The ‘infodemic’ – interview with Helen Petousis-Harris about Covid misinformation

[Thaiger]

Helen Petousis-Harris is a NZ vaccinologist and associate professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the University of Auckland. She’s been at the forefront of the dis-information ‘infodemic’ since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year and a voice of reason in Ted Talks, worldwide interviews and lectures. Today she speaks to Tim Newton about some of the main issues facing vaccines and vaccinating populations as we hit the 18 month mark of this pandemic.

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[dmacarelli]

Interesting interview. Though she talks about the benefits of masks and social distancing in regard to the first wave, she is questioning how effective this is now, with the Delta variant, which is far more contagious. All along I have questioned the value of masks, at least the cloth masks. Any doctor will tell you they do not prevent transmission of a virus, and that is why the N-95 and N-99 masks are used in labs. 

The real issue here, is that there is so much bad information out there, with regard to the entire Covid narrative. Hard to know what is true, what is false, and what the motivations are.

Edited July 26, 2021 by dmacarelli

[AlexPTY]

20 hours ago, dmacarelli said:

Any doctor will tell you they do not prevent transmission of a virus, and that is why the N-95 and N-99 masks are used in labs. 

not sure what do you mean, but N99 or any masks with vents or exhalation valves are not advised because they allow unfiltered breath to escape the mask. Those should be banned during COVID mandatory mask on regulations

Edited July 27, 2021 by AlexPTY

[dmacarelli]

44 minutes ago, AlexPTY said:

not sure what do you mean, but N99 or any masks with vents or exhalation valves are not advised because they allow unfiltered breath to escape the mask. Those should be banned during COVID mandatory mask on regulations

Oh please. Study these masks. Do you honestly think that thin cloth masks, or surgical masks prevent oxygen from escaping when you exhale? And do you consider them to be effective filters of that oxygen? You cannot be serious. Do you think a thin layer of cotton is an effective filter against a virus? How many are wearing multi layer masks, which seem to be more effective?

The most effective cloths masks are made of multiple layers of tightly woven fabric like cotton. A mask with layers will stop more droplets from getting through your mask or escaping from it.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449

For example, Hong Kong recommended mask wearing for all in order to prevent respiratory viruses, while Germany claimed no evidences that the masks could significantly reduce infection risks for healthy people (Feng et al., 2020). Furthermore, there have been disputes on the effectiveness of different types of masks for public usage, such as N95 respirators, medical masks and home‐made cloth masks (Feng et al., 2020; Loeb et al., 2009). 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883189/

Edited July 27, 2021 by dmacarelli