The Homa Files

Biden has made it a focus of his campaign … and, the politico-scientists  are all in.
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For the sake of argument, let’s just accept the WSJ observation that:

Some studies show that widespread use of masks can reduce spread.

Even if masks are only incrementally helpful, they are among the least economically costly and burdensome options for reducing COVID spread.

OK, so there’s potential upside and no significant downside

With that in mind, a recent  WSJ article on “COVID” Fatigue” had a chart that caught my eye.

The high red line below  is the percentage of people who regularly wear masks when they leave home.

Bottom line: Gallup says that 91% of respondents said they wear masks in public settings … that’s up from 80% who said so in May.

Let’s dig a little deeper on those numbers…

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Is the glass 90% full or 10% empty?

May’s 80% is a high number … the current 91% is a very high number … so even if it’s biased and gets hair cut a bit, it’s still a big number.

Strike me that the glass is nearly full and that begs an obvious question…

Does it make sense to have a national mandate to try to close the 9 percentage point gap to 100%?

Note: I say “try” because, in real life there’s some level of “system friction” so 100% is probably not achievable.

Asked differently, does anybody really think that the 9% mask-avoiders are causing the lingering viral spread and causing the bulk of the recent spikes?

Apparently, CDC Director Redfield thinks so since since he has said that masks are more important than vaccines … and   thinks  that the COVID death rate will be cut in half if mask compliance goes  to 100%?.

I kinda doubt it.

Strikes me that the battle has been pretty much won.

Rather than pushing for a contentious (and probably futile) mask mandate, I think  the politicos should be highlighting the sky-high compliance rate (i.e. herald people who are behaving properly) … and offering some practical advice.

For openers I suggest that people do what I try to do: Accept some modicum of  personal responsibility and STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM STRANGERS WHO AREN’T WEARING MASKS!

That’s more practical than trying to confront maskless marauders, hoping that they’ll see the light and start masking up.

And, encourage businesses, schools and smart homeowners to keep gatekeeping — doing what they are already doing: REQUIRE MASKS FOR ENTRY

So, Joe, tell me again why we need a mask mandate?

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P.S. Next time you watch Biden speak, notice how many times his mask slips down … and how many times he touches his mask.

For proof see: Biden demonstrates how NOT to wear a mask…

Somebody should remind Joe (and the public) how to care for & wear a mask.

My view: That’s a bigger problem than the 9% non-compliance rate.

As one of my coaches used to say: The only thing worse than not practicing is practicing doing things the wrong way.

This entry was posted on October 29, 2020 at 10:00 am and is filed under Coronavirus - Covid 19. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.