There are times I just don’t understand Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and that’s especially true right now because Sunday, he was pounding the campaign trail for a Republican colleague in Virginia, where in straight-faced fashion, he told the audience that masks don’t work and then repeated [1] Trump’s claim that the virus will simply disappear, according to the Daily Beast. [1]
“I’m not telling you not to wear a mask,” Paul said at the rally, which was for Nick Freitas, a Republican congressional candidate in Virginia. “The cloth masks… I’m just telling you the truth, they don’t work. Ninety-seven percent of viruses go through a cloth mask.”
Paul didn’t cite any evidence for this figure as he spoke but last month his office sent a tweet in which he shared a 2015 study that found particle penetration of cloth masks was 97 percent. What he failed to mention, however, is that the study authors revisited their information in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and found “the physical barrier provided by a cloth mask may afford some protection.” Health workers, not everyday citizens, were the focus of their research.
But that’s not all. Public health researchers have consistently reported that cloth masks, while not as effective as surgical masks or N95 masks, are still a viable method for stopping the spread of coronavirus. They sharply reduce the range of droplets expelled when a person coughs or sneezes. Researchers from the University of Washington found, for example, that if 95 percent of people wear cloth masks within six feet of others, it would reduce the spread of COVID-19 by 30 percent.
But the Kentucky senator (Jeez, people in Kentucky are stuck with Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul — y’all have my sympathy) has another novel idea for helping Americans adapt to the virus: Staff restaurants and cruise ships with people who have had COVID-19. Paul claimed their assumed immunity for the virus would make for safer situations.
“If I owned a restaurant, I’d have a whole wing for senior citizens or for anybody who’s worried about getting sick, and I would say all my servers have already had it,” he told his audience. “If I had a cruise ship… everybody would have had the infection that works on the boat.”
Paul continually claims that since he contracted COVID-19 in March, he’s now immune and can’t spread it. He’s been seen walking around the Capitol without a mask. But the science surrounding this is yet to be fully understood. One study, published in the journal Immunity, found that people who dealt with mild COVID-19 infections produced antibodies that could protect them for 5-7 months and perhaps longer. Similar findings say this may be the case but public health officials still caution that there are just too many questions that still remain.
And of course, Paul likes to add in pro-Trump nonsense regarding this situation.
“The President said the virus would go away, and they mock him and make fun of it,” he said in reference to Trump’s continual assertions that COVID-19 will disappear. “The virus will go away.” He suggested, however, this will happen later on, while Trump, in the beginning of the pandemic said he expected the virus to vanish before establishing itself.
We all know what happened from there. Thanks to Trump, we’re in this for the long haul. If you’re one of those people who thinks wearing a mask is a violation of your rights, stay the f*ck home and do your shopping online. And for those who can’t work from home, now is not the time to be selfish. Wear a mask and unlike the fools I’ve mentioned above, learn to be a decent human being.