To Mask, or not to Mask
To mask, or not to mask, that is the question,
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The sneezes and coughs of an awful flu,
Or to wear a mask against a sea of positive-tested pandemic carriers,
And yet by opposing masks, To die—to sleep, no more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and a thousand unnatural coughs.
Apologies to Bill Shakespeare
For the last 5 months the nation has been treated to the wisdom of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. It would be safe to call him a career bureaucrat who has earned the nickname “Dr. Faucet” for his leaking conflicting data and opinions over the course of the pandemic.
In March Dr. Fauci told the nation that wearing a mask wasn’t necessary and then recently he then stated that everyone should be masked up. He was against the China travel ban in February then and later agreed with it. As one of the spokespeople for the administration, he has wielded great influence and received veneration form the press.
In a recent interview with “PBS NewsHour,” Dr. Fauci said, “When you do it properly, you bring down those cases. We have done it in New York. New York got hit worse than any place in the world and they did it correctly.” What? By any measurement the methods employed by Governor Cuomo and Mayor DeBlasio were an unmitigated disaster. Sending those seniors suffering from the WuHan Flu back to their nursing homes from the hospitals cost thousands of lives especially when care facilities went unused such as the Jarvis Center, converted to hospital, and the USS Mercy. Dr. Fauci should not be the only voice we hear as sometimes he doesn’t know whether he’s on foot or horseback.
This brings us to the mask controversy. There needs to a national consensus based on solid scientific evidence regarding the wearing, of and the side effects thereof. The media only reports the hysteria of those who insist that masks should be worn everywhere, some say even indoors…at home. Somewhere there is a reasonable compromise. It seems that it could be fairly simple to get the leading researchers, infectious disease experts and frontline practicing doctors together to craft a sensible policy.
Sadly though, that policy would find critics in abundance if it led to the complete reopening of the economy, getting the children back in school and folks back to work. It would not fit the under lying narrative pushed by the media; the pandemic is all the President’s fault and a new one is needed…that need to continue the shutdown until the flu disappears.
Common sense citizens who pay attention know that the media is in the tank for Biden. They also know how to protect their families from infectious diseases as well. But unfortunately, the average citizen is not given credit for having the good sense to take care of themselves. They need a vaccine and continual quarantine according to the “Chicken Little” media.
The Swine Flu (H1N1) of 2009 infected 60,000,000 Americans, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Does anyone recall a mask mandate? The max estimated deaths worldwide was 575,000 for that outbreak. The current world pandemic death toll is 610,000 according to the latest data. The current version of the flu is more vicious, attacking the infirm in disproportionate numbers. To protect those folks, masking up around them may be appropriate.
Relying on one man’s opinion as to the remedy is foolhardy at best when there is an abundance of experts to draw from. The question of making has to be settled one way or another, and the country needs to get a semblance of normalcy. The fearful look of darting eyes on masked American’s faces needs to end. A definite understandable strategy regarding when and where to mask is needed. Soon.