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Comment by gottorf | Hacker News Reader

What's the point? As far as I'm aware, no randomized controlled trial has shown that masks that people commonly wear (cloth or surgical) reduce infections or spread.

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Appeasing crazies and holding on to power

Even if they aren't requiring effective masks, such a policy could well lead to more people wearing effective masks, both by reducing the marginal cost (have to wear a mask anyway, might as well pick a good one) and by providing social cover for people who might not want to seem nervous and/or leftish.

I acknowledge that I don't know how it works out in practice.

"we've done a bunch of studies and found no positive benefits but, like, maybe? Anyway, wear it if you want to partake in society"

This is not a government imposing something on everyone, but a company making decisions for themselves with the information they have available. Possibly information we do not have: maybe during previous waves they saw significant tension between people who chose to mask and those that didn't. Moving that animosity onto HR might be worth it even if it changes nothing about COVID. I'm not saying that is the case - as I said we don't know - but making a decision to address the issues in front of them without studies that address their particular concerns and situation and some reason to be skeptical is just... how almost all companies operate almost all the time.

Heck, do we even know that this mandate doesn't require good masks?

Most masks that I see now are N95 or KN95 style. Definitely no cloth ones.

Then why does the CDC recommend them?

Why indeed

Does the CDC still recommend them? I don't know what their official policy position on masking is now.

In any case, you'd have to ask them why; they also recommend that all children 6 months and older get vaccinated against Covid[0], contrary to the WHO who state that vaccinating children has "limited public health impact"[1], as well as the health ministries of other developed nations like Denmark, which doesn't recommend it at all for those under 12 years of age.

So clearly the CDC does recommend things outside of medical consensus every now and then, whether out of an abundance of caution, industry lobbying, or political policy reasons. I mean, doctors used to recommend cigarettes. Why did they do that?

[0]: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/planning/children.html...

[1]: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...

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