There is a lot of controversy about whether or not wearing a mask helps reduce the number of infections. How about we look into how effective the masks have been?
In full disclosure, I am a supporter of mask-wearing. They are not the end-all and be-all, but I believe they do reduce the number of infections. However, there is undoubtedly some downside to wearing a mask.
In a recent article, I discussed a study by the CDC and the Navy that had some interesting results.
There is science on both sides of this discussion, and I am not going to wade into all of it. However, I have to admit frustration with the trust in mathematical models that continue to incorrectly predict this and that disaster. In this case, they predict things like 70,000 lives will be saved by everyone wearing masks. These models have proven inaccurate over and over, yet people use them to support their arguments.
As Mark Twain said, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. You can make these models say whatever you want by feeding in the information to get the desired result. If the data fed into the algorithm is flawed, the results will also be flawed. These models being flawed should be obvious by this point because of how many times they have been wrong.
So, instead of the mathematical model damn lies, we will use real statistical information to test the effectiveness of wearing masks.
Currently, in the United States, there are 19 states not mandating mask use. This group includes media punching bags Arizona and Florida, amongst others. That leaves 32 states (including DC) that are mandating mask use. Let’s look at what is happening in those two categories of states.
As of today, August 12th, we will look at the number of states that are trending up or trending down in their daily number of new infections.
- 10.5% of the states without mask mandates (2 out of 19) are trending upwards in the number of new infections.
- 21.8% of the states with mask mandates (7 out of 32) are trending upwards in the number of new infections.
Yes, you are seeing that correctly, the data shows that states with mask mandates are twice as likely to be trending upwards in the number of new infections.
Am I saying that masks are useless? Of course not, I am very much pro mask when used correctly at the correct times. But the nonsense that the media is propagating is not accurate. They are trying to drive a hysteria instead of informing the public.
Look, remember a few weeks ago when the media was attacking states like Arizona and Florida repeatedly. Those states and their leaders were going to kill everyone, not only in their state but everywhere else. Why do you not hear so much about that now? Let’s take a closer look at how those states are doing.
Here is the chart of Florida and its progress against COVID.
And here is the chart of Arizona and their progress against COVID.
According to the media, their experts, and the models, Arizona and Florida Governors were trying to get people killed. But the results prove otherwise. Why is the media not touting their success at this point?
The bottom line is simple and increasingly obvious. It has gotten to the point where you can pretty much assume any assertion in the media regarding COVID is inaccurate and designed to exaggerate, not inform, especially when they back it up with some “model” or “expert” opinion, without any actual statistical reference. At what point do we wake up and realize that the media is not trying to inform us, they are trying to scare us.
Do you want to know why people do not believe everything reported about COVID, including the use of masks? Because they have been lied to over and over. You cannot trust the untrustworthy, and the media has proven to be untrustworthy.
I am pro mask. But with the ongoing media campaign about the need for masks, I am becoming more and more skeptical. I am pro mask, but I understand the science is not definitive, despite the depiction in the media.
If you want to know more about why we all need to be skeptical of the media, please read and share my book, the FEAR-19 Pandemic. It goes into detail about how the media led a campaign of deception early on in the pandemic to create a false perception. COVID is a terrible and deadly virus, but the COVID boogie man created in the media is just a mythical creature carefully created and continually cultivated to terrify the populace.
There are reviews and a free sample of the book on Amazon. Here is the most recent review.
#fear19 #covidphobia