Not any more but in the thick of it they were important and helpful tremendously. Those who wouldn't hurt and probably killed people. No excuses as far as I'm concerned
Killed people? Are we talking about cloth masks outside of a sterile environment in the real world?
What if we took a fraction of the funds currently funded to fighting COVID to do the following: Fund free blood tests to see if you have natural immunity. If not, in the same blood test have one's vitamin/min levels checked, including but not limited to d, iron, zinc..
Promote supplementing d, c, Zinc, quercetin etc as needed, promote exercise, and promote having one's bmi at < 25 (or body fat equivalent for folks that don't fit standard BMI parameters).
If you follow the above recommendations and still experience COVID like symptoms then get tested. If positive seek early treatment.
Follow all of the above, but if over 80 years old and/or have comorbidities use a N95 rated mask or better.
What would the true death rate or even long term covid rate be if the above was followed? What difference would cloth masks make? What are the harmful effects of wearing masks long term? What are the effects on children and their cognitive development? Mask related eye injuries real or nah?
Are poor folks more likely to have to use dirty masks or use masks longer than the recommended time frame? What are the harmful effects of folks who use the same mask longer than the recommended time frame?