I was caught off guard by the change in the CDC mask guidance. I was confused and skeptical.

[TomSlick]

Then I remembered what I have been saying for months: "I'll wear a mask until Dr. Fauci tells me I don't have to."

Well, Dr. Fauci has told me I don't have to keep wearing the damned mask. I will accept the good news. Well, maybe except at Walmart - people there scare me.

[questionseverything]

1. I will probably mask in crowds but it is great to be relaxed about it

[Ms. Toad]

2. Just keep in mind that Dr. Fauci ALSO told you not to wear one for months

after the science was clear that masks effectively minimized transmission of disease.

I don't trust people or agencies who have been repeatedly wrong on this issue in the past, especially when I can read the research myself and recognize the gaps in the CDC position that you can drive a mack truck through.

[TomSlick]

5. I don't buy it.

Dr. Fauci was telling us to not wear masks when there was a shortage of PPE for medical personnel.

Dr. Fauci knows a damned site more about this than I (or you). I will follow his advise and be happy about it. We criticized the right-wingers when they would not follow the expert medical advise. We should happily follow the science now.

[HUAJIAO]

20. I remember him saying last year not to wear a mask because they 'weren't needed,'

NOT because of "the shortage." I could be wrong.

And I believe he referred to N95 masks!

If there was such a shortage, why was I able to find so many? in March, through May, even...
Why? Because I spent hours doing research....

The CDC finally, over a year late, came out recently and said that Covid-19 is transmitted by aerosol.

I knew this also a year ago...The science was there....

[dalton99a]

32. What Fauci said:

[HUAJIAO]

47. Thanks for posting that video.

So he said both that there was a shortage AND they weren't needed.

I was wrong about him saying N95.. I couldn't remember for sure.

He also said wearing 'masks' is good if you are infected.. He then pooped Asian countries where many people wear masks.

I did buy 3M N95 respirator masks in January 2020 before N95 masks did become in short supply and I had the opinion that something big was coming. . Then in March and onwards I was able to find plenty of non-N95 masks, which I understood were also in short supply. I even offered some to my PCP and his medical group.. They said they didn't need them! They all wore just the simple surgical masks.



Eh,,, I don;t want to write 9 paragraphs. The whole 'mask thing' is really too complicated. Actually, not complicated at all.... but I'm still on my 1st coffee... late night...

[AllyCat]

46. I work in a hospital. We had nothing close to what we needed

for N95 supply. Starting in March. Nobody except you could get those? We were told not to wear them , then to wear them for weeks on end. That was supply. Not Medical advice.

CDC did initially say they weren’t needed. I’m gonna chalk that one up to the CDC following orders from the idiot in the WH at that time, not realizing he was going to try to kill Americans with the disease outbreak.

I believe it is likely safe in many places. Others, not so much.

[Ms. Toad]

51. My point, precisely.

He told us not to wear masks for reasons other than science, at a time when the science was clear that masks were an effective means of mitigating the risk. Not only that, but he said, or at least implied, that his statements were based in science. As to masks, he lost a lot of credibility by making those factually inaccurate statements, regardless of the purpose for which he made them.

[scipan]

57. Do you know how science works?

This was before all the testing of masks, at least the ones I saw.

He said if you're infected you should wear a mask. It is still believed that wearing a mask, at least the less than N95 and surgical masks, protect the people around you more than yourself.

He said it might not be that good since people who aren't used to them might be touching their faces a lot to adjust, and touching the inside. Still true but again, those tests hadn't been done showing they were more efficacious than they thought.

And I think he underestimated most of us in our ability to use them correctly.

And most of all, and he said this, health care workers needed them and they were in short supply. He didn't predict the massive number of people making homemade masks.

He didn't lie.

[Ms. Toad]

60. My science degree pretty strongly suggests that I do.

And based on that scientific background and my research in scientific and medical journals at the time, I know he was wrong at the time he said it. We have known, based on science, since at least March 2020 that masks are effective in preventing transmission of COVID.

