Twitter Removes Face Mask Tweet From Trump’s Covid-19 Coronavirus Advisor Scott Atlas

Scott Atlas, MD doesn’t exactly have the tweeting experience that U.S. President Donald Trump has. Atlas is about 56.5K tweets behind Trump. But he does now have something in common with the President Twitter-wise. Similar to what has happened to Trump, Atlas has now had a tweet flagged by Twitter as violating its policies regarding spreading misleading information.

As a result, Twitter on Sunday deleted Atlas’s tweet but @albamonica preserved it below:

As you can see, @albamonica described Atlas as “a neuroradiologist who doesn’t specialize in infectious disease or epidemiology.” Despite not having nearly as deep expertise in pandemic response as someone like Anthony Fauci, MD, who is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or anyone who has been actually referred to as a pandemic expert before 2020, Atlas has apparently become one of Trump’s main Covid-19 coronavirus advisors.

Atlas’s tweet got reactions from the Twittersphere such as:

And this:

So what exactly was Atlas trying to say in his tweet? He used a number of interesting abbreviations, assuming that the vowel buttons on his computer weren’t getting stuck here and there. Here again was the text of his tweet:

"Masks work? NO: LA, Miami, Hawaii, Alabama, France, Phlippnes, UK, Spain, Israel. WHO:"widesprd use not supported" + many harms; Heneghan/Oxf CEBM:"despite decades, considerble uncertainty re value"; CDC rvw May:"no sig red'n in inflnz transm'n"; learn why."

In general, the tweet seemed to be suggesting that face masks don’t work and that there are actually “many harms” with wearing masks. Presumably Atlas wasn’t referring to wearing a Batman mask and saying that people still recognized him in Miami, Hawaii, Alabama, France, and other locations. And chances are that he wasn’t talking about a cosmetic facial mask. Instead, he likely was tweeting about the face masks and face coverings that many people have been wearing to reduce the transmission and spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.

For example, here are the Biebs and Hailey Bieber wearing masks on their way to the Saturday Night Live (SNL) after-party:

So what’s with the listing of random geographic locations? Was Atlas trying to sing the song “Dancing in the Street”? Well, perhaps Atlas was claiming that Covid-19 coronavirus cases were still increasing in some places that had mandates to wear face masks. Such a claim would be grossly oversimplifying the situation. Showing associations don’t necessarily prove cause and effect. Face masks alone won’t be enough to stop the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. That would be like saying that wearing a tiara alone will make you a prom queen. You’ve got to wear other things too. And be on the prom queen ballot. And be voted as prom queen. And have the previous year’s prom queen accept a peaceful transfer of power. Similarly, while face mask use can help when other interventions are concurrently in place, it by itself won’t be able to overcome the lack of other interventions such as inadequate social distancing.

Determining whether a mask “works” or not shouldn’t be too difficult. A standard face mask or face covering is not a Frappuccino machine. It is pretty simple and straightforward, like your underwear, assuming that you don’t make iced, blended coffee drinks with your boxers, tighty whities, panties, or thong. By the way, if you do use such things to make coffee drinks, do not invite anyone over to your place.

Here’s how a face covering works. If you wear nothing over your face and mouth, there’s nothing to block what may come out such as respiratory droplets, virus particles, and brownie bits. Wearing something over your mouth and nose reduces the chances of such things making it out into the air and to other people. Material is harder to get through than air. If you don’t understand this concept, stretch out a pair of your underwear and try to push your head through the material. Is it harder than pushing your head through air? If you still don’t understand, try repeating this while on Zoom with your boss and co-workers. Their reaction should give you a better understanding.

Note that this does not mean that a standard face covering (as opposed to an N95 respirator) will block all respiratory droplets and virus particles. That’s why face mask use alone alone is not enough to prevent Covid-19 coronavirus transmission. But some blockage is better than none.

Moreover, what exactly are the “many harms” of wearing a face mask, assuming that you are wearing it properly and not around your eyes, in your ear, or inside your mouth? Sure, a person may not be able to hear you whisper, “I love you.” It may be misinterpreted as “I love glue” or “I love poo,” which could have negative consequences. Sure, wearing a face mask can make reading lips tougher, which is a real issue for those who depend on lip-reading. Sure, some folks may already have legitimate breathing issues without a face mask and thus may not be able tolerate any added barriers.

However, if you are reasonably healthy or at least healthy enough to argue loudly against wearing a face mask, you are probably not going to suffer significant harm from wearing such a covering. Don’t listen to claims that face masks will result in a build of carbon dioxide in your body or a weakening of your immune system that are not supported by scientific evidence.

The one thing that widespread face mask could harm is the false belief that the Covid-19 coronavirus is not a big deal. It could remind people that these are not normal times and that other precautions are necessary. It could be a reminder that over 219, 000 people in the U.S. have already died from Covid-19, by far more than any other country.

Atlas followed up his since-deleted tweet with one that had a greater percentage of full words:

While this tweet seemed a little toned down compared to the earlier “NO” and “many harms” tweet, it still contained some questionable advice. Saying “otherwise, social distance” suggests that masks and social distancing are an “either or” situation when in fact it is better to do both. Just because you are wearing a mask, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t social distance.

Suggesting otherwise would be like saying “use shoes for their intended purpose, when close to other, especially hi risk. Otherwise wear underwear and pants.” Wearing shoes should not excuse you from wearing underwear and pants, a skirt, or a kilt. Covering your naughty bits should be the first rule of dressing to be in public.

Similarly, Keeping more than six feet or one Denzel (because Denzel Washington is about six feet tall) apart from others at all times remains the most important way of preventing virus transmission when no vaccine or similar treatment is available. Wearing even 50 standard face masks won’t be enough to fully compensate for the lack of social distancing. Although it may make you nod “yes” a lot. However, having people wear face masks while maintaining distance from each other will further reduce the chances of the virus spreading.

What exactly is the purpose of arguing against a public health measure that may help reduce the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus and doesn’t seem to have any significant disadvantages? Why not encourage a relatively simple measure when the federal government has never really gotten the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) under control? Why tweet something that seems to run counter to what most established public health experts are saying including the current Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Robert Redfield, MD? Maybe that warrants a “huh” gesture towards Atlas, an Atlas shrug.

The following tweet did suggest that Atlas has been simply affirming the views that Trump already has had:

Who knows what the real relationship between Trump and Atlas may be. But one thing’s for sure, they now share similar experiences with Twitter.

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