's entirely the appropriate and correct approach. Those who are potentially at greater risk are offered supports.

Maybe, just maybe the fact that the majority aren't wearing masks is because the majority of people just aren't that bothered/concerned - especially in the face of the far more immediate and real impacts of all the other issues we're facing as a country at the moment.

'Would you get off the stage' is right...

Mask BBQ’s sound like fun. Covidmeetups.com. Experience other human contact once again. Never be lonely again 😆

Interesting paper on masking in schools ..

Conclusions We found no significant differences in SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to FCM mandates in Catalonian schools. Instead, age was the most important factor in explaining the transmission risk for children attending school.

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Wow, almost like what a lot of us were saying here ... back in 2020.