118 Comments

I have refused to wear once NYS deemed it safe, have argued with our HR when I wasn't wearing one by myself, and I'm the immunocompromised one. My patients can wear a Racal suit for all I care, but once you can make a non-powered respirator that effectively filters out a 60-100nm viral particle without causing asphyxiation, I will refuse.

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Inspired to wear my MAGA hat during my next shift!

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Sadly, suing people for their failure to mask wouldn’t be a thing but for the obvious lunatic “experts” who will opine against the evidence based studies. 🤷🏽‍♀️

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Masking if you are not sick with a respiratory virus is nonsensical and if you have a contagion you should best stay out ill. Or wear an N95 mask and limit contact time. The lies about cloth masks put people at risk. I know covid positive people that have gone to interact with others because they have a mask on so its ok. Despicable what the CDC has d one.

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I will gladly put on a mask if a patient requests. I can't recall this happening more than once. I am an ENT so I am in in everyone's grill every day. Most patients have been relieved to be able to remove the masks when "permitted."

Patient's faces express incredulity at the state of medical care (official dogma/recommendations, provider turnover, difficulty plugging in to the system, feeling like sausage in the medical machine when plugged in for care, decreased time with a "provider" who is listening, not feeling a logic in care recommendations, more prescribing/infrequent de-prescribing....... ). When I validate their concerns, they have a sense of relief and are eager to understand the larger cultural context for trends they see and feel, which I help them articulate and understand. The lack of a sense of understanding and control feeds increasing depression, anxiety, progressive health declines and is aggravated by cumulative medication lists/side effects from more and more medications but declining degrees of relief.

The para COVID phenomena have exposed dark trends and dysfunction that are ever-present but potentiated by deterioration in our traditional sorces for sensemaking and the "crisis" that exposed human and institutional capture, fragility, and decline.

Dr. Prasad and others who are plugged-in and having these discussions help us to try to heal individuals, familes, and their communities. Hopefully we will move through this phase of humanity without being overwhelmed by the darks trends that have followed us and frequently dominated us throughout our history. History has offered rare periods of insight and relief from these inclinations. We are our own worst enemies and seem ill equipped to manage the assaults on the gifts that the Enlightenment has bestowed.

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if you're too afraid to be out in public for any reason (you can't let go of your pandemic fear identity, you have a suppressed immune system, you have cancer, etc) then don't go out in public. simple.

do not expect the entire world to cater to your neuroses or your particular one in a million medical condition. protect yourself. it is not incumbent on the rest of us to warp ourselves, cover ourselves in plastic or destroy our immune systems with endless boosters in order to protect you. the last thing we need is the government mask police coercing everyone to humor you.

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We most certainly should mask when rounding on hospitalized neutropenic patients as they are profoundly immune compromised. But masking for any one with milder degrees of immune compromise should not be enforced. It should be up to the patient and doctor with a bit of evidence interjected.

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Unethical? Heck no! There is little or no proof that masking works in the medical environment except for perhaps to repel toxic chemicals. Forget about mask "ethics" and figure out a way to introduce medical ethics and doctor ethics.

Yes, I was ethically relieved that my doctor wore a mask. Yet, he managed to murder me anyway with his other unethical practices.

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I live in a deep red state. If the idea that patients requesting their doc wear a MAGA hat so the patients would feel safer went viral (pardon the pun), I bet there would be a sudden shortage of providers here. Thanks Dr Prasad for the best laugh of the day. Love it.

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Why stop at masks? There are many things that can harm patients. Why aren’t they arguing for space suits?

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Preach it

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Dr. Prasad suggested this study. He is making bets ($10000) on results but isn’t he kinda saying we really don’t know. This has been his consistent argument

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Thank you for the thoughtful counter.

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JAMA has degenerated

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Ha!

Ethics in medicine? What a quaint concept. We left that behind when the government and their agencies decided to treat health care workers like dogs and force vaccinate- and most of the medical field went along with it with enthusiasm.

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I read the article with interest and understanding but you rather spoiled a rational piece when you started berating “left wing doctors.” I’m a left wing Dr but I still believe in proper research, evidence based medicine and respect for right wing Drs who also, hopefully, leave their political opinions outside their consulting rooms, as I do!

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the right (and middle) wing doctors knew mask policies were bullshit. did you?

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I thought the article I commented on was suggesting that there is no evidence either way so I also think that your question to me is ill informed and quite insulting. But of course being clearly right wing you know better and knew better without evidence and are turning it into a political argument instead of an evidence based one. Enjoy your dogmatic viewpoint and disrespect for colleagues with a different political viewpoint

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But did you use face diapers?

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