Exposing myths about masks

Even as cases of COVID-19 continue to surge in Oklahoma and at least 13 other states during the past two weeks and 14 Oklahoma cities including Tulsa and Oklahoma City have enacted mask mandates, myths and disinformation about masks continue to circulate on social media.

Health officials from Dr. Anthony Fauci to local health care providers are in agreement that wearing masks save lives and may be the only thing standing in the way of another costly shutdown of businesses.

Following are seven falsehoods about mask wearing:

Myth 1: If I wear a mask I won’t be able to breath properly.

One of the most commonly heard myths is that masks prevent the wearer from being able to breathe. This falsehood is dispelled by the fact that health care workers have been wearing masks for hours at a time and have had no issues with breathing. Recent studies have tracked oxygen levels in the blood of mask wearers, and there were no adverse affects.

Myth 2: Wearing a mask will make me inhale carbon dioxide (CO2).

This is also untrue. Exhaled CO2 passes through masks – you will not breathe it back in.

Myth 3: I’m physically distancing so I don’t need to wear a mask.

This is false. The CDC recommends both wearing a mask and keeping at least six feet apart from others, especially while indoors.

Myth 4: Wearing a mask will cause me to get sick from pneumonia.

There are no known cases of people contracting pneumonia or any other bacterial infection from wearing a mask. Myth 5: It’s my constitutional right to wear a mask.

Commonly heard in viral videos of people being denied entrance to businesses for refusing to wear a mask, this claim has no legal basis. The constitution allows state and local governments to regulate public health and safety, such as banning smoking in restaurants. You don’t have a constitutional right to make other people sick.

Myth 6: Masks don’t work because the virus is too small to be stopped.

This is highly misleading. Although the virus is microscopic, it is contained in droplets that are able to be stopped by cloth masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks.

Myth 7: I feel fine so I’m not sick and I shouldn’t have to wear a mask.

False. Unlike other viral illnesses, COVID-19 is spread easily by people who have no symptoms and probably don’t even know they have the virus. Masks are primarily recommended so that the wearer does not infect others, but they have also been shown to reduce your risk as well.

COVID-19 is far more contagious than the seasonal flu or the common cold, and it can kill certain patients in as little as two to three weeks. Wearing a mask might be inconvenient and even uncomfortable, but in the absence of a vaccine it could be what saves your life or the lives of your loved ones. (La Semana)