I am a full-time resident of Telluride, Colorado. In January 2021, I wrote a letter to the San Miguel County commissioners and health director, pleading with them to drop our county's mask mandate. I do not have a background in science, but as a professional investor my job is entirely reliant on being data-driven and objective in my research, akin to a scientific process. Having looked at many studies pre-covid, studies during covid, and plenty of comparable real-world data, it was obvious that masks had no effect on covid spread. So, exasperated with being forced to partake in a form of witchcraft, and seeing the utterly toxic effects that mask culture had on our community and schools (I have three children in our public schools here, something that Jeff is far removed from) I wrote a five-page letter detailing over 50 studies and data points backing my position (I capped it at 50, but I could have gone on) hoping that maybe some simple, dispassionate facts would help change things.
Jeff Kocher acted in an advisory capacity to our county's health director, whose qualifications and critical thinking skills I'll omit from this post, however, the point is that Jeff seemed to have considerably influence on our county's policy. When I asked our three county's commissioners during the following board meeting about my letter and how they could continue to justify their mask mandate, it was Jeff Kocher who chose to respond to me. Jeff Kocher literally mocked me and laughed at me on this public board meeting. He did this without hesitation or even having read my letter (five pages) in its entirety. He scoffed at the first study I cited for no other reason than the study had been done in Hong Kong. To Jeff, mocking people like me was nothing more than an involuntary reflex, something he couldn't control.
Where was Jeff's data-driven mindset a few years ago? Nowhere to be found. The only thing that mattered to Jeff then was fitting into Telluride's mask culture, which was intense. This would've been understandable for your average citizen, but Jeff was advising our woefully inexperienced health director and three county commissioners who were in over their heads.
Frankly, Jeff, while there's some admitted satisfaction in seeing you capitulate on this topic and admit being dead wrong, the fact is you were a coward. It's awfully convenient of you to say these things today on a substack that few people read rather than on a Zoom county board meeting where your Telluride neighbors are watching, now that you think the coast is clear. I believe you knew better back then, but chose another path for various social reasons. Importantly, your single citation of the millionth study/data point showing that masks do nothing isn't something you nor anyone else can hide behind with a false claim that you simply didn't know at the time, and it's only now that you finally, at long last, have the data you need to come to this conclusion. This CYA routine ain't fooling me. Nice try. God forbid you just admit you screwed up by allowing the social aspects of masks and the politics of mask mandates (which you strongly advocated for here) to far outweigh the reality of their efficacy and necessity. Why is that intellectual honesty too hard?
Jeff, I'll accept your apology anytime for your behavior towards me during that board meeting.
I remember that meeting back in January of 2022 exactly the way Stephen White describes. I too had 3 kids in our public school district. Many of us wrote 100's of letters for years on end pleading with the county and school district to drop the mask mandate on the basis that it was unethical treatment of our children. They were treated as viral vectors. It was inhumane. We were forced to endure the continued abuse of our children in San Miguel County for another 3 weeks after that meeting. We repeatedly received the same canned, pre-written responses citing the same lame studies posted on the CDC website: the modeling studies (GIGO), the observational studies with convenient slices of very short time comparisons and no significant differences, the 2 hairdressers "study" (seriously??), the mannequins et al, in support of continued forced masking of our community. There was a double standard in analyzing studies that fit the pro mask positions and those that did not. The mask culture here in Telluride was, indeed, very toxic. The forced masking of children was and is reprehensible and continues to this day, in other parts of this country. It is child abuse. Check out this HHS Head Start link updated just a few days ago:
where a "trusted adult" makes a little autistic muppet girl think she is "Safe to go outside but only with a mask". What makes this pretending so bad is the false impression that one is protected when they are not. We need to make sure this never happens again. Children should not be subjected to this type of manipulation. It was and is emotional blackmail and strips a child of their critical thinking skills. We need to eradicate the abusive forced masking of children forever.
