Covid-19 Outbreak of new SARS-like coronavirus (Covid-19)

[JGrimez]

A positive PCR does not indicate current coronavirus infection and a positive PCR is not a diagnosis of Covid19.

Yet most people seem completely fine with having their lives and livelihoods dictated based on the results a PCR test.


Landmark legal ruling finds that Covid tests are not fit for purpose. So what do the MSM do? They ignore it
"Four German holidaymakers who were illegally quarantined in Portugal after one was judged to be positive for Covid-19 have won their case, in a verdict that condemns the widely-used PCR test as being up to 97-percent unreliable.
Earlier this month, Portuguese judges upheld a decision from a lower court that found the forced quarantine of four holidaymakers to be unlawful. The case centred on the reliability (or lack thereof) of Covid-19 PCR tests."

Portuguese Court Rules PCR Tests “Unreliable” & Quarantines “Unlawful”
"An appeals court in Portugal has ruled that the PCR process is not a reliable test for Sars-Cov-2, and therefore any enforced quarantine based on those test results is unlawful.
Further, the ruling suggested that any forced quarantine applied to healthy people could be a violation of their fundamental right to liberty.
Most importantly, the judges ruled that a single positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection."



Note to people in this thread: make sure you ignore this post as it may cause cognitive dissonance.

 

[PtahTek]

Testing makes sense when contact tracing and containment is the strategy.

If you get exposed to someone with covid, you and everyone else exposed is supposed to get a test, so that way, if anyone got it, they know and can self-isolate.

... the more knowledgeable people are about who has it and who doesn't, the more we can keep the virus from spreading.

I get this theory and aim (though the practice is elusive): The containment is far from working here in the US, for sure. People just do not give two fu**s about their neighbors or familys health (I see this in real life on the daily).
I know the virus has been politicized here and this has caused a lot of unnecessary cases and deaths from dis/mis-information whether in ignorance or out right malice. This is more distressing to me than covid itself.
I guess what I meant is that even though americans are seeing the rise in cases from test data, the majority are not using this data to do anything about it. This, to me, underscores our self-important, self-centered, all-about-me "selfie" attitude of these times. Sad, IMO. For the record, I do hope this changes but mandating anything in the US seems to produce the opposite effect for the general public.
Just seems to me that this testing is a wasted use of time and monies at this stage. They need to beat down anyone in public if caught not practicing basic containment protocol. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the feedback, family.

 

[birdup.snaildown]

Just seems to me that this testing is a wasted use of time and monies at this stage.

Money maybe (I don't think so), but time?

The people doing the testing can't just be redirected to any other profession if they're not doing tests.

As for the money side of things, it is a drop in the ocean in terms of the overall economic impact of COVID. You're right that the numbers in the US are bad, but they still could be a lot worse. Various states have contained the virus to some extent. If they hadn't done this, pretty sure you'd be losing more money than the cost of the tests.

But, yes, you guys should be locking down hard. Much harder than Biden is suggesting with his mandatory masks. Unfortunately, he literally can't lock-down the country. It's largely up to state government and pretty much no state government is wiling to do so, because they are afraid the American people won't comply and there will be bloodshed.

If you guys didn't all have guns, it'd be easier to force you to do the right thing. Once again, you've shot yourself in the foot with this stubborn freedom / second amendment bullshit.

 

[Xorkoth]

If you guys didn't all have guns, it'd be easier to force you to do the right thing.

Heh, this is why a lot of people want guns and why you literally can't even find bullets right now.

I don't think people having guns is what is stopping stronger enforcement, I think the culture in America is such that a lot of localities are choosing not to enforce because we have a large percentage of the country thinking this whole thing is bullshit, and that includes local governments. And enforcement/handling is being left up to the states, but a lot of the states really are just leaving it up to the localities.

