COVID prevention strategy is to extinguish the infection by reducing Ro<1. Either compliance with mask use and/or highly effective widely accepted vaccines can succeed. But, the lower the effectiveness of vaccines, or more refuseniks, the more masks are needed to succeed. #ONEV1
⅔: thus, the lower the effective vaccine rates (the rate of success in prevention of infection x % of use of vaccines)the greater the requirement for use of masks to achieve the goal of extinguishing COVID.
3/3: however, if the goal is not to extinguish the infection but only to treat those likely to quickly die if infected (ignoring the long term risks of COVID) then the vaccine should be given first to the elderly, those with co-morbidity, the obese, diabetic and hypertensive.
so much for the historic (admittedly sexist) adage of "women and children first"
in the end, chances of extinguishing COVID19 will be foiled by vaccine and mask refuseniks- not by a failure of science but by a failure of social responsibility, political will and leadership.
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