New masking guidelines are coming.

Vincent J. Curtis

4 Nov 20

Dr. Theresa Tam let her mask of pretension slip momentarily, but nobody noticed.  She admitted she was wrong, and then adroitly distracted attention from that fact.

Let’s review.  Masking is only useful when social distancing is not maintained.  Masking is intended to protect others from you.  Cloth masks are not virus filters; they are droplet and aerosol filters.

So, where did Tam admit she was wrong?  She began by specifying the construction of a mask: two layers of tightly woven cotton or linen and a layer of a “filtration” material like polypropylene all arranged to be close fitting around the nose and mouth and comfortable.  Where Tam got her expertise in filtration design nobody asked, but she could have said concisely, an N95 mask, but didn’t.  She then said, but don’t throw out what you have.  So, which is correct – what you have or the Tam N95?

The confusion is all due to face coverings being an area of “evolving science,” she said.  “We’re still learning about droplets and aerosols.”

Except it isn’t, and we’re not.  The W.H.O. dropped masking recommendations because cloth masks were proven not to stop the transmission of the flu virus.

To summarize, masking has been a panacea since day one.  Masking justified the ending of the lockdown, and may have contributed to overconfidence.  The experts are at a loss, the virus is out of their control, and it’s making them look bad.

-30-