American can't be locked down, it just won't happen. For fuck's sake, we had millions of people in an uproar at Biden asking Americans to wear masks in public for 100 days. A lot of people are drinking deeply of the conspiracy theory kool-aid... like, a lot. It's very Twilight Zone-esque, I was really struck by it today. Truly there are 2 different versions of reality right now, and so many people are ion the "plandemic" camp, or at least the "it's just the sniffles" camp, that we have entire jurisdictions where the tacit understanding is that nobody gives a fuck nor should they and if you do, you're an idiot. There are still places all over the country where you feel awkward wearing a mask because people are like "look at that fucking sheep wearing a face diaper". In the midst of hundreds of thousands of new cases a day. It is truly the Twilight Zone in America right now.

 

[JessFR]

Thing is, America doesn't HAVE to be like this. A hundred years ago this probably wouldn't be a problem. Culturally speaking that it. I don't think it'd be a problem much past 50 years ago. It feels to me like there's a cultural shift that has happened over time since the early 90s that has caused this situation.

The notion of American individualism, freedom and independence in its modern form seems to be a relatively recent change.

Don't believe me? Take at gun laws for a start. Compare say, the 80s to now. There has been an explosion in concealed carry law relaxation in many states. In the 80s automatic weapons were essentially banned for civilian use. Imagine if it hadn't been though. Imagine if you were trying to do it today? Soooo much harder.

I mention gun laws cause I think they're some of the strongest examples of the phenomenon. Fundamentally I think it's the rise of a kind of shift in thinking about what makes America america. And it's not something that the country started out with.

Many Americans today would be shocked at what the governments of the past were able to do that today would be considered pretty unthinkable.

It's this obsessive, self destructive individualism that has developed. I think the cold War created the climate for it and the end of the cold war and rise of the internet caused it to really take off. That's my guess anyway. Essentially the cold war caused America to differentiate itself as a land of freedom and religion etc. And the influence of the internet in allowing people to reaffirm their own ideological biases really concentrated those beliefs into the hyper individualism of today whee people refuse to cooperate just for cooperations sake. And of course the political divisions the internet has also concentrated.

I mean, it's not like wearing a mask is a big ask, even if it doesn't work, it's a silly thing to fight over.

I'm dunno, just some thoughts of mine on how things might have gotten like this.

 

[S.J.B.]

Yet most people seem completely fine with having their lives and livelihoods dictated based on the results a PCR test.

Landmark legal ruling finds that Covid tests are not fit for purpose. So what do the MSM do? They ignore it
"Four German holidaymakers who were illegally quarantined in Portugal after one was judged to be positive for Covid-19 have won their case, in a verdict that condemns the widely-used PCR test as being up to 97-percent unreliable.
Earlier this month, Portuguese judges upheld a decision from a lower court that found the forced quarantine of four holidaymakers to be unlawful. The case centred on the reliability (or lack thereof) of Covid-19 PCR tests."

Portuguese Court Rules PCR Tests “Unreliable” & Quarantines “Unlawful”
"An appeals court in Portugal has ruled that the PCR process is not a reliable test for Sars-Cov-2, and therefore any enforced quarantine based on those test results is unlawful.
Further, the ruling suggested that any forced quarantine applied to healthy people could be a violation of their fundamental right to liberty.
Most importantly, the judges ruled that a single positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection."

Note to people in this thread: make sure you ignore this post as it may cause cognitive dissonance.

Let's be clear with what has happened here, as the story is being presented disingenuously in the RT article. The Portuguese judge decided that the quarantine of the complainants was unlawful because it was based on a PCR test, and that a PCR test is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt that someone has an active, contagious case of COVID-19. However, public health authorities have been aware of the culture/cycle threshold relationship since at least last May, and have taken it into consideration:

Ct values obtained from PCR testing performed on consecutive specimens collected on the same patient, run using the same assay, in the same testing laboratory, could be compared to give a relative indication of the quantity of virus in the different specimens. However, as outlined above, they do not indicate the actual quantity of virus in the sample.

