You can pick,up and pass on the virus as easily as anyone else. Is narcissistic behaviour back in fashion where you live?
The stakes are high and we live in frightening times but this thread has a nasty edge. I donāt see how sniping is going to help anyone.
I hope you all enjoy a sunny Saturday evening 
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Canāt see that myself. Itās banter. You want to see some of the past bloodbaths 
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I could literally pickup and pass on the virus but wearing a mask would be of no use in preventing that but washing hands, wearing gloves or using alcohol hand gel will.
If I were a BAME taxi driver I would be very keen that everyone who got in my cab wore a mask but other than similar very confined spaces I donāt think there is much evidence of the utility of wearing masks in preventing viral spread.
I posted a link to a specific study above - the conclusion of those researchers was:
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[quote=ānigelbb, post:654, topic:29978ā] unless you had your throat swabbed while symptomatic for the antigen test or subsequently had a blood test for antibodies you cannot be certain whether you had the disease or not.
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I do realise that, Nigel, and I didnāt claim to be certain, but pretty confident as the symptoms developed very acutely and I am in good general health. The neck stiffness alarmed me as I had a brain bleed fourteen years, ago and lost coordination in my lower limbs with no loss of power, and numbness and temperature sense reversal in both legs (hot water felt cold) , numbness up to the level of both nipples. This occurred after I cricked my neck adjusting my seat belt. I was told I had a suspected small bleed at the level of the atlas in my brain stem. This resolved partly after three weeks and I was discharged from hospital with a Zimmer frame and an OP appointment three months later.
I can now ride a bicycle but only on quiet roads with not much traffic. I take my mask off when cycling.
I think that the nasty edge is caused by someone who, although seemingly well placed, seems to differ in his opinions and,although he feels safe for himself,his concern for others is yet to be demonstrated.
On the other handā¦
āThere have been extensive randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies, and meta-analysis reviews of RCT studies, which all show that masks and respirators do not work to prevent respiratory influenza-like illnesses, or respiratory illnesses believed to be transmitted by droplets and aerosol particles.
Furthermore, the relevant known physics and biology, which I review, are such that masks and respirators should not work. It would be a paradox if masks and respirators worked, given what we know about viral respiratory diseases: The main transmission path is long-residence-time aerosol particles (< 2.5 Ī¼m), which are too fine to be blocked, and the minimum-infective dose is smaller than one aerosol particle.
The present paper about masks illustrates the degree to which governments, the mainstream media, and institutional propagandists can decide to operate in a science vacuum, or select only incomplete science that serves their interests. Such recklessness is also certainly the case with the current global lockdown of over 1 billion people, an unprecedented experiment in medical and political history.ā
Along with vaccines.
Anti vaccers are a danger to us all, especially with Covid.
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I think itās fair to say that most doctors donāt like to have their clinical opinions questioned by patients who have seen something on TV or Googled their symptoms; but all will listen to a patientās concerns patiently, and arrange a second opinion if requested. Doctors are careful to avoid mistakes, and aware of their fallibility and limitations. But they work under pressure to find solutions to human urgencies and emergencies, and errors though very rare, are inevitable. But doctors do care about their patients, and the quality of their empathy is always under close scrutiny by colleagues and indeed by patients, whose opinions are often sought by health agencies and PR outfits, for a fee.
Most of the cited papers concentrate on whether masks protect the wearer - certainly surgical masks do not but I am not sure that anyone has ever claimed that they do. If surgical masks have a benefit it is from reducing transmission to others - after all that is what they were designed to do.
What gets me is that there is no hard evidence that masks harm the wearer so the only reasons not to wear them are sheer bloody mindedness and an over-active anti-social gland.
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That might have been true of the doctors that you encountered in your professional career, it was certainly true of most senior doctors in, say, the 1970ās (well, not the Google bit).
BUT no modern doctor should have the slightest difficulty with being questioned by a patient and I would go as far as to say they should like to be challenged.
And it certainly can be challenging when people are sceptical about conventional medicine but it should not be taken personally by a physician - the role is to educate, not force.
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Surly you donāt believe any of that twaddle Helen?
Me and those like me are not a danger to anyoneā¦in the warp speed rush to market with a hugely experimental vaccine we are asking to see the results of animal trialsā¦safety and efficacy studiesā¦and results of true placebo studiesā¦(not studies where the supposed placebo is a meningitis vaccine)
Even pro vaccine advocates like Paul Offit are urging cautionā¦
The Nuremberg code inhibits experimentation on humans without their informed consentā¦
I like to look at all available research from all angles Johnā¦
Thatās good Helen but I think some one has to dismiss after cursory examination 
Consultants in general and surgeons in particular.
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Not necessarily the only reasonsā¦I donāt feel Iām bloody-minded nor that I have a particularly over-active anti-social gland but if something doesnāt make sense to me then I am one of those who is likely to go and review research papersā¦
I sympathise with how Izzy felt wearing a cloth mask to a supermarketā¦not because I have ever worn a mask but because my mom in uk hasnāt been out of the house since Marchā¦has missed lots of appts for blood tests foot clinic eye clinic and not been able to have a steroid injection in her shoulderā¦
She has stage 1 lung cancerā¦type 1 diabetes and was in hospital last year with pneumonia for 6 weeksā¦On a good day her oxygen levels are 91ā¦I have had a box of disposable masks delivered to her but I think sheās likely to struggle to breathe properlyā¦sheās wondering whether a chiffon scarf might be better just to comply with some sort of face-coveringā¦
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I think the nasty edge has only been from those directing insults & anger at me for voicing an opinion on face masks that is at odds with their beliefs on the utility of wearing face masks. From my observation of the numbers of people wearing masks in public & in shops itās an opinion held by about 99% of the population in my part of the UK. Apparently the majority in France feel the same too. Itās also held by the UK & French governments because if such a cheap & simple measure would truly have any impact on spread of the disease it would be made compulsory.
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