Fauci has also since admitted what we knew at the time, and has admitted that his statements were based not in science, but in the social/political calculation about people's behavior that might deprive healthcare workers of masks. People were (myself included) making and distributing hundreds of thousands of masks starting in early March 2020 - long before Fauci changed his posture on masks.

While his motives may have been well-intended, scientifically he was flat out wrong at the time he said it.

And feel free to check my posts starting in January on the life cycle of the COVID pandemic, transmission, masks, and vaccines. I'll put my record head to head against Fauci's and come out on top.

[scipan]

62. Okay. I thought the mask tests (the ones in lab settings

showing the sprays (aerosols and droplets)) were later, and his about face was earlier, but I'll grant that you might be correct in the timings and my memory that is faulty.

[fescuerescue]

52. Dr Fauci is also expert

On managing Amazon and Wallmarts inventory apparently.

That's why he lied to us in the beginning.

[OhioChick]

6. We're on the Same Page n/t

[HUAJIAO]

19. You and Ohio Chick and I, sticking together again.. :))

[OhioChick]

33. I'm Noticing That, as well.

I'm having a big issue with the new CDC recommendations given the fact that only 60% of them have been vaccinated.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

34. Then they'll wear masks.

You do understand that the announcement didn't say "The CDC is stopping wearing masks. All of us, even the ones that haven't been vaccinated yet."

I don't see what one has to do with the other. Did they say "We're not vaccinated and we're not going to wear masks!"
If they did, I must have missed it.
Probably because I don't get my information from alt-right sources.

[OhioChick]

35. I wasn't even responding to you....move along n/t

[AZSkiffyGeek]

37. You were responding to a message board.

Are you the post-arbiter? If not, move along...

[gratuitous]

3. The media sure like that "confusion" angle, don't they?

Wear a mask or not? It's soooo confusing! No it's not. If you've been fully vaccinated, you're safe with or without the mask. But out of consideration for others, wear the mask in public places where you're going to be in proximity to people you don't know for 10 minutes or more. If you're not sure, keep a mask in your purse or your pocket.

If you haven't been fully vaccinated, wear a mask in public.

Confusing, huh?

[MLAA]

13. Exactly, that annoyed me also today.

Several times newscasters said it’s so confusing...it isn’t at all confusing. They are just creating discord. Then again nearly half the country was stupid enough or racist enough (mostly racist) to vote for previous one time loser.

[Scrivener7]

41. The problem is that the ones who are not yet vaccinated are the ones who don't believe

we need a mask and they will not wear them either.

Which means we will have a spike after Memorial day.

And the more hosts the virus has, the more chances to mutate to a form that the vaccine doesn't protect against.

Not confusing. This guidance was premature. Fauci and the CDC were months LATE when they gave guidance TO wear masks. Now they are months early in their guidance NOT to wear masks.

I'm not confused at all. I can read what epidemiologists are saying and know this guidance is bad. Again.

[HUAJIAO]

48. Bravo...

[kelly1mm]

4. If you are fully vaccinated why would Walmart

Scare you?

[TomSlick]

7. I know, it's irrational but have you ever been to a Walmart in south Arkansas?

There are a lot of scary folks there.

[kelly1mm]

12. Haha! Ok I get it now but I don't think a mask

Will protect you from that ‘threat’.

[GulfCoast66]

28. OMG! I've got the best story from the Magnolia, Arkansas Walmart!

Killed 3 deer and a pig. But my 2 marine coolers would not hold them. No problem I said. Will run up to Magnolia and buy another one. No way in hell I’m paying $400 for a Yeti cooler at Kevin’s. So go to Wally World.

And it’s deer season. No Igloo Marine. Nothing. Except the Wally World version of Yeti back then. Called Ozark Teck or some such. A 50 quart for 179 dollars. But what can I do? I’ve got meat I’ve killed and need to get back to Florida. So I pick it up.