Several studies have been conducted in an attempt to correlate Ct values with infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 virus. For example, viability of virus can be determined by inoculating cell lines in culture and assessing for evidence of viral replication. This is a laborious process, which can only be performed in a Containment Level 3 (CL3) laboratory. It is not currently standardized and cannot be used to guide clinical decisions. Critically, it has not been established that persons with PCR-positive specimens that cannot be cultured are not infectious. This is particularly important as in some laboratories it has been relatively difficult to culture SARS-CoV-2 compared to other viruses.

For example, a study in which virus culture was performed at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) documented that specimens with Ct values > 24 were viral culture negative.2 An Overview of Cycle Threshold Values and their Role in SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time PCR Test Interpretation 6 However, the US CDC has reported that they were able to culture virus from specimens with Ct values up to the low 30s (unpublished data).3 It is important to note that each of these laboratories (NML and CDC) used different real-time PCR assays in their evaluations. A SARS-CoV-2 proficiency testing panel was distributed to 26 different SARS-CoV-2 testing laboratories in Ontario in April 2020 by The Institute of Quality Management in Healthcare (IQMH), the organization that administers the Quality Management Program for laboratory services in Ontario. Variability of Ct values of up to 8 cycles were observed for the same specimen material tested across the participating laboratories. These different findings reinforce that it is inappropriate to compare Ct values from different assays, and to extrapolate Ct cut-offs for virus viability from one laboratory to any other laboratory and that Ct cut-offs cannot be reliably used for the determination of virus viability. The US CDC applies these principles to advise that the correlation presented between Ct values and the ability to recover replication-competent virus is only applicable to upper respiratory specimens tested at their laboratory. Further, the relationship between the ability to grow a virus in culture (viral replication) in a laboratory and infectivity to humans is not currently known.

2. Bullard J, Dust K, Funk D, Strong JE, Alexander D, Garnett L, et al. Predicting infectious SARS-CoV-2 from diagnostic samples. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 May 22 [Epub ahead of print]. Available from: doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa638
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Duration of isolation and precautions for adults with COVID-19 [Internet]. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2020 [modified 2020 Aug 16; cited 2020 Aug 21]. Available from: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/strategy-discontinue-isolation.html

The statement that the tests are "up to 97% unreliable" is disingenuous. If we define "reliability" as the likelihood that a given positive PCR test will lead to successful viral culture in Bernard La Scola's laboratory, then the "97% unreliability" number would only occur if every sample that became positive at a cycle threshold below 35 was thrown out and only those that that became positive at 35 (or above) were considered. As Novaveritas mentioned, if all the positives you're getting are actually at Ct = 35+, then as a public health authority you're going to be in a pretty good mood because the pandemic is on its last legs in the population you're testing. If you look at the actual paper those numbers come from, 51% of the total positive PCR samples led to positive culture, and at Ct = 33 it was still over 10%.

 

[Sympy]

I discovered a cure a for the pandemic! - Crystal Meth!

Smoking .4g a day for 6 days and you'll be COVID-19 free!

See you local drug dealer for details. ( Doses and Prices may very )




( Don't smoke meth while infected, this is only a joke. No seriously don't smoke crystal fucking meth while you have COVID-19 could end up on a ventilator or even dead. )

 

[PtahTek]

"The Trump administration on Friday made public a trove of federal data on the pandemic that reveals a country awash in red alerts."
Whuuuut...?
Is this what trump has been keeping close to his chest?
Evidence of premeditation, IMO. edit (actively killing mfs)
NPR
Editdux: forgive the spin? lol

editre: not source haha

 

[Deleted member 521610]

these new covid mutations are getting more concerning all it takes is a next mutation to become vaccine resistant and we are fucked. Europe should go into complete martial law lockdown til covid dies out else covid will eventually mutate so fast the vaccines become ineffective.

 

[Hylight]

But the lifespan of a virus is approximately 18 months. How is it mutating. From more nefarious sources I suppose. It's as bad as agent orange.

