Why Advice on Masks Seems to Be Constantly Changing

Throughout this pandemic, messages about masksincluding who should wear them, and what kindhave seemed contradictory.

But a lot of the important points have never changed.

The information in that post is still true, but the emphasis on whats important has changed.

At that time, there were only 12 known cases of the coronavirus in the whole US.

Meanwhile, medical masks were in short supply worldwide.

Remember what happened with toilet paper?

It was important to head off panic buying.

Whats changed since then?

That was a fuckup.

And once we realized that, the overall shortage of tests was another fuckup.

It also took time to learn that people could spread the virus without showing symptoms.

If anybody needs a mask in a pandemic, its them.

That was all true, and itsstilltrue.

But the underlying facts havent changed.

Fabric masks shifted the balance

If medical masks arent available, are fabric masks good enough?

Thats the question that policy makers and public health organizations debated for weeks.

Theres still not a clear answer.

Fabric masks are not as good as medical masks, but they probably still provide some protection.

Is a society better off, overall, when mask wearing is common?

People who sew made masks for themselves and friends; clothing companies started churning them out.

Fabric masks dont work as well as surgical masks.

Masks are not perfect protection, and only make sense in addition to distancing and other protective measures.

So even though mask guidelines have shifted, the important things are all still true.

You should still stay home when youre sick, and keep your distance from people as much as possible.

And if the guidelines change again, dont be too surprised.

Weshouldexpect guidelines to change as we learn more and as the situation changes.