Get to the register and it has no tag on it. So the girl calls over a manager. She saw the cooler and said she knows it and it is $79. The price of their smallest of their coolers.

3 times I tried to tell them that was the wrong price and the cooler I was buying was $100 dollars more. 3 times they ignored me. So I said fuck it and walked with a 179$ cooler for 79$

Biggest piece of shit I have ever owned. I’ve got 10 year old igloo marine coolers that do heavy duty on the boat in better shape.

[pnwmom]

25. Some people, like Bill Maher, have become infected even after being fully vaccinated.

It is unlikely these people will become sick, but the research hasn't proven that they can't be contagious.

I wouldn't want to give it to anyone else. And, even if I didn't get sick, I wouldn't want to help spread Covid so it could mutate into a form that won't be stopped by the vaccines.

I don't know why the CDC made the decision they did, but I think it was psychological -- a way to get more people wanting to be vaccinated.

But I'm listening to the hundreds of US epidemiologists who are urging us to wait.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

36. One of the pieces behind the announcement was that vaccinated AREN'T contagious

They don't prevent 100% infection, but they do prevent serious cases and death. That's and that the vaccines are proving successful vs the new variants.

So if you're fully vaccinated, you aren't responsible for the continued spread.

I'll still wear a mask in most situations, but my big takeaway from this is that I don't need to worry about those things anymore. Mentally I can start getting myself back to normal.

[pnwmom]

38. That was about the Pfizer vaccine, not the others -- yet.

And many epidemiologists disagree with the CDC's decision.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/upshot/epidemiologists-coronavirus-masks.html

When federal health officials said on Thursday that fully vaccinated Americans no longer needed to wear masks in most places, it came as a surprise to many people in public health. It also was a stark contrast with the views of a large majority of epidemiologists surveyed in the last two weeks by The New York Times.

In the informal survey, 80 percent said they thought Americans would need to wear masks in public indoor places for at least another year. Just 5 percent said people would no longer need to wear masks indoors by this summer.

In large crowds outdoors, like at a concert or protest, 88 percent of the epidemiologists said it was necessary even for fully vaccinated people to wear masks.

[kelly1mm]

55. The CDCis not mandating no masks and

You are free to mask up in theory for the rest of your life. Masking pre COVID-19 was common in other parts of the world, especially Asia. Others will follow the science as articulated by CDC guidance and no longer mask. Best of both worlds as I see it.

[HUAJIAO]

49. The smell....

[Hoyt]

8. Remember, Dr. F told us we didn't need masks early on, too.

[TomSlick]

9. See Post 5 above.

[Hoyt]

10. +1. Sorry, should have read previous posts before responding to OP.

Although, Dr F should have told the truth rather than covering up for lack of masks, if that’s what he did. We could have worn cloth or something to get by.

[TomSlick]

11. No worries.

"See above post" is a lazy guys way out.

[HUAJIAO]

21. There wasn't a shortage of masks if people put in the time to hunt them down.

[Scrivener7]

43. You were right the first time. See post 32. It's an interview where Fauci says we don't need masks.

[Scrivener7]

42. See post 32 above. It is a film of Fauci saying the opposite of your post 5.

Fauci fucked up in the beginning by telling people they didn't need masks.

Now he's fucking up again.

[fescuerescue]

53. Cut Fauci some slack

He had to lie to everyone so that Wallmart and Amazon could better manage their inventory.

[TomSlick]

17. Wow. That's pretty bold for a first post.

People take him seriously because he is one of the most respected epidemiologist in the country.

What are your qualifications in epidemiology?

[C Moon]

23. Sorry I missed what that person said. Are they doing the post/delete thing?

[TomSlick]

54. No. The post was hidden by a jury.

They have since had posting privileges revoked.

[Bettie]

16. I will wear a mask in places where businesses ask me to

and if I'm not feeling well and need to go out, I'll wear one.

And when the annual seasonal crud is going around.

I have enjoyed not getting sick for 18 months.

