One of the major shortcomings of our society that has been brought to light with the COVID-19 pandemic is a lack of understanding in science by the general public. Specifically, with the transmission of a virus. Stop and think about the following daily activity described in the next paragraph.
Under normal daily operation, each of us touch our noses without thinking and then spread the contents (i.e., viral load - number of viral particles) to the public rail, door knob, drinking fountain button, door handle, subway rail, product in a grocery store. Each contact thereafter could easily spread whatever contents were in or out of our noses onto that surface. Did you ever do this pre-COVID-19 times?
The obvious answer is that a large percentage of Americans (and world citizens) do so without thinking. Then why do we not get sick more often? Because, our bodies build up defense mechanisms (i.e., antibodies) that are 'on call' to fight a virus. Of course, the vaccination or defense is made up of genetic components of the virus that is a threat. In the current case of the Coronavirus or COVID-19, these vaccinations/defenses are not built up in each of us. Nor are they commercially available in a vaccination.
In light of that, what is the next best defense? According to experts, the mask and social distancing has been conveyed in briefing after briefing over the last few months. Why? In short, because a barrier (i.e., mask) prevents us from spreading a viral load (as described in the second paragraph above) along with preventing the viral load from accessing our mouth and nose -- direct paths toward our lungs -- to eventually pass a single cell layer into our blood stream. Once in our blood stream, game on. The virus attacks, mutates and spreads until annihilation by our own defense or defeating our defenses (and kills the person).
Wear A Mask In Public!
Recent reporting by the Los Angeles Times highlights the obvious benefit to society of wearing a mask in public:
Hong Kong has a dense population of about 7.5 million while New York City, with a population of 8.4 million, has had more than 27,000 COVID-19 deaths. Los Angeles County, with 10 million people, has recorded 1,700 deaths.But Engel was right. As of last week, only four deathsin Hong Kong had been attributed to COVID-19. He put me in touch with his niece, Katie de Tilly, who owns an art gallery in Hong Kong. She emailed me to say that when news of a SARS-like virus first appeared in January, “no one and no government official needed to tell people to wear a mask. Literally 99% of the population” did so voluntarily.Schools were closed early in February, De Tilly said, and people returning to Hong Kong after foreign travel were screened, tracked, and told to quarantine for two weeks. But most businesses, including hers, were able to remain open because there was no surge in cases.
The mask along with social distancing greatly reduces the chance of transmitting (i.e., passing) a viral load to another person. A mask is the cheapest solution until the government can come up with a vaccination. And the solution is embedded in a simple concept. Just do not pass germs along to others. Each of us have been taught these rules (i.e., values) over the years growing up by our parents. Until now, the reason has not been brought to light. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the nation just how unhygienic each of us are in our daily business. Government and health officials understand this obvious fact. Each flu season, officials try to guard each of us from ourselves and reduce the rate of disease threat (i.e, flu infection).
To bring the point home further, Dr. Nahid Bhadelia of Boston School of Medicine was interviewed on Morning Joe about the importance of wearing a mask in public. The short video below outlines the following above:
If after reading the above and watching the video above, are still not convinced that masks work, keep reading and educating yourself. Keep reading scientific literature. Take a step back and re-read the second paragraph above. Think critically about how you conduct yourself in public each day? Do you spread germs? How careful are you each day? The time is now to reflect on each of our behavior. Especially, with moving forward with a new normal.
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