by Ted Noel, MD
American Thinker
Recently I was “fact checked” by PolitiFact for a demo I did showing that masks don’t stop the spread of aerosols (longer one here, shorter one here). The reporter asked for my comments and then said what his narrative required, without regard for any scientific data. The list of CDC and Medscape information in the video description escaped his attention. He also completely ignored the fact that Anthony Fauci has flip-flopped on masks more than a fresh-caught fish on deck.
Scientists have been very busy. When the Wuhan Flu came to America, we were told to constantly bathe our hands in sanitizer. Now we know that very few cases are spread by contact, so constant hand-washing isn’t necessary. That leaves droplets and aerosols. Unfortunately, many studies use arbitrary size criteria to distinguish between them, giving us confusing answers. A better distinction is that droplets are too heavy to stay suspended in the air, so they follow a spitball’s trajectory to the floor. Aerosols can stay suspended for hours, much like cigarette smoke.