Proper mask use — like proper hand washing — might be a bit more difficult to promote than proper helmet or seat belt use. The middle ground is messy….where the CDC finds itself: a mine field of political, religious, sociological and psychological resistance to instruction from “authority” not in their comfort/outrage silos. Don’t know of any Antis who demand that their OR teams not wear masks or wash their hands when they get their surgeries.
I'm not anti-mask. Rather anti-authoritarian mandates on unsettled science re: forced masking, vaccines, shutdowns and isolation etc. Also against censuring differing medical, political or religious opinions/beliefs.
No doubt, you’ve heard the expression: “Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins” . Science is not about certainty. Science is about finding the most reliable way of thinking at the present level of knowledge. When it comes to public health policy, , should mullahs (or other religious authorities”) have the same policy standing as board certified medical professionals (admittedly human) who actually study the subject? If the consequences of one’s personal/political/religious beliefs are, according to the present level of medical knowledge, deemed likely to spread damaging disease in the population, your right ends where public health begins.
When it comes to public health policy involving airborne pathogens should a board certified medical professional have the same policy standing as an industrial hygienist who actually is an expert on the physics of aerosols? The field of industrial hygiene is defined as:
“That science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stressors arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers or among of the citizens of the community” (https://www.aiha.org/about-ih/Pages/default.aspx).
“Scientists and engineers committed to protecting the health and safety of people in the workplace and the community.”
The premise that an unmasked individual is violating the rights of other individuals is false because this particular pathogen hangs in the air for hours on end and is everywhere. We live in microbial soup. The best way to mitigate risk for our community is to dilute our air with fresh air and good ventilation systems. N95 masks are expressly non mitigating for airborne pathogens. They have not been properly fit tested on the general population and they degrade quickly when subjected to moisture from breathing.
Masks cannot ever obtain a perfect fit to the face and efficiencies of masks when worn in real world scenarios cannot be perfect. When the mask has more than a 3% gap, it offers effectively zero protection from c19.
Thus, the core issue with masks, and even respirators, is the seal – small gap areas effectively render all of these devices ineffective.
Lastly, every breath increases atmospheric viral load, or the amount of viral matter held aloft in an enclosed space. In instances when it does not take very much of an airborne pathogen for vulnerable individuals to get sick, a contagious individual should not wear a mask or respirator that creates a concentrated plume of aerosols, thinking they are protecting others from their respiratory emissions.
Explosive force-generating events, such as coughs and sneezes, increase the pressure behind exhaled matter. Masks can exacerbate the spread of airborne pathogens by creating focused plumes of fine particulates, in turn increasing emission trajectory, with the added concern of aerosolization of droplets through the mask membrane. Therefore, sick people should stay home as much as possible.
And one final note: face coverings do not prevent pathogens from entering via the lacrimal duct which drains into your sinuses.
Given all the environmental factors one cannot possibly blame another for the spread of a replicating virus. Studying viral spread involves many different disciplines, appealing to only the authority of medical board certification is very narrow minded.
Excellent points—the expertise necessary to help control pandemic spread seems, properly, multidisciplinary. Yet, notably absent from your list of those whose expertise is scientifically relevant are clickbait social media “influencers”, clergy, talking heads whose income depends on deception, et al. In a pathogen rich social environment where civilians (not OR nurses or surgeons) do not follow barrier protocols, perhaps the best we can hope for is not encouraging a significant portion of the population prioritizing political/tribal defiance of any measures that would mitigate the spread of disease to their fellow citizens.
Thanks Dr Jeff for having the courage to research, digest, & report on scientific research and for offering your honest opinions, rather than sticking to a prescribed political narrative. Science is never settled.
Very interesting article that certainly has changed my thinking on the ongoing mask debate during the pandemic. Thank you for your efforts, Dr. Kocher.
