Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Labor and Industry
 
Board
Safety and Health Codes Board
 
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6/22/20  11:24 am
Commenter: Nell Duff

No Masks Protect Virginians
 

N England J Med 2020; 382:e 63, "We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection." The WHO - "... there is not enough evidence for or against the use of masks (medical or otherwise) in healthy individuals in the wider community... "

Additional points of concern:

  • FDA, "Even a properly fitted N95 mask does not prevent illness or death."
  • Face masks can give workers a false sense of security, increasing risk if they reduce other defenses against possible transition
  • No scientific evidence provided by the CDC in their recommendation to wear "face cloth coverings in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain," Did not present a study/research to support their recommendation. None of the studies they did source indicated the use of face coverings as protection in the transmission of COVID-19. 
  • Wearing masks alters social interaction and communication that is so important for good mental health (I'm a licensed therapist in the state of VA).
  • It's painful to see people that wait on me in stores wearing these masks which are obviously uncomfortable and that people are forever touching.  
  • Pulse oximeters that measure oxygenation levels indicate that within a few minutes a face mask will tend to drop oxygen level to hypoxemia range. This reported on YouTube by Leigh Dundas, attorney with history of working with human rights and has represented environmental companies.
  • Dr. Kang Lee, a psychologist at the university of Toronto, indicates that the use of masks by and with children is disconcerting and problematical. According to Dr. Lee, children's' skills in recognizing faces do not fully develop until the age of 14, which can make it difficult for them to read emotional signals and lead to a loss of information that's important in social exchanges.  
  • Harmful effects of wearing a mask have been cited by a number of physicians, including increased risk for the following:
    • Hypoxemia (low level of oxygen in blood)
    • Hypercapnia (elevation in blood's carbon dioxide)
    • increased risk for virus to congregate in the nasal passages, allowing it to enter the olfactory nerves and travel further, eventually reaching the brain.

And - I could go on ~

Thank you for inviting our input!  Please listen to these serious concerns.

 

 

CommentID: 82464