[pnwmom]

18. If you go into your grocery store, and no one is wearing a mask,

but you know that less than half of the adults in your state are fully vaccinated, what will you think?

That only vaccinated people are going into the stores?

That non-vaccinated people are all staying home?

Dream on.

[HUAJIAO]

22. On the money !!

[Demobrat]

24. This is what bothers me.

To depend on unvaccinated people to do the right thing is like depending on Previous Guy to tell the truth.

So we end up with another surge. Our health care providers deserve better.

[uponit7771]

40. +1, looks like CDC focus was on individual not community and that's why nurses condemn move

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/553730-prominent-nurses-union-condemns-new-cdc-guidance-on-masks

[Elessar Zappa]

50. It's very unlikely

that our hospitals get overwhelmed again. We might or might not see an increase at some point but not enough to create a crisis.

[Justice matters.]

26. Wearing a mask inside for the last 13 months has prevented me from getting the yearly flu...

.. I used to get every year & the SARS-Cov-2 monster, so I'll keep wearing masks inside crowded places no matter how many in there do the same or not.

That's all.

[BGBD]

27. I won't think much of it at all

I'm not taking responsibility for those people who choose not to get vaccinated or follow the recommendations anymore. I'm vaccinated and feel totally safe going without a mask.

[pnwmom]

29. What happens when the virus mutates into a form that isn't stopped by the vaccine?

We won't know it till many people are sick -- again.

And what happens if you get infected (like Bill Maher just did) and it turns out you don't feel sick, but you pass it on to someone else?

[Voltaire2]

39. We will know because the variants

are getting identified and evaluated just about as soon as they emerge. So if a variant emerges that is not handled by the vaccines the recommendations will change.

Nobody is stopping you from wearing a mask, but for now, if you are vaccinated, it is not necessary.

[Beartracks]

30. Gee, I just thought most of the adults in my town must have asthma!

You know, medical exception for why they won't wear a mask for anything other than deer season.

=======

[beaglelover]

56. I'll believe I'm safe because I'm fully vaxed. I don't care if the others around me are not.

The chances of me getting terribly sick from COVID are miniscule. If others don't want to get sick they should get vaxed.

[USALiberal]

61. Lol! Ok! Nt

[speaknow]

31. For those that got the vaccine and worried, then ask

yourself why did I get the vaccine? Some of those
Doctors say maybe one should wear a mask because
others are not vaccinated. Wait Doc do you mean to
tell me I should wear a mask because people that
refuse to get vaccinated? So if 90% get vaccinated
they should wear a mask because 10% don't want
to, right. All I can say is, how the Hell did I get to
this wacko planet and Doc can you explain to me
why the HELL did I go crazy trying to get this F ing
vaccine if I still have to wear this F ing mask, and
you say I can't transmit the virus, but I could get
sick, maybe like the flu so I wont end up in the
Hospital. I give up.

[Scrivener7]

44. Unvaccinated people will not be wearing masks. Vaccinated people can still get the

virus, and when that happens, most are asymptomatic. So we'll have lots of spread from asymptomatic vaccinated people to un-vaccinated people.

The more hosts the virus has the more chances to mutate to a vaccine-resistant form.

Once again, the CDC is telling us to take a risk that is totally unnecessary and it has no good reason for advising us to take that risk.

They have been wrong at every turn during this pandemic, and they're wrong again now.

Watch for a big surge in cases after Memorial Day. A totally unnecessary surge. Of people dying for no reason.

Also, people act as if wearing a mask is like wearing a ball and chain. To which I say, "Grow the hell up."

[Yonnie3]

45. I spoke with a data manager for two enormous vaccine study groups yesterday

He will be wearing a mask for at least another month indoors with non-family. He has a child too young for the vaccine.

They don't have enough data about transmission and asymptomatic (or mild) cases yet for him to be comfortable unmasking.

These are his personal beliefs and mirror my feelings as well.

[Skittles]

59. I got the vaccine to help contain the virus

not to stop wearing a fucking mask