03/05/2021    Gary S Smith, DPM, Mark Spier, DPM, Robert Kornfeld, DPM

Fauci and Double Masking (David Secord, DPM)

I was a scientist before I became a podiatrist and
so the lack of science during this whole time is
frustrating. One important science fact is that a
virus either causes symptoms or it doesn't. There
is no such thing as a virus that makes some people
sick and not others. It is science fiction. When
Covid was found in people who were asymptomatic, it
was absolutely excluded as the cause of symptoms in
others.

Just because people test positive for COVID-19
doesn't mean it has caused an illness. As a matter
of fact over 50% of all the people in the world
that died last year were found to test positive for
an XX chromosome. Maybe they should all be
quarantined? The science behind vaccines also
dictates that either they work or they don't. If
someone says a vaccine is "mostly" effective or
"makes the symptoms less" then it doesn't work at
all. There is no in between. Think of the polio or
smallpox, etc. vaccines.

There is no reason to think that the COVID-19
vaccine would work even if COVID-19 was responsible
for the illnesses. According to the CDC the
incidence of flu has never decreased with the use
of the vaccine and has even increased in many
cases. If you knew the "science" behind its
manufacture you would see how silly it is to think
that it may work. There is actually a better chance
of winning the lottery.

That being said, I still encourage and assist my
patients in getting the vaccine because it's not
about science and medicine anymore. They are scared
and the vaccine gives them peace of mind and that
is our job as well.

Gary S Smith, DPM, Bradford, PA

Dr. Secord, the article you cited does nothing to
dissuade one from wearing a properly fitted mask to
diminish virus transmission. If you consider
Anthony Fauci a pathological liar, then your
source, Ted Noel, MD must be a carnival barker as
he demonstrates with great fanfare the passing of
vape through the sides of a surgical mask. The mean
mass aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of vaped particles
ranges from 0.25-0.45 microns.

Respiratory droplets are usually divided into two
sizes, large droplets (>5 µm in diameter) that fall
rapidly to the ground and are thus transmitted only
over short distances, and small droplets (=5 µm in
diameter). You can see that Dr. Noel's
demonstration is flawed as the smoke escaping from
his improperly fitting mask consists of particles
10 to 20 times smaller than virion containing
droplets. “Masking may not only protects you from
infection but also from severe illness,” says
Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease physician at
the University of California, San Francisco. Gandhi
co-authored a paper published in late July
suggesting that masking reduces the dose of virus a
wearer might receive, resulting in infections that
are milder or even asymptomatic.

A larger viral dose results in a more aggressive
inflammatory response, she suggests. Additionally,
look at the Covid-19 mortality rates in S. Korea
and Taiwan where mask wearing is universal. I'm not
sure what the relevance of a closed set cohort is
regarding this pandemic other than perhaps nursing
home spread. I surmise that we just have differing
opinions on what constitutes actual science, and
for that I'm thankful.

Mark Spier, DPM, Reisterstown, MD

I feel compelled to put my 2 cents in on Dr.
Secord’s post about masks. There are a number of
things that must be considered when stating an
opinion “based on science”. First, after having
practiced podiatric medicine for 40 years, there is
NO question that anecdotal medicine far exceeds
RCTs in accuracy and scope. The “study” referred to
by Dr. Secord is just that, a study. There is no
way that any kind of study could comprehensively
include every possible combination of human
interactions, i.e. exposures.

All studies, unfortunately, are subject to
politics, economics and bias. Perhaps it would be
best for all of us just to use common sense. We
have all been in the operating room thousands of
times. Why do we wear masks there? If masks do
absolutely nothing, then why don’t we just breathe
into all of our surgical wounds? With regard to
Covid, common sense would tell you that minimizing
exposure to the exhalation of others thereby
minimizing inhalation inoculation would clearly be
effective in preventing at least some transmission
of this disease.

Let’s look at numbers of deaths worldwide. In the
U.S., where mask wearing was politicized and an
anti-mask crusade took hold, we have experienced
more deaths than any country in the world. It has
been well documented and reported that large
gatherings of maskless people led to super spreader
events. Countries who adopted mandatory mask
wearing fared much better than we have.
Dr. Secord stated that wearing masks after
vaccination makes “absolutely no sense”.

May I remind Dr. Secord that there is a reason why
testing for Covid mandates a nasal swab. Regardless
of vaccination and immunity, the virus may be
carried there and exhaled around susceptible
individuals. It makes perfect sense to wear masks
to protect those unvaccinated individuals who may
come in contact with your exhale.

We can argue from here to eternity about the exact
number of cases that could be prevented if EVERYONE
wore a mask. All I will say is this. If I wake up
in the morning and I hear that there is only a 40%
chance of rain, I still take my umbrella.

Robert Kornfeld, DPM, NY, NY

There are no more messages in this thread.