I am a full-time resident of Telluride, Colorado. In January 2021, I wrote a letter to the San Miguel County commissioners and health director, pleading with them to drop our county's mask mandate. I do not have a background in science, but as a professional investor my job is entirely reliant on being data-driven and objective in my research, akin to a scientific process. Having looked at many studies pre-covid, studies during covid, and plenty of comparable real-world data, it was obvious that masks had no effect on covid spread. So, exasperated with being forced to partake in a form of witchcraft, and seeing the utterly toxic effects that mask culture had on our community and schools (I have three children in our public schools here, something that Jeff is far removed from) I wrote a five-page letter detailing over 50 studies and data points backing my position (I capped it at 50, but I could have gone on) hoping that maybe some simple, dispassionate facts would help change things.
Jeff Kocher acted in an advisory capacity to our county's health director, whose qualifications and critical thinking skills I'll omit from this post, however, the point is that Jeff seemed to have considerably influence on our county's policy. When I asked our three county's commissioners during the following board meeting about my letter and how they could continue to justify their mask mandate, it was Jeff Kocher who chose to respond to me. Jeff Kocher literally mocked me and laughed at me on this public board meeting. He did this without hesitation or even having read my letter (five pages) in its entirety. He scoffed at the first study I cited for no other reason than the study had been done in Hong Kong. To Jeff, mocking people like me was nothing more than an involuntary reflex, something he couldn't control.
Where was Jeff's data-driven mindset a few years ago? Nowhere to be found. The only thing that mattered to Jeff then was fitting into Telluride's mask culture, which was intense. This would've been understandable for your average citizen, but Jeff was advising our woefully inexperienced health director and three county commissioners who were in over their heads.
Frankly, Jeff, while there's some admitted satisfaction in seeing you capitulate on this topic and admit being dead wrong, the fact is you were a coward. It's awfully convenient of you to say these things today on a substack that few people read rather than on a Zoom county board meeting where your Telluride neighbors are watching, now that you think the coast is clear. I believe you knew better back then, but chose another path for various social reasons. Importantly, your single citation of the millionth study/data point showing that masks do nothing isn't something you nor anyone else can hide behind with a false claim that you simply didn't know at the time, and it's only now that you finally, at long last, have the data you need to come to this conclusion. This CYA routine ain't fooling me. Nice try. God forbid you just admit you screwed up by allowing the social aspects of masks and the politics of mask mandates (which you strongly advocated for here) to far outweigh the reality of their efficacy and necessity. Why is that intellectual honesty too hard?
Jeff, I'll accept your apology anytime for your behavior towards me during that board meeting.
Sincerely,
Stephen White
I remember that meeting back in January of 2022 exactly the way Stephen White describes. I too had 3 kids in our public school district. Many of us wrote 100's of letters for years on end pleading with the county and school district to drop the mask mandate on the basis that it was unethical treatment of our children. They were treated as viral vectors. It was inhumane. We were forced to endure the continued abuse of our children in San Miguel County for another 3 weeks after that meeting. We repeatedly received the same canned, pre-written responses citing the same lame studies posted on the CDC website: the modeling studies (GIGO), the observational studies with convenient slices of very short time comparisons and no significant differences, the 2 hairdressers "study" (seriously??), the mannequins et al, in support of continued forced masking of our community. There was a double standard in analyzing studies that fit the pro mask positions and those that did not. The mask culture here in Telluride was, indeed, very toxic. The forced masking of children was and is reprehensible and continues to this day, in other parts of this country. It is child abuse. Check out this HHS Head Start link updated just a few days ago:
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/physical-health/article/value-face-masks
and within that link is an appalling Sesame Street video
https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/activities/fluffster-wears-a-mask/
where a "trusted adult" makes a little autistic muppet girl think she is "Safe to go outside but only with a mask". What makes this pretending so bad is the false impression that one is protected when they are not. We need to make sure this never happens again. Children should not be subjected to this type of manipulation. It was and is emotional blackmail and strips a child of their critical thinking skills. We need to eradicate the abusive forced masking of children forever.
Proper mask use — like proper hand washing — might be a bit more difficult to promote than proper helmet or seat belt use. The middle ground is messy….where the CDC finds itself: a mine field of political, religious, sociological and psychological resistance to instruction from “authority” not in their comfort/outrage silos. Don’t know of any Antis who demand that their OR teams not wear masks or wash their hands when they get their surgeries.
