Top Thai virologist says if you’re healthy “you can ditch the face mask”

[EVENKEEL]

So I went to Makro Sattahip yesterday and decided I wouldn't wear a mask. Pretty much everybody was wearing a mask. sigh.... I put one on just to blend in. sigh.....

[redwood1]

For the true believers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by redwood1

[redwood1]

7 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

So I went to Makro Sattahip yesterday and decided I wouldn't wear a mask. Pretty much everybody was wearing a mask. sigh.... I put one on just to blend in. sigh.....

When masks were required in Makro I had a lady shopper point at me and say something then she went running to find a security guard....Who then told me my mask was not 100% covering my nose....lol

[connda]

17 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

there is 'asymptomatic transmission’ discussion to be had here

Does anyone remember hearing the term, "Asymptomatic Transmission" before 2020?  No the term seemed to surface so there was an excuse to "test" anyone with a PCR Test that has no standardized cycle count and therefore could be used to target people with absolutely no symptoms and force them into Covid prisons where you would surely end up in contact with active Covid cases.  Private hospitals were making 100K THB a pop from "Asymptomatic" foreigners.  What a great and effective way to make money.  The new Pandemic Industrial Complex is pretty much a Trillion dollar industry now.

Testing perfectly healthy people to make sure they aren't sick.  <laughs> 
PT Barnum would have loved that one.

[connda]

2 hours ago, redwood1 said:

When masks were required in Makro I had a lady shopper point at me and say something then she went running to find a security guard....Who then told me my mask was not 100% covering my nose....lol

The Makro in my area is starting to loosen up.  I've been walking in maskless for a couple of months now.  The guards don't say anything.

[JensenZ]

17 hours ago, PCUSHING said:

Could just as easily happen in a restaurant.

You going to ask her to mask up when she's eating or just tell her to leave the restaurant?

 

What are you talking about? I didn't ask her to leave. I made a suggestion that maybe she should wear a mask. It's quite possible she might have taken the hint and used a mask on her next shopping spree.

 

If a bunch of people were coughing and sneezing near me in a restaurant, I'd move tables if possible, or leave. Come to think of it, my wife and I picked up a dose of covid last August - and the suspect was a man at the table behind us... so yeah, definitely I would leave if that happened tomorrow, and quickly. My wife suffered for 2 months, so for sure she would not hesitate.

[samuttodd]

On 1/13/2023 at 1:21 PM, swm59nj said:

It’s common sense that if you are in an open air area not surrounded by a lot of people.  You don’t need the mask.  
And if you are in an area with no ventilation and a lot of people you should wear one. Especially if you have health issues. 
This is not a medical breakthrough.  It’s common knowledge. 
What’s the big deal of wearing a mask in certain situations.  Get over it. 

OK, got it,  but what if there are two of you, and you are zipped up together in a sleeping bag (but you are each holding your breath?)

[Ganesh108]

12 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Perhaps the good Thai Dr. should check in with his colleagues at the WHO:

 

WHO updates COVID-19 guidelines on masks, treatments and patient care

13 January 2023

 

WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management.

...

Masks continue to be a key tool against COVID-19

WHO continues to recommend the use of masks by the public in specific situations, and this update recommends their use irrespective of the local epidemiological situation, given the current spread of the COVID-19 globally. Masks are recommended following a recent exposure to COVID-19, when someone has or suspects they have COVID-19, when someone is at high-risk of severe COVID-19, and for anyone in a crowded, enclosed, or poorly ventilated space. Previously, WHO recommendations were based on the epidemiological situation."

 

(more)

 

https://www.who.int/news/item/13-01-2023-who-updates-covid-19-guidelines-on-masks--treatments-and-patient-care

 

In other words, they've now broadened their face masking recommendations to be more expansive, and not merely based on whether infections, hospitalizations, deaths are rising or falling in any particular area.

 

 

 

In the last three years, I have done exactly the opposite from what the WHO recommends, and I have never been healthier. I'll stay my course.

[Photoguy21]

Sounds like a Doctor that is actually following the science and not making things up.

[Kevin Taylor]

Unless your wearing a gas mask or rebreather or something like that you are not protected. The best hospital grade masks are only partially effective if a perfect seal is made over the face and maintained at all times. Reality is no one does that because its uncomfortable and hard to breathe. 

