The eyes have lacrimal sacs which drain tears. Tears keep eye surface clear and the meibomian glans supply a oil like substance over the water to keep it from evaporating. The lacrimal sac starts at the nasal side of the eye and ends in the nasopharynx on its way to the lungs. Nice path for virus to get into a person. Frequently the major way. I discussed this five years ago.
Now masks at best cover the nose and mouth. The nose can be an entry point but not as good as the eye surfaces. The eye surfaces are larger and are impacted by viral entities.
Now along comes a Nature article favoring masks. The authors assert:
What would have happened if everyone in the United Kingdom had worn high-grade masks during the COVID-19 pandemic? A modelling study has estimated just how sharply transmission might have dropped. Determining the effect of masks on viral transmission is difficult, and most studies so far have been affected by limitations such as small sample sizes. To overcome this issue, Richard Sear at the University of Surrey, UK, developed a model of transmission using data from the UK National Health Service COVID-19 app. The app, which ran on mobile phones between 2020 and 2023, logged information about infections and the length of time users came into contact with each other. Sear built on a previously published analysis of 240,000 positive COVID-19 tests and 7 million contacts — instances in which app users were notified that they had been exposed to the virus. He estimated that if everyone in the United Kingdom had worn N95 or FFP2 masks — both highly effective at filtering particles — the rate of COVID-19 transmission would have dropped by a factor of 9.
This is utter nonsense. The eyes, never covered by masks, are the primary surface for contact and transmission. For example, dacryocystitis is a common disorder of an inflamed lacrimal sac. But it also is prima facie proof of entry. I argue that we still have no idea as to the actual transmission mechanism; nano, micro etc. But we do know that the lacrimal sac is a wonder means for viruses caught on the "fly paper" of the eyes tpo get to the respiratory system.
Five years later and we still see such nonsense!
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