imagine a world where COVID stimulus package included a monthly allowance of face masks delivered by Amazon? Instead we've got bootstraps types & a president w/a personal vendetta vs that CEO.
What, like you had to wait until a research was published to believe this? Seriously, next time, just use common sense.
That would terrify me because it would be further enriching Bezos on the back of a national disaster. We should be wary of billionaires. Anyone with enough capital to buy control of a country via PACs should be considered a threat to democracy. Laws have not kept up with today's robber-barons and monopolies. Being absurdly wealthy is one thing. Being able to control capital capable of wiping out entire industries of small business and changing laws is a terrifying lapse in our judgement when it comes to levying taxes and legal interdiction on these people. Wrap a cloth around your face if you feel you must go outside. The only effective mask, an N95, has to be properly fitted to your face. The purpose is to protect other people from you, not the other way around, since a mask redirects coughs in a safe direction even when fitted poorly.
Most people are not coughing, less than 10% from what i've seen, there definately not sneezing, but breathing or talking is all that's really required for droplets from the lungs to escape.
ok, imagine a disaster relief package that funded the USPS about to go bankrupt and had them deliver the masks to all Americans instead; much like they did that Trump check. And I agree about lobbyists, it's why I've been opposing the party that favors them and gave us citizens united.
Some sort of allotment of masks for people would be nice but circling back to the topic OP has posted - do we even know if a standard surgical mask is effective for people? Having spoken to people in the medical field surgeons wear those masks to keep spit and sweat from dripping into the person's body while they are working on them because they have to talk/give orders during the procedure. They aren't designed to protect people from airborne pathogens. The argument "it's better than nothing" doesn't even stand because they're both annoying an ineffective. Plastic spit shields on people's faces would be equally effective and significantly more comfortable. Here's a good test a nurse told me. Put on your non-N95 mask as tight as you can get it around your face. Spray cologne/perfume and walk through it. Cologne particles are far larger than a virus. If you can smell the cologne the mask won't protect you from the virus. This is a similar test to the more professional and refined one they use for N95 fitting (scented chemicals at various particle sizes to determine fitment). A good N95 mask, fitted properly, is actually extremely uncomfortable to wear because you're rebreathing your own breath more-or-less and the sides dig into your skin. But, you won't be able to smell anything. We should fully evaluate the effectiveness of standard surgical masks vs. control before considering enforcing "mask laws".
no, in my scenario, the fed government would have enacted the defense act months ago and n95 would be delivered to your door. The amazon delivery was a concession to the free market as we got some libertarians on the board.