Now that wearing a mask in public is required in California and other states, we’re hearing all kinds of misinformation about the effectiveness of masks with viruses. My daughter Nicole (an ER doctor) sent me a post written by Dr. Sam Laucks, a surgeon, who definitively answered questions.
I’ve streamlined the Q&A here:
1. Do masks protect me from getting sick?
I have spent the past 39 years working in the field of surgery. For a significant part of that time, I have worn a mask. I have worked with hundreds (probably thousands) of colleagues during those years, who have also worn masks. Not a single one us of became ill, passed out or died from lack of oxygen. Not a single one of us became ill, passed out or died from breathing too much carbon dioxide. Not a single one us of became ill, passed out or died from rebreathing a little of our own exhaled air. Let’s begin here by putting those scare tactics to rest!
2. Wearing a mask for people with advanced lung diseases can make it difficult for them to breathe. What should they do?
It is true that some people, with advanced lung diseases, may be so fragile that a mask could make their already-tenuous breathing more difficult. If your lungs are that bad, you probably shouldn’t be going out in public at the present time anyway; the consequences if you are exposed to Covid-19 would likely be devastating.
3. Can’t viruses go right through the mask because they are so small? Masks keep viruses out just as well as a chain link fence keeps mosquitoes out,” some tell us.
It is true that individual virus particles can pass through the pores of a mask; however, viruses don’t move on their own. They do not fly across the room like a mosquito, wiggle through your mask like a worm, or fly up your nose like a gnat. The virus is essentially nothing more than a tiny blob of genetic material. Covid-19 travels in a CARRIER – the carrier is a fluid droplet- fluid droplets that you expel when you cough, sneeze, sing, laugh, talk or simply exhale. Most of your fluid droplets will be stopped from entering the air in the room if you are wearing a mask. Wearing a mask is a very efficient way to protect others if you are carrying the virus (even if you don’t know that you are infected). In addition, if someone else’s fluid droplets happen to land on your mask, many of them will not pass through. This gives the wearer some additional protection, too. But, the main reason to wear a mask is to PROTECT OTHERS. Even if you don’t care about yourself, wear your mask to protect your neighbors, co-workers and friends! A mask is certainly not 100% protective. However, it appears that the severity of Covid-19 infection is at least partially “dose-dependent.” In other words, the more virus particles that enter your body, the sicker you are likely to become. Why not decrease that volume if you can? “What have you got to lose?!”
4. Doesn’t a requirement or a request to wear a mask violate my constitutional rights?
You’re also not allowed to go into the grocery store if you are not wearing pants. You can’t yell “fire” in the Produce Department. You’re not allowed to urinate on the floor in the Frozen Food Section. Do you object to those restrictions? Rules, established for the common good, are component of a civilized society.
5. Aren’t masks uncomfortable?
Some would say that underwear or shoes can be uncomfortable, but we still wear them. (Actually, being on a ventilator is pretty darned uncomfortable, too!) Are masks really so bad that you can’t tolerate them, even if they will help keep others healthy?
6. Won’t people think I’m a snowflake or a wimp if I wear a mask?
I hope you have enough self-confidence to overcome that.
7. I never get sick; I’m not worried.
Well, then, wear a mask for the sake of the rest of us who are not so perfect!
8. Will wearing a mask help stop the COVID-19?
There is good evidence that masks make a real difference in diminishing the transmission of Covid-19. Please, for the sake of others (and for the sake of yourself), wear your mask when in public. It won’t kill you!
And, by the way, please be sure that BOTH your nose and mouth are covered! Recommendations around mask usage are confusing. The science isn’t. Evidence shows that masks are extremely effective to slow the coronavirus and may be the best tool available right now to fight it.
So there you have it! If a surgeon of 39 years believes that wearing a mask can protect us from spreading the coronavirus and dying from COVID-19, I’m in. I have a dozen masks that I’ve stashed everywhere so I always have a clean mask ready. This is a really easy thing for each of us to do.
