There was a predictable temper tantrum from your typical Covidians when it was announced a Florida federal judge ruled the mask mandate for public transportation was unconstitutional. With social media users vowing to continue wearing masks on airplanes to promises of canceling trips in protest, people who have been brainwashed into fear won't like what Dr. Michael Osterholm had to tell CNN on Thursday.
Osterholm said Americans had been duped into thinking the mask mandate was more effective than it actually was in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in situations like flying.
"Well, you know, without sounding as a contrarian or somehow trying to undercut public health, you have to know that I am a very pro-respiratory protection masking person, but that requires an N95 respirator. We know how highly infectious this virus is and to use face cloth coverings or even surgical masks leaves you still largely unprotected, and that is a big challenge," Osterholm explained.
"Well, if you look at the mask mandate, it was all about the vast majority of people wearing face cloth coverings or surgical masks, or if you're on a plane and you're eating or drinking, you don't have to wear it at all. I think the mask mandate has been really overstated in terms of how much you can protect people," he continued. "If everyone was required to wear an N95, you couldn't take it off for things like eating and drinking when the virus will not take a vacation, then I think it's a very important tool. Unless you do that, I think we are basically expending a lot of public health capital for something that will have very little return."
The Department of Justice said it is planning on appealing the federal court's ruling to have the mask mandate be reinstated. Following the ruling, President Joe Biden initially said it was up to individuals if they should wear a mask.
