Time to clear the air on #COVID19

The most important thread you read today!

You want to survive and not become a death statistic?

STOP what you are doing and read!

The answer is something we have to unlearn misinformation about.

The answer is simple

Masks

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Before we dive into masks, we must first talk about something important:

Viral load.

Viral load is how much of the virus you are exposed to initially. The more you are exposed to, the faster the virus infects.

This is why healthcare workers often get sicker than patients.

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With COVID19, viral load plays a critical role in how sick you get.

“The mean viral load of severe cases was around 60 times higher than that of mild cases, suggesting that higher viral loads might be associated with severe clinical outcomes.”

3/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30232-2/fulltext">https://www.thelancet.com/journals/...
So the next question is, how does one reduce the viral load?

I’m glad you asked, a mask.

“Furthermore, transmission from asymptomatic infected individuals has been documented for COVID-19, and viral load is particularly high at early disease stage.”

4/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30520-1/fulltext">https://www.thelancet.com/journals/...
To reduce exposure, wearing a mask can help.

“If you are standing in front of someone who is sick, the mask will give some protection,” Hui says. “The mask provides a barrier from respiratory droplets, which is predominantly how the virus spreads.”

5/ https://time.com/5799964/coronavirus-face-mask-asia-us/">https://time.com/5799964/c...
Further from that same article:

“Hu said the patient, who was not wearing a mask, was likely to have inhaled aerosols, or tiny particles, breathed out by the infected passengers from the previous group.”

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The most important takeaway from that article about the bus:

“The researchers also found that none of those passengers in the two buses who wore face masks were infected.”

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So the next question is, what type of mask?

It does not matter. Some protection is better than no protection.

“All types of masks reduced aerosol exposure, relatively stable over time, unaffected by duration of wear or type of activity”

9/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
If you have access to a respirator/N95, that is best. But if all you have is a surgical mask, or even a homemade mask, that is better than no mask.

“Personal respirators were more efficient than surgical masks, which were more efficient than home-made masks.“

10/
So, Americans, please please please, wear a mask when you are out in public.

If you get stares who cares, break the stigma and stay alive.

Masks save lives, don’t become a statistic!

11/11
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