Lessons from COVID

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‘In spite of what ignorant or misinformed people (including politicians and civil rights protestors) are claiming, science has proven masks to be safe and effective in minimizing infections and deaths.’

Fake news

FAKE news, downright lies, mis- and disinformation in various info sectors, especially social media, have conceivably caused hundreds of million COVID-19 infections and deaths around the world. And so has political correctness. The falsehood that the vaccines are more dangerous (and killed more) than COVID-19, that it contains fetal tissues, changes our DNA, leads to sterility and serious illnesses, has a chip in them, etc., have confused and misguided countless people who ended up devastated by COVID-19 or dead. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for malice or stupidity.

Vaccines are safe

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Vaccines for COVID-19, for seasonal flu, and vaccines mandated as a requirement for children school enrolment, and other available vaccines, are tested, safe, and effective in preventing infectious diseases. COVID-19 is at least 20 times greater risk than the side-effects of the vaccines. Vaccines are truly a life-saver. There are about five billion people fully vaccinated for COVID-19 worldwide (about 13 billion doses), proving how safe and effective they are.

Lowering viral load

Our body, unless immunocompromised, is able to fight off bacteria and viruses, etc., as long as the bacterial or viral load is small. It is when the number of invading infectious organisms become high enough to overwhelm the body’s self-defense mechanism that one gets sick. Washing hands often, using masks, distancing, and avoiding crowds are all aimed at minimizing viral exposure and viral load. Vaccination is a wonderful advance in science that boosts our body’s immune system to a robust degree, which defeats the viruses and prevents infection. The protective power of the vaccines is akin to bullet-proof vests, not 100 percent but proven to be lifesavers nonetheless since they were invented in 1893 by Casimir Zeglen, a Roman Catholic priest in Chicago.

Distancing

Avoiding crowds and social distancing are mitigating measures, like vaccination and wearing masks, that have been proven to lower infections and deaths. This is the same reason why outdoors is safer than indoors, where the airflow (wind) disperses the viruses and greatly minimizes the viral dose one inhales, if any at all. Any and all measures that lower the dose of any infecting agent, like washing hands and face often, showering, etc., are effective strategies to avoid infection.

Viruses not alive

Contrary to what people think, viruses (like SARS-CoV2) are not a living organism like bacteria. Viruses are protein molecules. So, we cannot kill the viruses; we can damage them to render them avirulent, unable to cause infection. That’s the goal of all the measures and strategies we have in combatting COVID-19.

Masks do help

Similar to the analogy above, wearing masks has been proven to work, albeit not 100 percent. NIOSH N95 masks reduce by 95 percent the amount (dose) of viruses inhaled. Lowering the dose minimizes infection. If 10 individuals (five wearing a mask and the other five not) were sprayed with face powder or flour, which of the two groups would have more powder on their face and nostrils?

The viruses are always coated with moisture, salvia, mucus that make them larger than their size of 0.1-0.5 microns, and because they zigzag as they float around with Brownian movement, they are snarled by NIOSH-N95 masks, filtering 95 percent of them, thus minimizing the viral load inhaled.

Mask is also a sign of compassion; it protects the wearer and even more so the people around. It has been effective against the flu. In spite of what ignorant or misinformed people (including politicians and civil rights protestors) are claiming, science has proven masks to be safe and effective in minimizing infections and deaths.

Do you think those who claim masks are useless would allow (or prefer) us, surgeons operating on them or their loved ones and our other operating room staff, not to wear masks during the operation? It’s plain common sense.

***

Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, newspaper columnist, and Chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com

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