Now that wearing a mask in public is required in California and other states, we’re hearing all kinds of misinformation about the effectiveness of masks with viruses. My daughter Nicole (an ER doctor) sent me a post written by Dr. Sam Laucks, a surgeon, who definitively answered questions.
I’ve streamlined the Q&A here:
1. Do masks protect me from getting sick?
I have spent the past 39 years working in the field of surgery. For a significant part of that time, I have worn a mask. I have worked with hundreds (probably thousands) of colleagues during those years, who have also worn masks. Not a single one us of became ill, passed out or died from lack of oxygen. Not a single one of us became ill, passed out or died from breathing too much carbon dioxide. Not a single one us of became ill, passed out or died from rebreathing a little of our own exhaled air. Let’s begin here by putting those scare tactics to rest!
2. Wearing a mask for people with advanced lung diseases can make it difficult for them to breathe. What should they do?
It is true that some people, with advanced lung diseases, may be so fragile that a mask could make their already-tenuous breathing more difficult. If your lungs are that bad, you probably shouldn’t be going out in public at the present time anyway; the consequences if you are exposed to Covid-19 would likely be devastating.
3. Can’t viruses go right through the mask because they are so small? Masks keep viruses out just as well as a chain link fence keeps mosquitoes out,” some tell us.
It is true that individual virus particles can pass through the pores of a mask; however, viruses don’t move on their own. They do not fly across the room like a mosquito, wiggle through your mask like a worm, or fly up your nose like a gnat. The virus is essentially nothing more than a tiny blob of genetic material. Covid-19 travels in a CARRIER – the carrier is a fluid droplet- fluid droplets that you expel when you cough, sneeze, sing, laugh, talk or simply exhale. Most of your fluid droplets will be stopped from entering the air in the room if you are wearing a mask. Wearing a mask is a very efficient way to protect others if you are carrying the virus (even if you don’t know that you are infected). In addition, if someone else’s fluid droplets happen to land on your mask, many of them will not pass through. This gives the wearer some additional protection, too. But, the main reason to wear a mask is to PROTECT OTHERS. Even if you don’t care about yourself, wear your mask to protect your neighbors, co-workers and friends! A mask is certainly not 100% protective. However, it appears that the severity of Covid-19 infection is at least partially “dose-dependent.” In other words, the more virus particles that enter your body, the sicker you are likely to become. Why not decrease that volume if you can? “What have you got to lose?!”
4. Doesn’t a requirement or a request to wear a mask violate my constitutional rights?
You’re also not allowed to go into the grocery store if you are not wearing pants. You can’t yell “fire” in the Produce Department. You’re not allowed to urinate on the floor in the Frozen Food Section. Do you object to those restrictions? Rules, established for the common good, are component of a civilized society.
5. Aren’t masks uncomfortable?
Some would say that underwear or shoes can be uncomfortable, but we still wear them. (Actually, being on a ventilator is pretty darned uncomfortable, too!) Are masks really so bad that you can’t tolerate them, even if they will help keep others healthy?
6. Won’t people think I’m a snowflake or a wimp if I wear a mask?
I hope you have enough self-confidence to overcome that.
7. I never get sick; I’m not worried.
Well, then, wear a mask for the sake of the rest of us who are not so perfect!
8. Will wearing a mask help stop the COVID-19?
There is good evidence that masks make a real difference in diminishing the transmission of Covid-19. Please, for the sake of others (and for the sake of yourself), wear your mask when in public. It won’t kill you!
And, by the way, please be sure that BOTH your nose and mouth are covered! Recommendations around mask usage are confusing. The science isn’t. Evidence shows that masks are extremely effective to slow the coronavirus and may be the best tool available right now to fight it.
So there you have it! If a surgeon of 39 years believes that wearing a mask can protect us from spreading the coronavirus and dying from COVID-19, I’m in. I have a dozen masks that I’ve stashed everywhere so I always have a clean mask ready. This is a really easy thing for each of us to do.
