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Lynch: It takes effort to be informed on issues

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This letter is in response to the Brian Reilly letter (“Letter writer misinformed about masks”).

In his letter, Mr. Reilly, called Robert Oudenhoven “sadly ignorant on the science about face masks.” Mr. Reilly goes on to state the following, “There are organizations like the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that claim to follow the science but they offer no peer-reviewed scientific studies that prove that masks work to stop the transmission of diseases.”

Mr. Reilly is correct in that masks do not totally stop the spread of diseases, but they do help reduce the spread of diseases. With a little effort you can read at least two peer-reviewed medical journals that support the CDC’s view on masking (The Lancet and The Journal of the American Medical Association).

Scientific studies on mask filtration effectiveness have been conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, NIH and numerous research universities (University of North Carolina, University of Central Florida and the University of Minnesota, to name a few). The studies support the CDC’s stance on masking and social distancing.

Later, Mr. Reilly, in talking about COVID-19 vaccine shots, stated, “the experimental shot has already caused nearly 4,000 deaths to date.” This data most likely comes from the U.S. government database Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Anyone can report any kind of adverse reaction to a vaccine to this database.

The VAERS disclaimer states the following, “Reports may include incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental and unverified information.”

Mr. Reilly sure wishes to hold the CDC to great rigor for their statements but does not hold himself to the same rigor. Mr. Reilly appears to get his information from a limited number of sources and/or chooses sources that fit his views.

Neither Mr. Reilly nor Mr. Oudenhoven are “sadly ignorant” on the subject matter of masking. But on the scale of informed to uninformed, I would have to conclude that Mr. Oudenhove is much closer to the informed end of the scale than Mr. Reilly.

Sometimes it takes a little effort to be an informed citizen.

Mike Lynch
Sun City West

masks, COVID-19