 

[Hylight]

Just wondering only.

 

[LandsUnknown]

What are your thoughts on gargling disinfectant as a preventative? I accidentally touched my face in the grocery store. So, I just gargled some hand sanitizer from a spray bottle when I got home, and I have to say that it fucking burns like a motherfucker. And it tastes fucking horrible! I was surprised at how nasty it tasted. I was expecting it to taste pretty good since it had a nice citrusy scent. Was this a good idea or did I fuck up big time? I think I accidentally swallowed a little bit of it too. Not much, just like less than half a sip. But the burn was fucking intense. The bottle said do not drink but said nothing about gargling it

 

[Deleted member 521610]

it would of already entered your system so you just burnt your mouth for no reason. I know homeless people around here always steal hand sanitizer and drink it to get drunk from hospitals here that they had to do some crazy security on the squirters

 

[JessFR]

What are your thoughts on gargling disinfectant as a preventative? I accidentally touched my face in the grocery store. So, I just gargled some hand sanitizer from a spray bottle when I got home, and I have to say that it fucking burns like a motherfucker. And it tastes fucking horrible! I was surprised at how nasty it tasted. I was expecting it to taste pretty good since it had a nice citrusy scent. Was this a good idea or did I fuck up big time? I think I accidentally swallowed a little bit of it too. Not much, just like less than half a sip. But the burn was fucking intense. The bottle said do not drink but said nothing about gargling it

Please don't do that. It's pointless.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

Fuck yeh! Bring it on...

The Roaring 20s? Parties and ‘sexual licentiousness’ set to rise after the pandemic

The social epidemiologist predicts a surge in 'sexual licentiousness' and a 'reverse of religiosity'

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Fire&Water]

The sheep are ecstatic

 

[JGrimez]

Registered Nurse from Nashville takes the covid vaccine and doesn't have a good time

 

[JGrimez]

As for mandatory masks for healthy people, let's see what the medical consensus says:

There 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:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21103330/
'Surgical mask to prevent influenza transmission in households: a cluster randomized trial' (2010)
"We observed a good adherence to the intervention. In various sensitivity analyses, we did not identify any trend in the results suggesting effectiveness of facemasks."

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2749214
'N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Personnel' (2019)
"Among 2862 randomized participants, 2371 completed the study and accounted for 5180 HCW-seasons. ... Among outpatient health care personnel, N95 respirators vs medical masks as worn by participants in this trial resulted in no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19216002/
'Use of surgical face masks to reduce the incidence of the common cold' (2009)
"Face mask use in health care workers has not been demonstrated to provide benefit in terms of cold symptoms or getting colds. A larger study is needed to definitively establish noninferiority of no mask use." N95-masked health-care workers (HCW) were significantly more likely to experience headaches. Face mask use in HCW was not demonstrated to provide benefit in terms of cold symptoms or getting colds.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7191274/...
'A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers and sick patients' (2020)
"Randomised controlled trials in health care workers showed that respirators, if worn continually during a shift, were effective but not if worn intermittently. Medical masks were not effective, and cloth masks even less effective"

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/184819
'Surgical Mask vs N95 Respirator for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Workers' (2009)
"446 nurses were enrolled and randomly assigned the intervention; 225 were allocated to receive surgical masks and 221 to N95 respirators. Influenza infection occurred in 50 nurses (23.6% ) in the surgical mask group and in 48 (22.9% ) in the N95 respirator group. Use of a surgical mask compared with an N95 respirator resulted in noninferior rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4868605/
'Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks in protecting health care workers from acute respiratory infection' (2016)
"In the meta-analysis of the clinical studies, we found no significant difference between N95 respirators and surgical masks in associated risk of (a) laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection (b) influenza-like illness, or (c) reported work-place absenteeism."