I get that we’re all really antsy to get out of the house and resume “summer vacation” activities. When we’re inundated with different messages from the WHO, CDC, government, friends, and family about when shelter-in-place orders will be eased, it’s easy to just take the path of least resistance and go along with the crowd. But seriously. Read the numbers and you’ll see that the numbers of COVID-19 cases are still rising across the US. Yesterday in California, we had more new cases in one day than we have had since this pandemic started in February. A new study reveals how the 2020 Spring Break help spread COVID-19 on college campuses and the surrounding communities.
Statistics speak volumes and when researchers looked at spring break vacation dates, cell phone data, and reported cases of COVID-19, they found that student breaks are partly responsible for the continuing growth of this pandemic. It’s not just spring break, but fall break, Thanksgiving break, Christmas/Winter break, and long weekends.
Many colleges are starting early this fall so they can switch to online classes and shut down campuses and dorms before Thanksgiving. This can prevent the spread of COVID-19 when the students would return to campus from all over the country and world after the holidays.
We’re still plagued by the worst pandemic of our lifetimes, and we need to shelter in place until the coronavirus is under control and there is an effective vaccine. Imagine what’s going to happen if everyone takes their summer vacation trips all over the US and world during the next 8 weeks, we’re going to have a 2nd wave before flu season starts next winter. The sooner we stop the spread of the coronavirus, the sooner we can resume our normal lives again. It has to take place in this order – not the other way around.
Colleges are struggling to make decisions on whether or not they’re going to have fall term on campus or online. Seems that about 30% of the incoming freshmen are waiting to make decisions about which colleges to attend based on whether or not they’ll start college on campus. Many parents are leery of spending over $60,000 for an online college experience for their kids.
On the other hand, colleges, like businesses, have been hit hard by shelter-in-place orders, and they need student tuition to stay afloat. While they want to protect their faculty and students from the coronavirus, they know students (and parents) don’t want to pay full tuition for online classes. That’s why several colleges are planning on a half-and-half solution.
With this new proposal, colleges will open for fall semester/quarter on campus. This gives students the opportunity to get out of the house and back on campus where they can have fun and get the full college experience. Parents will pay tuition, room and board, and travel expenses just as they had expected. Colleges reap the financial security they need for this term.
There will be no fall break (like spring break) in October for colleges that normally have them. Colleges worry that students will be exposed to the coronavirus at home and then spread it around campus when they return. Each college will set up social distancing protocol to meet their local requirements.
Then, the Friday before Thanksgiving, the students pack up their dorm rooms and head back home for the rest of the semester/quarter. That way they enjoy the holiday with family and friends, and then their courses all transfer to online sessions. The benefit here is that they’ll have already completed midterms and have a good grasp of each class’s protocol so switching to online classes should be seamless.
Colleges fear that the second wave of the coronavirus will wreak havoc on campus and it will be best for students to be safely at home after Thanksgiving and through winter break. Nobody is speculating about what may happen for winter or spring terms yet. Uncertainty seems to be the only constant here.
This is the buzz I’ve heard about a new fall term scenario on college campuses. It offers something for the students/professors and the college bursars. There are many options and colleges will be making announcements about fall term in the next few months.
Worried about your UC applications? You’re not alone! There’s a lot of confusion with UC admissions, so I’ll clarify what is going on here. These are just temporary measures to help students who are dealing with closed high schools and cancelled SAT/ACT test dates.
1. Letter grades are NOT required for UC A-G courses for spring and summer 2020. So if your school has opted to offer only pass/fail marks, instead of grades, you’re still eligible.
2. UCs will calculate your GPA based on the grades you received in 10th and 11th grade (and the summers after 9th, 10th, and 11th grades).
3. SATs and ACTs will NOT be required for students applying during the 2020-2021 school year. This is only for this group of applicants (students graduating in 2021).
