| Let me play devil's advocate. > U.S. Surgeon General Feb 6 > Americans should be more concerned about the flu than coronavirus [...] As surgeon general, I’m telling folks the number one way to protect ourselves is to get a flu shot. On Feb 6, if you lived in the United States, your likelihood of catching and dying from the flu was very possibly higher than COVID19. It's very possible the US Surgeon General wasn't saying to never worry; rather, that it was too early to worry at that time. I got a very bad flu-like illness in late January in Las Vegas. My assumption is that it was very likely the flu, based on estimated base rates of the diseases at that time. > U.S. Surgeon General @Surgeon_General Feb 29 > Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS! If masks have higher ROI for healthcare workers than average citizens, and there's a limited supply of masks, then telling average citizens to not buy masks makes perfect sense to me. > They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk! > U.S. Surgeon General, Mar 6 [Deleted Tweet] > Early am flight. No one with masks (they aren't recommended for general public) but noticed several people using antibacterial wipes on seats (I do this too). I'm not worried about #COVID19 - I'm worried about #flu & the guy reclining all the way back into me before takeoff. Yeah, I cannot come up with any defense for these statements. These statements were clear mistakes by the US Surgeon General. I hope he regrets them and learns from them. |