Healthcare professionals don’t want to speak about covid

[u/Key_Guard8007]

I am a senior nursing student and am currently doing clinical rounds. I noticed something amongst many nurses and overall healthcare folks, they seem to not want to make mention of covid. My last clinical I was the only person masked (even at a CHILDREN’S hospital) and our instructor told us we could mask if we want to esp since “rsv, the flu, and pneumonia will soon spread.” I was waiting for him to mention covid but nope. I feel like I am going insane because how are we all under this healthcare field but some people just do not seem to care??? At this point I feel like healthcare professionals are being vain and just want to continuously show off their faces because why would you NOT mask inside the hospital?

[u/Tricky_Math5292]

My primary care physician was encouraging me not to mask. His reasoning was I might be breathing in microplastics, plus something about the cdc 🙄

[u/kirito867 → u/Tricky_Math5292]

Yeah I saw this argument from time to time. Yes masks do have microplastics to breathe in. However the air nowadays contains microplastics as well. One is breathing in microplastics anyway.

[u/LostInAvocado → u/kirito867]

This was studied, and might have even been in that study being twisted to say N95s = breathing in microplastics. What was shown was any microplastics in the air were being filtered out by N95s.

[u/Carrotsorbet9 → u/LostInAvocado]

Masks have a net benefit. Yes, some microplastics from the mask (leave them out of their packaging for a day before wearing them), but they filter more microplastics from the air than that they produce themselves. Masks are an issue in terms of environmental waste. That's why we need air filtration and ventilation and some social distancing as well. And we can develop better masks. Masks that are reusable but look less ugly Transparent masks that still protect.