4. May 1st is still the deadline to accept offers to attend a UC this fall 2020.
5. If you need an extension for your final transcript (graduation 2020), UCs will be flexible. The deadline remains July 1st, but no student’s admissions offer will be rescinded for missing this deadline.
6. UCs will continue to give credit for students who have AP scores of 3, 4, or 5.
7. If your family is suddenly in a difficult financial situation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, contact your financial aid officers to discuss options.
Did you know that ER doctors in the Bay Area have received orders that they CANNOT give COVID-19 tests to all sick people who go to the ER? Only very sick patients who are immunodeficient, on chemotherapy, or on dialysis can be tested. My daughter was exasperated at the end of her shift in the ER yesterday. This presents 2 terrible situations:
1. Sick Patients AREN’T Being Tested:
Emergency Rooms are sending patients with fevers and coughs back home without testing them for coronavirus. Because these sick people don’t officially know that they have COVID-19 (read between the lines…), they’re probably spreading the virus as they travel home and gather with families and friends. If they actually knew they had COVID-19, they would self quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus and have a specific treatment plan. California has given 64,000 tests compared to New York’s 145,000.
2. Number of Reported COVID-19 Cases is Much Higher:
The number of reported COVID-19 cases is falsely low. When ER doctors aren’t allowed to test patients who clearly present like they have COVID-19, these cases are not included in the daily reports so Americans don’t realize that the real numbers are much higher. This affects how many tests are being made, what PPEs are needed to protect our healthcare professionals, and where lock down orders need to be placed to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
I’m worried and I’m angry. This is what’s happening:
1. Our President says he’s not responsible for managing this pandemic (because he closed the Pandemic Unit 2 years ago). So he’s not going to lead our country out of the biggest disaster we’ve faced in most of our lifetimes. Good grief.
2. Our individual states are responsible for securing coronavirus test kits, PPEs for frontline workers, hospital beds for overcrowded hospitals, and decisions about prisoners and homeless people, which is causing competition between the states for these goods. We need a leader who will execute and oversee the Defense Production Act (DPA) to prioritize production of the much-needed medical equipment and supplies to combat the coronavirus and designate the shipment and delivery of these items to states on an as-needed basis. Now our President has issued orders to not respond to states whose governors have criticized his actions, and to send PPEs to states that support him. WOW! This is school-yard behavior, not presidential… Our healthcare professionals should be the first to receive PPEs, then high-risk people. The healthcare professionals should have enough supplies to use them as directed (change masks between patients — never reuse them!). Who’s on first?
3. We need to have a Shelter-in-Place order now for the entire nation. By studying the outbreaks in China, Italy, and New York City, we know that this community-spread disease can be contained and then eliminated. If we would mandate a stay-at-home order for all non-essential services, we could stomp out COVID-19 in a matter of weeks. But our President says that for economic reasons, we should go back to work and celebrate Easter with our families in the traditional gathering and church-going fashion. Sometimes, you need to sacrifice today for a better tomorrow…
4. Trump was slow to …
… Acknowledge that COVID-19 was not a hoax
… Order coronavirus test kits
… Order PPEs, Respirators, and Hospital Beds/Emergency Facilities
… Consider Shelter-in-Place Orders
… and now he makes predictions about the coronavirus based on a skewed count of COVID-19 patients.
We need to step up together as Americans to provide our healthcare professionals with the PPEs they need to protect themselves. We need to make masks and shower them with support (PPEs, gifts, appreciation) so they can take care of us. We need to stay at home – all of us – to contain this virus so we can go back to work and school.
“Ask not what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country!”
