Amulet

As we approach the 3rd anniversary of the start (in the U.S.) of the COVID pandemic, the vast majority of thinking people have moved on. Yet, most of those who moved on over the past year, either welcomed or at least tolerated the anti-scientific, ineffective, incoherent, and wholly authoritarian government policies that were put into place first under the Trump Administration (under the auspices of Anthony Fauci, MD et al) and then amplified under the Biden administration. Mandates, lockdowns, school closures, vaccine requirements and coersion, criminal penalties—all of it—were driven by an hysterical reaction to a virus that truly threatened only older Americans who had other health problems (comorbidities).*

Those of us who recognized the hysteria from the beginning (March, 2020) and argued against virtually all of the authoritarian government policies derived from it, were demonized by our "moral betters" as uncaring and unscientific. Three years of data now indicate that our "moral betters" were catastrophically wrong—endorsing policies that at best were ineffective and at worst were damaging to lives and livelihoods.

The last vestige of that hysteria continues to be found among the small number of people who insist that masks should be worn to protect themselves and others from COVID. No harm there. If mask wearers feel strongly about masking, have at it. But things change when the government (e.g., the CDC) suggests (or mandates) that masks are somehow effective against the virus and should be worn or when universities or other large, quasi-governmental institutions do the same with either masks or vaccines.**

Greg Piper discusses a "gold standard" study of a number of mask efficacy studies published in the scientific literature:

An international research collaboration that reviewed several dozen rigorous studies of "physical interventions" against influenza and COVID-19 through last year failed to find even a modest effect on infection or illness rates from masks of all qualities. [emphasis mine]

Published in the peer-reviewed Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, run by the British evidence-based medicine charity Cochrane, the study raises new doubts about ongoing mask mandates and public health recommendations worldwide.

The CDC is still recommending masking in areas with "high" transmission levels — fewer than 4% of U.S. counties — as well as indoor masking to protect high-risk contacts in "medium" counties (27%).

Masks are still required in educational institutions in Democratic strongholds such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington and California, according to the Daily Mail. Boston Public Schools denied its "temporary masking protocol" in early January was a "mandate," following a public letter against the policy by student Enrique Abud Evereteze.

South Korea is still requiring masks on public transport and in medical facilities after dropping COVID mandates in most indoor settings, including gyms, Monday, Reuters reported. 

Regardless of the overwhelming evidence that masks provide no useful benefit against COVID, it seems that blue locales in the U.S. are unwilling to let go. There appears to be something psychological happening on a mass basis. Blue state leaders and their progressive populations believe that:

1. the masks are a magic amulet that protect them from COVID, and/or 
2. masks are an effective form of virtue signalling that demonstrates how morally evolved their wearers are, and/or 
3. mask wearers are generally smarter than those who don't and are therefore a credit to their society, and/or 
4. the ideological make-up of some blue state residents precludes them from admitting that they were victims of mass hysteria and that they were wrong.

At this point, it really doesn't matter much, but it sure is fascinating to observe.

FOOTNOTES:

*  Yes, there were statistical edge cases that did affect other age groups, but 3 years of COVID data indicates that the school and working age populations were very unlikely to suffer serious or life threatening affects from the virus.

** There is growing scientific evidence that mRNA 'vaccines' (1) are at best marginally effective for a relatively short period of time, (2) do NOT stop transmission of the virus, and (3) have side effects that are serious and in a small number of cases, life threatening.