A number of hospitals have reintroduced masks in all departments. Also soap and water is better than any hand gel, particularly since norovirus is unaffected by alcohol gel. If I wear a mask, that doesn’t protect me from you, but it does protect you from me. The problem is that you can be infected and contagious up to 24 hours before you develop symptoms, as the incubation period is of the same order as the innate immune response (those first symptoms are actually due to your immune response). The other issue is that the vaccines cannot prevent you becoming infected neither can they prevent you from being infectious.
With at least 4 airborne diseases rampant in NHS hospitals, some are asking visitors to mask, but only with fluid resistant surgicals (FRSM) which are loose, thin, often poorly-worn and aren't designed to block airborne pathogens. They're better than nothing, but FFP2 or FFP3 respirators are far more effective.
Early UK Public Health messaging was wrong on so many fronts, and remained so long after evidence was known, including that respirator masks DO protect both the wearer and others from infection. See this paper: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cmr.00124-23.
As you mentioned, symptoms alone aren't an effective indicator of whether or not someone is infected with Covid, or other diseases, at any given time. Similarly, the severity of symptoms aren't necessarily an indicator of the level of viral particles a person emits, nor their chances of developing post-Covid sequalae (i.e. Long Covid.)
I am aware that full face respirators protect both parties, my daughter in law was an ITU nurse in London during 2020, but I am thinking more of how surgical masks are used in A&E when I worked as nurse. If a patient had active TB, which is spread through mucus and saliva, they were required to wear the mask. However, for a patient who has a compromised immune system then staff wear masks as they are the potential source of infection.
I would suggest that pregnant women are not at risk themselves, but their newborn will be. Pregnant women are vaccinated against pertussis and now RSV in the third trimester to provide passive antibody protection to the baby. Any neonate is at high risk from all respiratory tract infections, however preterm babies are at a significantly higher risk as their airways are very narrow. Their innate immune system is also likely to be underdeveloped.
why try to save people thru science when you can engineer WOMD and put them to use (in Palestine). Science can save us..engineers engineer kill machines
Yes, I think we are now worse off, as public trust and cooperation has been lost thanks to so many mistakes and deceits over past 5 years. And also the total abandonment of basic professional and moral principles by Public Health institutions and experts. I still don't understand how or why their silence and collusion is going mostly unremarked by media and civil society.
We really need some strong voices to push this into the spotlight.
I have tried, when "inside" the system and now outside. It is pushing uphill, through treacle, against a locked door...
A number of hospitals have reintroduced masks in all departments. Also soap and water is better than any hand gel, particularly since norovirus is unaffected by alcohol gel. If I wear a mask, that doesn’t protect me from you, but it does protect you from me. The problem is that you can be infected and contagious up to 24 hours before you develop symptoms, as the incubation period is of the same order as the innate immune response (those first symptoms are actually due to your immune response). The other issue is that the vaccines cannot prevent you becoming infected neither can they prevent you from being infectious.
With at least 4 airborne diseases rampant in NHS hospitals, some are asking visitors to mask, but only with fluid resistant surgicals (FRSM) which are loose, thin, often poorly-worn and aren't designed to block airborne pathogens. They're better than nothing, but FFP2 or FFP3 respirators are far more effective.
Early UK Public Health messaging was wrong on so many fronts, and remained so long after evidence was known, including that respirator masks DO protect both the wearer and others from infection. See this paper: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cmr.00124-23.
As you mentioned, symptoms alone aren't an effective indicator of whether or not someone is infected with Covid, or other diseases, at any given time. Similarly, the severity of symptoms aren't necessarily an indicator of the level of viral particles a person emits, nor their chances of developing post-Covid sequalae (i.e. Long Covid.)
I am aware that full face respirators protect both parties, my daughter in law was an ITU nurse in London during 2020, but I am thinking more of how surgical masks are used in A&E when I worked as nurse. If a patient had active TB, which is spread through mucus and saliva, they were required to wear the mask. However, for a patient who has a compromised immune system then staff wear masks as they are the potential source of infection.
I would suggest that pregnant women are not at risk themselves, but their newborn will be. Pregnant women are vaccinated against pertussis and now RSV in the third trimester to provide passive antibody protection to the baby. Any neonate is at high risk from all respiratory tract infections, however preterm babies are at a significantly higher risk as their airways are very narrow. Their innate immune system is also likely to be underdeveloped.
why try to save people thru science when you can engineer WOMD and put them to use (in Palestine). Science can save us..engineers engineer kill machines
Great summary and analysis, thanks.
Yes, I think we are now worse off, as public trust and cooperation has been lost thanks to so many mistakes and deceits over past 5 years. And also the total abandonment of basic professional and moral principles by Public Health institutions and experts. I still don't understand how or why their silence and collusion is going mostly unremarked by media and civil society.
We really need some strong voices to push this into the spotlight.
I have tried, when "inside" the system and now outside. It is pushing uphill, through treacle, against a locked door...
https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/commentisfree/2024/apr/28/learn-lessons-covid-before-another-deadly-disease-strikes-observer-letters