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/irv.12474
'The efficacy of medical masks and respirators against respiratory infection in healthcare workers' (2017)
"The results suggest that the classification of infections into droplet versus airborne transmission is an oversimplification. Most guidelines recommend masks for infections spread by droplets. N95 respirators, as “airborne precautions,” provide superior protection for droplet‐transmitted infections. To ensure the occupational health and safety of healthcare worker, the superiority of respirators in preventing respiratory infections should be reflected in infection control guidelines."

https://www.cambridge.org/.../64D368496EBDE0AFCC6639CCC9D...
'Face masks to prevent transmission of influenza virus: a systematic review' (2010)
None of the studies reviewed showed a benefit from wearing a mask, in either HCW or community members in households (H). See summary Tables 1 and 2 therein.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/.../j.1750-2659.2011.00307.x
'The use of masks and respirators to prevent transmission of influenza: a systematic review of the scientific evidence' (2011)
"There were 17 eligible studies. [...] None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask ⁄ respirator use and protection against influenza infection."

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/65/11/1934/4068747
'Effectiveness of Masks and Respirators Against Respiratory Infections in Healthcare Workers' (2017)
"Self-reported assessment of clinical outcomes was prone to bias. Evidence of a protective effect of masks or respirators against verified respiratory infection (VRI) was not statistically significant"

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577.long
'A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers'(2015)
"This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks. This is an important finding to inform occupational health and safety. Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection. Further research is needed to inform the widespread use of cloth masks globally. However, as a precautionary measure, cloth masks should not be recommended for HCWs, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated."

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jebm.12381
'Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks against influenza' (2020)
"A total of six RCTs involving 9 171 participants were included. There were no statistically significant differences in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza, laboratory-confirmed respiratory viral infections, laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection and influenza-like illness using N95 respirators and surgical masks. Meta-analysis indicated a protective effect of N95 respirators against laboratory-confirmed bacterial colonization (RR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.43-0.78). The use of N95 respirators compared with surgical masks is not associated with a lower risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/rel.../2020/05/200521124646.htm
N95 masks v. SARS-CoV-2 particle size
"N95 masks filter about 85% of particles smaller than 300 nanometres. SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) is in the size range of 65-125 nanometres"

 

[JGrimez]

<Demonstrating the physiological and psychological damage caused by mask usage>

The physiological impact of wearing an N95 mask during hemodialysis as a precaution against SARS in patients with end-stage renal disease - PubMed

Wearing an N95 mask for 4 hours during HD significantly reduced PaO2 and increased respiratory adverse effects in ESRD patients.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'The physiological impact of wearing an N95 mask during hemodialysis as a precaution against SARS in patients with end-stage renal disease'
"Wearing an N95 mask for 4 hours during HD significantly reduced PaO2 and increased respiratory adverse effects in ESRD patients."

Respiratory consequences of N95-type Mask usage in pregnant healthcare workers—a controlled clinical study

Outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases have led to guidelines recommending the routine use of N95 respirators for healthcare workers, many of whom are women of childbearing age. The respiratory effects of prolonged respirator use on pregnant women ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Respiratory consequences of N95-type Mask usage in pregnant healthcare workers'
"Breathing through N95 mask materials have been shown to impede gaseous exchange and impose an additional workload on the metabolic system of pregnant healthcare workers, and this needs to be taken into consideration in guidelines for respirator use. The benefits of using N95 mask to prevent serious emerging infectious diseases should be weighed against potential respiratory consequences associated with extended N95 respirator usage."

Carbon dioxide re‐breathing with close fitting face respirator masks

Click on the article title to read more.

associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

'Carbon dioxide re‐breathing with close fitting face respirator masks'
"The rise in end‐tidal carbon dioxide is due to rebreathing of expired alveolar gas that is ‘trapped’ in the respirator, with the degree of rebreathing being proportional to the volume of the respirator. The respiratory response to hypercapnia is an increase in minute ventilation, giving rise to the sensation of dyspnoea. Moderate levels of end‐tidal carbon dioxide have also been shown to impair significantly cognitive and psychomotor performance and it is likely that this effect of carbon dioxide is dose related with no threshold."

