Monday, May 04, 2020

Misinformation In One Chart

So the following image was posted online in order, I suppose, to shame those who are not wearing masks in public.

Now for the record, I approve of mask usage in enclosed areas with lots of people. I also will abide by rules set by owners of private businesses because it's their business and they can decide the terms of service. But the problem in this chart is very glaring when you think of the science and purpose behind the mask.

The mask, worn properly, that is, covering your mouth AND nose, is supposed to be very effective (+90%) in reducing the amount of airborne virus in droplets expelled by the wearer. Similarly it blocks the entrance of said aerosolized viruses from entering the mouth or nose of the wearer. If the CDC et-al are not lying about the effectiveness of a mask then line one on the chart is a bold faced lie.

If a asymptomatic Wuhan virus infected person is not wearing a mask and you ARE wearing a mask, your infection risk is very low. The only time your infection risk is high is if both you AND the infected person are sharing space and neither of you are wearing a mask.

The clue as to the bold lie of line one is in line 2. Why would the infection risk of a non-masked person be "low" if the asymptomatic person was wearing a mask but not the other way around? Do masks suddenly NOT work when a person is NOT infected?

Recognize when you are being fed a narrative rather than information.