The whole masking rules have been a fiasco in my opinion. If they don't work don't wear them, it's just giving people a false sense of security.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And as usual in this forum, those claiming N95 masks don't reduce the likelihood of being infected by COVID and the spread of the virus provide absolutely no credible evidence or sources for the claims they're making. Yes please, let's follow the science:

 

Mask-wearing linked to 53% cut in Covid incidence, global study finds

Researchers said results highlight the need to continue with face coverings, social distancing and handwashing alongside vaccine programmes

 

Mask-wearing is the single most effective public health measure at tackling Covid, according to the first global study of its kind, which found that the measure was linked to a 53% fall in the incidence of the disease.

...

“This systematic review and meta analysis suggests that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence of Covid-19,” the researchers wrote in the BMJ.

...

Results from more than 30 studies from around the world were analysed in detail, showing a statistically significant 53% reduction in the incidence of Covid with mask wearing and a 25% reduction with physical distancing.

 

(more)

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/17/wearing-masks-single-most-effective-way-to-tackle-covid-study-finds

 

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

On 1/13/2023 at 12:22 PM, Lee65 said:

But masking provided a way to weed out the idiots. 

And the most severe idiots are still wearing them!! Time was not long ago saying masks are useless would get you a long holiday or even a ban. #legacymedia

 

 

Go ahead and get another couple Pfizer shots ... I dare ya ????

Edited January 15, 2023 by SuperSilverHaze

[Madgee]

2 minutes ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

And the most severe idiots are still wearing them!!

And the dumbest idiots are still not wearing them!!

That said, it's a personal choice and we're all idiots anyway depending on what side of the fence  mask you're on! 
Oh well, life goes on ... or does it?

[Bkk Brian]

3 minutes ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

And the most severe idiots are still wearing them!! Time was not long ago saying masks are useless would get you a long holiday or even a ban. #legacymedia

 

 

Go ahead and get another couple Pfizer shots ... I dare ya ????

Why do you call those who want to wear masks severe idiots? If you had covid would you go to the office (presuming you worked in one) or any enclosed space with other people without one?

[transam]

21 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

Because they're cutting people open, not something I've ever seen on public transport.

To grubby there for operations....

[BangkokHank]

On 1/14/2023 at 4:53 PM, Bkk Brian said:

Try to find better sources next time, the doctor from that extreme right wing site you linked to Dr Jim Meehan:

Do you mean a source that agrees with your opinion? How about if you try to come up with a better idea than just trying to discredit the source when you can't refute a point.

 

Can I just say that your argument is invalid because you support it with links to extreme left-wing sites? Or does that only work for one wing?

[Bkk Brian]

46 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

Do you mean a source that agrees with your opinion? How about if you try to come up with a better idea than just trying to discredit the source when you can't refute a point.

 

Can I just say that your argument is invalid because you support it with links to extreme left-wing sites? Or does that only work for one wing?

Yet the quotes from the court case are directly from the judge, is he extreme left wing too? As for https://www.ctpost.com/ being extreme left wing, you're wrong again: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/connecticut-post/ 

 

How about:

 

Anti-Vax Message Gets Meaner on Social Media

Anti-vaccine activists are attacking pediatricians head to head on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, and they’re not hesitating to make their attacks personal.

A few fed-up doctors are fighting back, both online and, more recently, in the courts.

One pediatrician, Dr. Eve Switzer of Enid, Oklahoma, filed a defamation suit last year against former Oklahoma ophthalmologist Jim Meehan and Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/anti-vax-message-gets-meaner-social-media-n809166

 

Maybe:

 

FALSE: Robert Zoellner and James Meehan, two doctors, proved that the use of face masks can lead to development of bacterial pneumonia.

Explanation: Neither of the two people mentioned in the articles in question have any medical training in the area of virology or epidemiology. James Meehan in an ophthalmologist and, according to his website, a "holistic medicine expert" with no direct or indirect experience handling or researching SARS-CoV-2. Robert Zoellner is an optometrist who also has no medical training or experience, direct or indirect with research on SARS-CoV-2. The claims made by these two individuals have no scientific basis. 

https://www.poynter.org/?ifcn_misinformation=robert-zoellner-and-james-meehan-two-doctors-proved-that-the-use-of-face-masks-can-lead-to-development-of-bacterial-pneumonia

 

 

 

 

[sungod]

12 hours ago, PCUSHING said:

You left the house yet since the beginning of Covid?

You should get a life rather than living in fear of ifs/buts/maybes ending one.

Some of these guys should be living in oxygen tents if they are that worried.

