Comments by "cloudpoint" (@cloudpoint0) on "COVID-19: Should we be scared of virus variants? | COVID-19 Special" video.

@vladimirseven777 Masks were not a factor. Flu and common cold rates dropped 50% before mask usage became wide-spread [to a third or a quarter eventually], which was after June 2020 and September 2020 more fully. Staying home and distancing likely explain their lower rates. Flu and common cold infections are coming back with a vengeance now as we open up but still use masks.
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@vladimirseven777 Find alternate opposite statistics if you can and I will look at them. I’m not familiar with your Dr. Churchill. Your statistical concerns need to be addressed by large peer-reviewed studies and not by any doctor. See the Influenza spread study described by the CDC below. The CDC describes the 2019-20 flu season as being of moderate severity, however, the effect of influenza differed by age group and the severity of the season in some age groups was higher. Hospitalization rates among children 0-4 years old and adults 18-49 years old were higher than observed during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The season was characterized by two consecutive waves of activity, beginning with influenza B viruses and followed by A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses. Overall, influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses were the most commonly reported influenza viruses during the 2019-20 flu season. The CDC says, Activity began to decline in March, perhaps associated with community prevention measures for COVID-19 [and this was long before anyone wore masks in the U.S.]. Seasonal influenza activity usually runs from mid-November to mid-April. CDC’s estimates of hospitalizations and mortality associated with the 2019–2020 influenza season show the effects that influenza virus infections can have on society. More than 52,000 hospitalizations occurred in children aged < 18 years and 86,000 hospitalizations among adults aged 18-49 years. Forty-three percent of hospitalizations occurred in older adults aged ≥65 years. Older adults also accounted for 62% of deaths, which is lower than recent previous seasons. These findings continue to highlight that older adults are particularly vulnerable to severe disease with influenza virus infection. The CDC 2020-21 flu season analysis is not available yet. In a normal year the percentage of people getting seasonal flu is somewhere between 5% and 7% during the peak flu season. This past year flu rates stayed at their summer levels of about 1.5% in the U.S. COVID-19 protections likely played a big role. Many more people got flu vaccines last fall too than is normal so fewer people were susceptible when the season got underway. And a lot of flu victims just refused to go to hospital out of fear of catching COVID-19 there, so they were not counted. Additionally, many children were not in school, which is a key factor in seasonal flu transmission. Closed borders also kept the flu from circulating north and south globally as it usually does. The trend of low cases is likely “influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, including changes in healthcare-seeking behaviour, impacts of public health measures and influenza testing practices.” Why masks would stop Influenza spread while they did not stop COVID-19 spread is something for you to contemplate. _____________ Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings—Personal Protective and Environmental Measures This CDC article says “evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures [incl. face coverings] did not support a substantial effect on transmission” of a respiratory virus. Lots more studies say the same thing for various coronaviruses including a couple studies of SARS-CoV-2 (in cruise ships, etc.).
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@vladimirseven777 So what you are saying is you can’t present any clinical evidence here showing that masks have significant disease reduction benefit in a community setting. At least this agrees with statements that came from the W.H.O. early in 2020, and with 57 clinical studies that have been conducted and published trying find out if they had much benefit. Nada. Masks have not helped in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam and all the other Asian countries that are suffering from huge COVID-19 outbreaks now. Get vaccinated or stay home. Those are the only things that keep you safe. Btw, most Asian nations did not mandate mask-wearing except for subways until late in 2020, after western nations mandated masks, and they still have lower rates of compliance than the USA (80%-90% vs. 92% in the USA). I think Dr. Lazzarino in the UK summed up the whole topic well when he published: “The message from the science of epidemiology is clear: isolation is the only scientifically-sound measure that we have to prevent a SARS-CoV-2 infection now. Whether or not imposing isolation to populations through lockdowns is a political decision that has to take many factors into account, but the distinction between evidence-based and non-evidence-based measures is unequivocal.” Antonio I Lazzarino, in 30 November 2020 Letter to BMJ Medical Doctor and Epidemiologist University College London UCL Department of Primary Care and Population Health, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom
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@vladimirseven777 I’ve studied university level virology and I’ve spent over a 1000 hours reading everything published by the medical community about masks and other prevention measures. Nothing supports your claims. Masks only slightly help in very close continuous working environments like in ICUs and only if used along with multiple other measures that are not practical to wear in community settings. They may help slightly if you spend more than 15 minutes riding in a tightly packed subway or during a long ride in a crowded elevator. If masks worked alone in normal community settings, there would be no pandemic. Get vaccinated.
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No, COVID-19 has a 99.8% survival rate, which is different than recovery rate. The recovery rate is only 70% to 90% (i.e. recovery back to full health in less than a year if ever). The overall survival rate is generally considered to be 99.8%, much less if you get a positive diagnosis (it drops to 97% to 98.2% overall in this case), and even less in an outbreak area (it fell to 90.8% in the NYC outbreak). Seasonal influenza survival rates are ten times better, for comparison.
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