— President John F. Kennedy
Never thought I’d be citing President Kennedy’s inaugural address outside of a history class. But we are fighting a similar war like we were in back in 1961 — instead of fighting communism, we are fighting a virus. When our frontline medical workers don’t have the personal protection equipment (PPE) they need to stay safe from the coronavirus, hospitals will not be able to help the hundreds (or more) of people who will need medical care. After watching this administration’s leadership first declare this to be a hoax; remove the Pandemic Unit of the National Security Council; and outbid states on purchasing N95 masks, and then tell the governors that they’re on their own to fix this pandemic, I think we all know that we can’t rely on our federal government to protect us from the coronavirus. We need to do our part to slow this pandemic to save our lives.
So, what can YOU do?
1. Stay home
Keep at least 6 feet between you and everyone.
2. Send visitors away
Don’t allow them into your homes.
3. Sew masks
If you have a sewing machine and scrap fabric, sew masks for frontline workers.
Check vmcfoundation.org after March 23rd for guidelines and instructions on how to make masks to donate to Valley Medication Foundation.
Here is a website that shows you how to make several types of masks and shields:
4. Donate masks
If you have access to new N95 masks, surgical masks, or face shields, please donate to hospitals that need them. Call or check online to see what they need and what requirements are in place.
I checked with Valley Medical Center in San Jose, CA and they need the following NOW:
New N95 Respirator Masks
New Surgical Masks
New Face Shields
New Gowns
Disinfectant Wipes
Hand Sanitizers
Goggles
Thermometers
Drop off or send to:
Valley Medical Center Foundation
2400 Clove Drive
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 885-5299 or vmcfoundation@hhs.sccgov.org
As American citizens, we can work together to give our medical frontline professionals the protection they need to treat the very sick and the COVID-19 patients. Encourage everyone to donate new masks and shields to the hospitals that need them. Sew cloth masks for your local hospitals or send to Valley Medical Foundation. Hunker down and stay at least 6 feet away from others to slow the spread of this deadly virus. We can do this! It’s up to us to take control and stop the coronavirus from spreading.
Want to protect yourself and your loved ones from getting COVID-19? Of course you do! Will you do anything in your power to do so? Then STOP HOARDING and SUPPORT first responders and healthcare professionals. My daughter is an ER doctor in Silicon Valley. As her mother, I want to protect her from the coronavirus and quite frankly, I wish she’d leave the profession.
She treated the first coronavirus patient in the Bay Area back in January, and she has been treating many patients since then. She and the selfless paramedics, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals are risking their lives to save ours. Stop and think about that for a moment. Would you give your life to save a stranger’s?
When I hear that people are hoarding masks, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizers, I feel outraged. People are hoarding so many masks that HOSPITALS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH MASKS TO PROTECT OUR FRONTLINE WORKERS. Selfish, stupid people.
If doctors, nurses, and first responders can’t protect themselves from very sick patients suffering from COVID-19 and other life-threatening diseases, our hospitals will close when they run out of staff. When doctors, nurses, and paramedics get sick, need to be quarantined, or die, WHERE WILL YOU GO WHEN YOU OR YOUR PARENTS GET SICK AND NEED HELP?
Listen to the healthcare professionals and help them set up and prepare for the biggest pandemic we have ever faced. Make sure they have access to masks, coronavirus test kits, and other life-saving devices and equipment they need NOW. Their voices are the ones you can trust and you need to support. They are not trying to win elections, make money on drugs or masks, or hide statistics from you.
When I hear that the government is DIVERTING FUNDS AWAY FROM PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF COVID-19, I feel even more outraged.
We need to ask why the Trump Administration has done the following:
- Submitted a budget that would:
- Eliminated the Pandemic Unit of the National Security Council [Source]
- Cut the Complex Crises Fund of $30 million that could deploy disease experts for this crisis. [Source]
- Forced CDC to slash the program to prevent global disease outbreak by 80% [Source]
- Downplayed the seriousness of COVID-19 by telling people it’s no worse than the flu and that they should go out to restaurants or go back to work when the doctors, WHO, and the rest of the world is quarantining. [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source] [Source]
- Postponed an annual intelligence report warning that the US is unprepared for a global pandemic. [Source]
- Asked for just $2.5 billion (half diverted from other programs) to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, when the congress instead authorized $8.3 billion in emergency funding. [Source]
- Made every step (albeit, delayed step) taken to contain the coronavirus all about Trump – it’s become his political campaign.