[Gknrd]

On planes leaving Asia ,and people coming from China now. The airline I was on required it. Once in the states haven't seen a mask since I got back. Not sure about other countries but here in the US looks like it is a thing of the past, I've been gone a while so at one time here in the US most were wearing a mask when I left.. In Asia where I was most all were wearing a mask. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Personally I will wait until the China Covid cases peak and go back down in China and Thailand. Then will plan my next hop.

Edited January 15, 2023 by Gknrd

[freedomnow]

Covid was/is a good dry run for a real bad-ass weaponised virus to show how disjointed/woeful any response would be/still is.

 

The world would have imploded a few notches above covid.

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Yet the quotes from the court case are directly from the judge, is he extreme left wing too? As for https://www.ctpost.com/ being extreme left wing, you're wrong again: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/connecticut-post/ 

 

How about:

 

Anti-Vax Message Gets Meaner on Social Media

Anti-vaccine activists are attacking pediatricians head to head on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms, and they’re not hesitating to make their attacks personal.

A few fed-up doctors are fighting back, both online and, more recently, in the courts.

One pediatrician, Dr. Eve Switzer of Enid, Oklahoma, filed a defamation suit last year against former Oklahoma ophthalmologist Jim Meehan and Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/anti-vax-message-gets-meaner-social-media-n809166

 

Maybe:

 

FALSE: Robert Zoellner and James Meehan, two doctors, proved that the use of face masks can lead to development of bacterial pneumonia.

Explanation: Neither of the two people mentioned in the articles in question have any medical training in the area of virology or epidemiology. James Meehan in an ophthalmologist and, according to his website, a "holistic medicine expert" with no direct or indirect experience handling or researching SARS-CoV-2. Robert Zoellner is an optometrist who also has no medical training or experience, direct or indirect with research on SARS-CoV-2. The claims made by these two individuals have no scientific basis. 

https://www.poynter.org/?ifcn_misinformation=robert-zoellner-and-james-meehan-two-doctors-proved-that-the-use-of-face-masks-can-lead-to-development-of-bacterial-pneumonia

 

 

 

 

I personally discredit anyone that supports vaxes and masks.....And that's all the scientific proof needed.......Case closed.....

[Bkk Brian]

2 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

I personally discredit anyone that supports vaxes and masks.....And that's all the scientific proof needed.......Case closed.....

Yea but you're excused as you also believe the earth is flat

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, freedomnow said:

Covid was/is a good dry run for a real bad-ass weaponised virus to show how disjointed/woeful any response would be/still is.

 

The world would have imploded a few notches above covid.

I doubt it....They have pandemics scheduled to happen every 100 years so the next one should be 2118-2120...........1918........2020.......2118-2120 

Edited January 15, 2023 by redwood1

[edwardandtubs]

4 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And as usual in this forum, those claiming N95 masks don't reduce the likelihood of being infected by COVID and the spread of the virus provide absolutely no credible evidence or sources for the claims they're making. Yes please, let's follow the science:

 

Mask-wearing linked to 53% cut in Covid incidence, global study finds

Researchers said results highlight the need to continue with face coverings, social distancing and handwashing alongside vaccine programmes

 

Mask-wearing is the single most effective public health measure at tackling Covid, according to the first global study of its kind, which found that the measure was linked to a 53% fall in the incidence of the disease.

...

“This systematic review and meta analysis suggests that several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence of Covid-19,” the researchers wrote in the BMJ.

...

Results from more than 30 studies from around the world were analysed in detail, showing a statistically significant 53% reduction in the incidence of Covid with mask wearing and a 25% reduction with physical distancing.

 

(more)

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/17/wearing-masks-single-most-effective-way-to-tackle-covid-study-finds

 

 

If it's credible evidence and sources you want, you should be focussing on randomised controlled trials and these don't support the wearing of masks as a public health measure to reduce covid transmission.

 

No statistically significant difference in covid transmission rates among health care workers wearing N95 masks and medical masks:

 

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M22-1966

 

No statistically significant difference in covid transmission rates between mask wearers and non-wearers:

 

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/full/10.7326/M20-6817

 

And the low quality observational studies that your article refers to have been debunked:

 

https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(22)00550-3/fulltext

Edited January 15, 2023 by edwardandtubs

[jaywalker2]

1 hour ago, freedomnow said:

Covid was/is a good dry run for a real bad-ass weaponised virus to show how disjointed/woeful any response would be/still is.

