I guess today’s a great day to clear up that neck gaiters are, in fact, better than wearing nothing

I wasn’t going to clear this up because I did it two days ago in my team’s slack channel and (falsely!) assumed everyone could see through this flawed study making the rounds on social media and in horrifying headlines like the one pub'd by @washingtonpost (silly me) /2

but then a very intelligent set of friends shared it in a group text, and I saw it bubbling in the lava of hell that is social media so I know that now is the time to clear this up for my fellow runners/cyclists. /3

in the war against COVID-19, face coverings work. period. gaiters/bandanas are better than wearing nothing, in the same way that an N95 mask is “better” than a surgical mask, but a surgical mask is still a good option for many. /4

The recent study is very flawed and certainly not set up to draw a sweeping conclusion like “neck gaiters are worse than wearing nothing.” yikes. /5

that @washingtonpost headline (I won’t share the link because: clicks) is click-bait and reaction hungry. For those who don’t work in media, that means it’s garbage. /6

Here’s one additional explanation of why: https://twitter.com/yayitsrob/status/1293537370936152064?s=20

We didn’t cover that study individually on our own sites because we are very selective about the research we chose to disseminate and how we angle such research (i.e. no click-bait or being very transparent about the flaws/weaknesses of certain research)

without proper leadership, people are desperate for answers and direction during this time, which is why many news outlets have been quick to jump on new information and many researchers have been rushed to put out their findings. /9

but abandoning responsible reporting on research (and frankly, just abandoning science and critical thinking), is life-threateningly dangerous right now. /10

so please cover your face, including your nose, with the best materials you have available (homemade cotton masks work just fine) but remember that it is no substitute for distancing from people, washing your hands regularly, and staying home if you’re at all feeling sick. /11

it's really not much more complicated than that for now. and keep running/riding if you are healthy. just distance as much as possible and wear a face covering when that’s not possible. that's it. tysm for coming to my ted thread /12

here are my sources /13
https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/press-releases/aamc-releases-national-guidance-face-coverings#COVIDRoadMap
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/07/sciadv.abd3083
+extensive interviews with experts for RW/BI

14 NEW: While you're here, I should clarify that this isn't criticism of the researchers; it's criticism of irresponsible reporting/disseminating info. The study was designed to show HOW to evaluate face coverings not to show HOW EFFECTIVE each is. Additional research is needed.