With apologies to Shakespeare, the above is more of a controversy than a question.
There are people who have adverse reactions to vaccines, and I am sure that there could be a few bonafide medical reasons for not wearing a mask. Both instances are a minority of the general population, and, like in a democracy, it would be best if the majority ruled.
As inhabitants of our precious planet, we tend to all have an innate resistance to change. I am sure most of us can remember the extensive discussion that evolved around seat belts in our personal vehicles. Many people felt they had the right to go flying through a windshield or get thrown clear of a rolling vehicle should they so choose. In the end, wisdom prevailed, and the wearing of seat belts became law. Strangely, the morbidity (death rate) in serious vehicular crashes had a significant reduction.
Statistically, according to the US CDC, in 2009 53% of the drivers and front seat passengers killed in car crashes were not wearing restraints. By wearing restraints, those same occupants reduced their risk of death by 45% and reduce the risk of serious injury by 50%. Closer to home, in 2017 seat belts saved 14,955 lives in B.C. and could have saved an additional 2,549 if they had been wearing a seat belt. Can seat belts injure you? Yes. Can they save your life? Bottom line, they are beneficial more often than they are a hindrance!
Fun fact to consider: When a vehicle strikes an obstacle at 50 km/h, the impact multiplies the weight of a person or an object at least by 20. 70 kg (154 lbs) becomes a 1,400 kg (3080 lb) projectile. Getting a 1.5-ton whack from the back could ruin your day even more than the collision. Remember that the next time you take 90-pound Rover for an unrestrained car ride!
Enough about seat belts – I just wanted to use them as an example of how enforced change can be positive. I totally understand why people are being resistant to wearing a mask – it is your innate reaction to the unknown and unproven. COVID-19 is a new virus and we are learning about it on the fly. What we know today may change tomorrow as we learn more about its characteristics. New scientifically proven evidence will allow more informed approaches and different recommendations. In the interim, we go with what we know.
“When we know better, we do better.” – Maya Angelou
There is no scientific evidence that wearing a properly manufactured and worn mask will cause you any harm. On the other hand there is scientific proven evidence that wearing a mask where social distancing is not possible, and in poorly ventilated areas will reduce the risk of exchanging moisture droplets. As far as we know currently, that is one of the primary means of transmission for the COVID-19 virus.
If you have ever taken a commercial flight you are familiar with the concept in the emergency briefing that in the unlikely event of a sudden cabin decompression, an oxygen mask will drop out of the overhead bin for your use. The reason they tell you to mask yourself before a child is that above 30,000 feet, your time of useful consciousness (TUC) is measured in seconds. If you do not react quickly, you may not be awake to assist anyone.
Some evidence suggests that an asymptomatic person can be a super infector of others. A virus is microscopic, and we have no way of knowing if either we, or that person beside us, are freely sharing the virus as “super spreaders” with other unsuspecting people around us. Yes, hand washing, and physical distancing are key prevention factors. Is it too much to ask that you wear a mask for a little extra insurance?
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
© 2020 Dr. William O. Hardman, Dr. TCM