 

The world would have imploded a few notches above covid.

In fact, the CDC had been preparing for a pandemic for at least a decade and had several conferences (sponsored by the Gates Foundation) that outlined the pandemic response that was actually put into effect when Covid hit.

[jaywalker2]

What I find amusing is that when the mask mandates were in place, if I lowered my mask even for a second, somebody was sure to tell me to put it back on. I remember I was in Foodland once and one of the employees literally became hysterical because I had lowered my mask in an area where there was no other people. "Put your mask on! Put your mask on!"

 

Now, I go everywhere without a mask on and despite the fact that 99% of the Thais around me are still wearing masks, nobody cares at all.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

And the low quality observational studies that your article refers to have been debunked:

 

https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(22)00550-3/fulltext

 

You managed to find a study by an avowed anti-COVID vaccine doctor -- Tracy Beth Høeg -- who's working with the anti-COVID vaccine and COVID skeptic state of Florida Health Department, which recently has been trashed for putting out bogus COVID vaccine research:

 

"Tracy Beth Høeg, M.D., Ph.D. is an epidemiologist currently doing COVID-19 vaccine research with the Florida Department of Health and a physician in private practice in California."

 

https://www.tabletmag.com/contributors/tracy-beth-hoeg

 

That's one bio description of her. But others make it clear that she's primarily a sports medicine doctor with an interest in something called "othobiologic medicine."

 

"She then completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at UC Davis, where she was Chief Resident, followed by a fellowship in Interventional Sports, Spine and Regenerative Medicine in Napa, California.

 

Dr. Høeg is highly qualified to treat disorders and injuries of musculoskeletal system such as tendon, joint, cartilage and bone as well as disorders of the spine which can cause neck, back and sciatica pain. Additionally, she is highly qualified to diagnose conditions of the peripheral nervous system and musculoskeletal system using EMG/NCS and diagnostic ultrasound."

 

https://www.norcalorthoassociates.com/team/hoeg.php

 

Doctors sue to block California COVID disinformation law

"The plaintiff doctors have been vocal in the debate over pandemic health policy, pushing back publicly on school guidance and mandates. Duriseti and Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg are affiliated with the “Urgency of Normal” group that in June urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to dial back school guidance to minimize disruptions from quarantines and end vaccine mandates."

 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/14/doctors-sue-to-block-california-covid-disinformation-law/

 

Experts slam Florida surgeon general’s warning on coronavirus vaccines

 

‘If you submitted that to a peer-reviewed journal ... it would get rejected,’ vaccine safety expert says about study on which it is based

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/10/11/florida-surgeon-general-ladapo-covid-vaccines/

 

 

There's quite an industry of fringe academics who write all kinds of junk related to COVID and COVID vaccines and/or produce low-quality research that's published in low-quality journals... including academics who opine on topics that have nothing to do with their field...

 

Such as Ambarish Chandra, the co-author with Hoeg on the study on masks, who's actually an economics professor:

 

"Ambarish Chandra, an economics professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough..."

 

https://www.chroniclejournal.com/news/national/social-media-tools-were-key-to-freedom-convoy-protest-expert-tells-inquiry/article_81175b13-6c73-549f-894f-fe0de1a177f8.html

 

Not exactly the kind of expertise you'd want to bring to bear on issues relating to public health and COVID.

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Mask Mythbusters: Common Questions about Kids & Face Masks

How do masks prevent the spread of COVID-19?

"When worn correctly, face masks create a barrier that reduces the spray of a person's spit and respiratory droplets. These droplets play a key role in the spread of COVID-19 because they can carry SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Masks also can protect you from others who may have coronavirus but are not showing symptoms and who could come within 6 feet of you, which is how far respiratory droplets can travel when people sneeze or cough or raise their voices."

 

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Mask-Mythbusters.aspx

 

 

[jacko45k]

On 1/15/2023 at 7:50 AM, EVENKEEL said:

So I went to Makro Sattahip yesterday and decided I wouldn't wear a mask. Pretty much everybody was wearing a mask. sigh.... I put one on just to blend in. sigh.....

Did not feel obliged to don one out shopping in Big-CX, Pattaya  yesterday....about 50:50 wearing masks. None really wandering about Buakhao.... police out harassing traffic though. Did not come across any gangs of Chinese, that may have pressed me to mask up. 

[metisdead]

Some inflammatory posts and the replies have been removed.  Please keep it civil when posting.