I'm not anti-mask. Rather anti-authoritarian mandates on unsettled science re: forced masking, vaccines, shutdowns and isolation etc. Also against censuring differing medical, political or religious opinions/beliefs.
No doubt, you’ve heard the expression: “Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins” . Science is not about certainty. Science is about finding the most reliable way of thinking at the present level of knowledge. When it comes to public health policy, , should mullahs (or other religious authorities”) have the same policy standing as board certified medical professionals (admittedly human) who actually study the subject? If the consequences of one’s personal/political/religious beliefs are, according to the present level of medical knowledge, deemed likely to spread damaging disease in the population, your right ends where public health begins.
When it comes to public health policy involving airborne pathogens should a board certified medical professional have the same policy standing as an industrial hygienist who actually is an expert on the physics of aerosols? The field of industrial hygiene is defined as:
“That science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors or stressors arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers or among of the citizens of the community” (https://www.aiha.org/about-ih/Pages/default.aspx).
The AIHA defines an Industrial Hygienist (https://www.aiha.org/ih-careers/discover-industrial-hygiene) as:
“Scientists and engineers committed to protecting the health and safety of people in the workplace and the community.”
The premise that an unmasked individual is violating the rights of other individuals is false because this particular pathogen hangs in the air for hours on end and is everywhere. We live in microbial soup. The best way to mitigate risk for our community is to dilute our air with fresh air and good ventilation systems. N95 masks are expressly non mitigating for airborne pathogens. They have not been properly fit tested on the general population and they degrade quickly when subjected to moisture from breathing.
Edwards et al. (https://www.pnas.org/content/118/8/e2021830118) demonstrated that that the vast majority of COVID particles emitted during illness are aerosols not droplets.
Masks cannot ever obtain a perfect fit to the face and efficiencies of masks when worn in real world scenarios cannot be perfect. When the mask has more than a 3% gap, it offers effectively zero protection from c19.
Thus, the core issue with masks, and even respirators, is the seal – small gap areas effectively render all of these devices ineffective.
Lastly, every breath increases atmospheric viral load, or the amount of viral matter held aloft in an enclosed space. In instances when it does not take very much of an airborne pathogen for vulnerable individuals to get sick, a contagious individual should not wear a mask or respirator that creates a concentrated plume of aerosols, thinking they are protecting others from their respiratory emissions.
Explosive force-generating events, such as coughs and sneezes, increase the pressure behind exhaled matter. Masks can exacerbate the spread of airborne pathogens by creating focused plumes of fine particulates, in turn increasing emission trajectory, with the added concern of aerosolization of droplets through the mask membrane. Therefore, sick people should stay home as much as possible.
And one final note: face coverings do not prevent pathogens from entering via the lacrimal duct which drains into your sinuses.
Given all the environmental factors one cannot possibly blame another for the spread of a replicating virus. Studying viral spread involves many different disciplines, appealing to only the authority of medical board certification is very narrow minded.
Excellent points—the expertise necessary to help control pandemic spread seems, properly, multidisciplinary. Yet, notably absent from your list of those whose expertise is scientifically relevant are clickbait social media “influencers”, clergy, talking heads whose income depends on deception, et al. In a pathogen rich social environment where civilians (not OR nurses or surgeons) do not follow barrier protocols, perhaps the best we can hope for is not encouraging a significant portion of the population prioritizing political/tribal defiance of any measures that would mitigate the spread of disease to their fellow citizens.
Thanks Dr Jeff for having the courage to research, digest, & report on scientific research and for offering your honest opinions, rather than sticking to a prescribed political narrative. Science is never settled.
Very interesting article that certainly has changed my thinking on the ongoing mask debate during the pandemic. Thank you for your efforts, Dr. Kocher.
Jeff you are a gem - a bastion of clear thinking - thank you🤗