Carbon dioxide rebreathing in respiratory protective devices: influence of speech and work rate in full-face masks - PubMed

Carbon dioxide (CO2) rebreathing in respiratory protective devices (RPDs) has been highlighted as a key concern regarding respirator use. However, the problem is relatively under researched. This paper presents novel findings on the impact of phonic respiration (breathing during speech) and CO2...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Carbon dioxide rebreathing in respiratory protective devices'
"Carbon dioxide (CO2) rebreathing has been recognised as a concern regarding respirator use and is related to symptoms of discomfort, fatigue, dizziness, headache, muscular weakness and drowsiness.Carbon dioxide (CO2) rebreathing in respiratory protective devices (RPDs) has been highlighted as a key concern regarding respirator use."

Preliminary report on surgical mask induced deoxygenation during major surgery - PubMed

Considering our findings, pulse rates of the surgeon's increase and SpO2 decrease after the first hour. This early change in SpO2 may be either due to the facial mask or the operational stress. Since a very small decrease in saturation at this level, reflects a large decrease in PaO2, our...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Surgical Mask Induced Deoxygenation'
"Our study revealed a decrease in the oxygen saturation of arterial pulsations (SpO2) and a slight increase in pulse rates compared to preoperative values in all surgeon groups"

Protective Facemask Impact on Human Thermoregulation: An Overview

Abstract. The use of protective facemasks (PFMs) negatively impacts respiratory and dermal mechanisms of human thermoregulation through impairment of convection

academic.oup.com

'Protective Facemask Impact on Human Thermoregulation'
"The use of protective facemasks (PFMs) negatively impacts respiratory and dermal mechanisms of human thermoregulation through impairment of convection, evaporation, and radiation processes. The relatively minor reported increases in core temperature directly attributable to the wearing of PFMs suggest that associated perceptions of increased body temperature may have a significant psychological component or that regional or global brain temperature changes are involved."

Amygdala Responsivity to High-Level Social Information from Unseen Faces

Previous research shows that the amygdala automatically responds to a face's trustworthiness when a face is clearly visible. However, it is unclear whether the amygdala could evaluate such high-level facial information without a face being consciously perceived. Using a backward masking...

www.jneurosci.org

'Amygdala Responsivity to High-Level Social Information from Unseen Faces'

Effects of wearing N95 and surgical facemasks on heart rate, thermal stress and subjective sensations

Aim: The study was aimed at investigating the effects of wearing N95 and surgical facemasks with and without nano-functional treatments on thermophysiological responses and the subjective perception of discomfort. Method: Five healthy male and five healthy ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Effects of wearing N95 and surgical facemasks on heart rate, thermal stress and subjective sensations'
"The results from the experiment demonstrate that heart rate, microclimate (temperature, humidity) and subjective ratings were significantly influenced by the wearing of different kinds of facemasks. Microclimate temperature, humidity and skin temperature inside the facemask increased with the start of step exercise, which led to the different perceptions of humidity, heat and high breathing resistance among the subjects wearing the facemasks. High breathing resistance made it difficult for the subject to breathe and take in sufficient oxygen. Shortage of oxygen stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and increases heart rate. It was probable that the subjects felt unfit, fatigued and overall discomfort due to this reason. White et al. found that the increases in heart rate, skin temperature and subjective ratings may pose substantial additional stress to the wearer and might reduce work tolerance. This could be the reason why Farquharson reported that working 12-h shifts while wearing an N95 mask had indeed been a challenge to their ED staff."

Immune study points to new ways to treat lung disease

Fresh insight into how the immune system keeps itself in check could lead to new ways of fighting chronic lung disease, report investigators.

www.sciencedaily.com

'Immune cells become overactive when oxygen levels are deranged.'
"Scientists from the University of Edinburgh found that when neutrophils, which fight bacteria and help to cause inflammation, lose a certain oxygen-sensing protein, the cells become overactive and respond excessively to infection in a harmful way."

Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry

The present report meta-analyzes more than 300 empirical articles describing a relationship between psychological stress and parameters of the immune system in human participants. Acute stressors (lasting minutes) were associated with potentially adaptive ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Stress and the Human Immune System.

 

[JGrimez]

And this is something interesting that I found out through digging through the science that I was not aware of:

<Demonstrating ineffectiveness of masks in surgery>

Disposable surgical face masks for preventing surgical wound infection in clean surgery

Surgical face masks were originally developed to contain and filter droplets containing microorganisms expelled from the mouth and nasopharynx of healthcare workers during surgery, thereby providing protection for the patient. However, there are several ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Disposable surgical face masks for preventing surgical wound infection in clean surgery'
"We included three trials, involving a total of 2106 participants. There was no statistically significant difference in infection rates between the masked and unmasked group in any of the trials. We identified no new trials for this latest update."

The evolution of the surgical mask: filtering efficiency versus effectiveness - PubMed

When originally introduced for use at the turn of the century, the primary function of the surgical mask was to prevent the migration of microorganisms residing in the nose and mouth of members of the operating team to the open wound of the patient. As technology developed new materials and...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'The evolution of the surgical mask: filtering efficiency versus effectiveness'
"When originally introduced for use at the turn of the century, the primary function of the surgical mask was to prevent the migration of microorganisms residing in the nose and mouth of members of the operating team to the open wound of the patient. As technology developed new materials and designs, their filtering efficiencies gradually improved. However, there is no standard test method for assessing that capability, and its influence on the rates of surgical-wound infection has yet to be demonstrated. Quite to the contrary, both in-vitro and in-vivo studies indicate that a mask may not be universally necessary in today's surgical environment."

DEFINE_ME

www.journalofhospitalinfection.com

'Surgical face masks in modern operating rooms—a costly and unnecessary ritual?'
"Following the commissioning of a new suite of operating rooms air movement studies showed a flow of air away from the operating table towards the periphery of the room. Oral microbial flora dispersed by unmasked male and female volunteers standing one metre from the table failed to contaminate exposed settle plates placed on the table. The wearing of face masks by non-scrubbed staff working in an operating room with forced ventilation seems to be unnecessary."

Wearing of caps and masks not necessary during cardiac catheterization - PubMed

Although cardiac catheterization-related infections are rare, caps and masks are often worn to minimize this complication. However, documentation of the value of caps and masks for this purpose is lacking. We, therefore, prospectively evaluated the experience of 504 patients undergoing...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Wearing of caps and masks not necessary during cardiac catheterization'
"Although cardiac catheterization-related infections are rare, caps and masks are often worn to minimize this complication. However, documentation of the value of caps and masks for this purpose is lacking. We, therefore, prospectively evaluated the experience of 504 patients undergoing percutaneous left heart catheterization, seeking evidence of a relationship between whether caps and/or masks were worn by the operators and the incidence of infection. No infections were found in any patient, regardless of whether a cap or mask was used. Thus, we found no evidence that caps or masks need to be worn during percutaneous cardiac catheterization."

Unmasking the surgeons: the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery

The use of surgical facemasks is ubiquitous in surgical practice. Facemasks have long been thought to confer protection to the patient from wound infection and contamination from the operating surgeon and other members of the surgical staff. More recently, ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

'Unmasking the surgeons: the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery'
"While there is a lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of facemasks, there is similarly a lack of evidence supporting their ineffectiveness. With the information currently available, it would be imprudent to recommend the removal of facemasks from surgery. Instead, in the medical field where common practice can so easily become dogma, it is necessary to recognise the constant need to maintain a healthy scepticism towards established beliefs and to periodically re-evaluate and critically assess their scientific merit."