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by epgui 1462 days ago
It wasn't disinformation. It was no secret that one of the reasons masks weren't recommended for general public use was that hospitals and clinics should be supplied as a priority.

If you got a different impression than this message, blame wherever you get your news from.
2 comments
pseudo0 1462 days ago
What, the US Surgeon General? https://archive.ph/KgfXW

> Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!

> 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!

It's hard to get more direct than that. It wasn't just about preserving supply for healthcare workers, high-level government officials were explicitly stating that masks were not effective for the general public.

Fortunately we have archives of all this stuff, as many statements (like this one) were later deleted.

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epgui 1462 days ago
That sounds 100% compatible with what I wrote.

You will also note that in the early pandemic, it was completely unclear that non-N95 masks, such as surgical masks (let alone cotton masks) would have a positive benefit. That changed later on, of course.

That statement reflected the best information available at the time, but it was designed to be as simple and actionable as possible, not to communicate highly-technical nuance.

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ssully 1462 days ago
Seriously. I can find social media posts of friends in April of 2020 sewing cloth masks to donate to hospitals/medical clinics to help them backfill their mask shortages.
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jcrash 1462 days ago
Multiple sources in USA claimed masks were not needed for people without the disease. Heavily implying it was useless.

I of course knew that was BS from the get-go. But nonetheless they did say it.

https://time.com/5794729/coronavirus-face-masks/

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epgui 1462 days ago
Yes, we used to think non-N95 masks (let alone cotton masks) wouldn't help, and then when we got more data to the contrary, we had to update this belief. That's unfortunate, but normal.
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p_eter_p 1462 days ago
Wait, people change their beliefs in response to new data? That's unpossible!
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