To take care of yourself and your loved ones, you need to make sure your healthcare professionals and frontline workers have all the personal protection, test kits, and equipment they need to save all of us. So stop hoarding, and start sharing. When you buy, buy for 2 weeks — not for 6 months. Pressure local, state, and federal agencies to protect our frontline workers and give them the tools they need to keep us safe. And, stay home no matter your age or vitality. Do your part to give our healthcare workers a chance to manage this pandemic.
A lot can change in 24 hours, and this pandemic has caused lots of anxiety for everyone. For college-bound students, and their parents, who were scheduled to take the SAT or ACT, here are a few updates:
1. SAT has been canceled until and including May 2nd. You will receive refunds for all cancelled dates. The next SAT will be on June 6th – we’ll update you as we get closer to that date.
2. ACT has been rescheduled for June 13th. If you’ve registered for previous test dates, ACT will contact you about new dates.
[Source]
While the idea of being “quarantined” sounds stressful – conjuring up visions of claustrophobia – it may be just the relief we all need. We’re busy with work or school, childcare or homework, and traffic and over-scheduled activities. Racing around town and juggling commitments just wipes us out and we become vulnerable to all kinds of sicknesses.
So the new chant “Stay at Home” may be just what we all need. Take this opportunity to protect yourselves and your loved ones by cancelling social gatherings and events for the next 2 months. Take this time for YOU and rejuvenate. When you’re not stressed out, your body will better ward off illnesses so you can optimize your chances of not getting COVID-19.
I look forward to doing projects around my home and property now that I’m staying put. Here are some things you can do to improve your life and get a jump start on all those little things that you’ve put off for too long.
1. Connect with family and friends using Google Hangouts or Skype (online)
2. Spring clean your home
3. Plant veggie seeds to get your spring garden started
4. Put together your Go-Bag
5. Start your genealogy research by reaching out to family via email, text, or hangouts.
6. Set up free exercise/yoga schedule and do this in your living room
7. Binge watch your favorite episodes or discover new shows
8. Sit in on webinars and participate in Q&As
9. Dust off those books that you’ve wanted to read
10. Take online classes to expand your mind (or get college credit)
11. Find your “to-do” lists
12. Purge your junk (get rid of stuff you don’t use or need)
13. Weed your gardens
14. Limb branches 100 feet from your house to prevent fires
15. Move firewood and wooden furniture at least 5 feet away from your house
16. Give yourself a facial or do your nails
17. Work on your taxes
18. Meal prep and freeze for later
Regardless of your age or health, stay at home and avoid going to places where you’ll interface with people. If you’re over 60, you may get COVID-19 and die. If you’re under 60, you may carry the coronavirus (and get sick) and even worse — infect your parents, grandparents, or loved ones and they can die. Either way, STAY AT HOME! Relax and work on your to-do lists! You’ll also reduce your gas mileage and CO2, and you won’t be wasting your precious time in traffic.
What we need to know about the coronavirus that isn’t fueled by misinformation, politics, and hysteria.
My daughter is an ER doctor and these are the 9 things she is advising me to do:
- Stay at home!
- Wash my hands
- Don’t touch my face
- Conduct business in Google Hangouts/Skype
- Participate in webinars and zoom meetings
- Get my flu shot and pneumonia vaccine
- Cancel travel plans
- Avoid young people who are not socially isolating themselves
- Read this article about “flattening the curve” (see link below)
By taking these precautionary steps, the ER will be able to handle real emergencies – very sick patients suffering from life-threatening diseases and COVID-19. Hospitals are not equipped with enough test kits, masks, and PPEs to treat the number of people who will need hospitalization.
[Source]