Thread by @_CatintheHat

FROM THE OLYMPICS TO NASA, WEARING MASKS IS BACK - EXCEPT IN HEALTHCARE

Brilliant article on how masking is increasingly popular with Olympic athletes, actors & astronauts wanting to avoid illness…

…but sadly, in hospitals, masking is rare & those who do are often gaslit.

🧵

Here’s a link to the online version of this article by the brilliant Tess Finch Lees:
independent.ie/opinion/commen…

The link above is paywalled so here’s an archived link where you can read it for free:


(Please do also click the first link as well though to increase traffic & help persuade editors to publish more Covid stories like this).archive.ph/sfP52

In the rest of this thread 🧵, I’ll run through some of the key quotes from Tess’ article and provide further details & context - I hope you find this helpful… 😊

“When asked about wearing an N95 respirator mask on the subway recently, Tom Hanks replied:

“I’m doing a play right now, I cannot get sick,” adding, “I’ve had Covid enough in my life.””

(Clip below from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ⬇️)

“NASA [& CSA] astronauts are isolating and masking indoors to avoid getting viruses that could derail their March Artemis II mission around the moon…”

(Instagram post below from Jeremy Hanson, one of the 4 astronauts selected for the Artemis II mission around the moon).

“Multiple Olympic teams arrived in Italy in masks.

“The Dutch team chief said they were masking to protect against Covid, which could disrupt their success at the games.

“Dutch speed skater Femke Kok, won gold and broke an Olympic record this week.”

() ad.nl/olympische-spe…

“There were over 40 Covid outbreaks at the Summer Olympics in 2024, with many athletes unable to compete as a result.”

(Article below from Daily Mail about the multiple cases of Covid at the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024: ) dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…

“Having missed a race in 2022 due to a Covid infection, US speed skater Casey Dawson wasn’t taking any chances in Italy. “We’ve learnt a lot since the Covid pandemic”, he said, which is why he masked up this year.”

(Article below from NY Times in 2022: ) nytimes.com/2022/02/04/spo…

“There are more than 400,000 studies showing that Covid harms everyone…”

(Link to LitCovid: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/research/coron…)

“…and a study in Lancet Oncology indicates that the virus poses a greater risk of death in cancer patients.”

(Link to Lancet paper: thelancet.com/journals/lanon…)

“Last month, 60 experts sent an open letter to the WHO, urging it to recommend the use of respirator (FFP3/N95) masks in all healthcare settings, to protect staff and patients against dangerous respiratory pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, which continues to circulate globally.”

https://twitter.com/thewhn/status/2009658715629125935

“Among the signatories was Dr Barry Jones, chair of CATA.”

“Jones warned that, “CATA is extremely concerned that there is a concerted push by govt & healthcare bodies to ignore the findings & recommendations of the Covid Inquiry.”

(Clip below from Dr Jones at the Covid Inquiry)

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1860809426162098589

Dr Jones continued:

“This includes intransigence towards recognising the AIRBORNE route of transmission established by independent experts.”

“These experts testified that IPC guidance should be updated to recommend routine use of respirator masks treating patients with Covid…”

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/1860832541835489339

“Around 34% of healthcare workers in England are suffering from long-Covid, the numbers increasing with every wave…”

(Link to article about study:
kcl.ac.uk/news/long-covi… x.com/_catinthehat/s…

“A British Medical Association survey showed one-in-five responding doctors were unable to work because of the disease.”

(Link to BMA report:
bma.org.uk/media/7318/bma…) x.com/_catinthehat/s…

“This month, the British Medical Journal reported that “Covid is a vascular disease masquerading as a respiratory one.””

(Link to BMJ article: bmj.com/content/392/bm…) x.com/bmj_latest/sta…

“[The BMJ] cited a large study of over 11M US veterans showing the risk of heart & vessel damage, incl. heart attacks, strokes & cardiac arrest, was substantially increased in those who had Covid one year earlier, compared with those who didn’t.”

(Study: ) nature.com/articles/s4159…

“Even ‘mild’ cases resulted in more cardiovascular disease than those who were never infected.”

“Where is the public health information explaining how to prevent Covid infections: masks, clean indoor air, vaccination, testing, stay at home if sick?”

It’s a good question, Tess!

https://twitter.com/_catinthehat/status/2025365308144332887