Face masks could be giving people Covid-19 immunity

[CornflakeMum]

"the New England Journal of Medicine, advances the unproven but promising theory that universal face mask wearing might be helping to reduce the severity of the virus and ensuring that a greater proportion of new infections are asymptomatic. "

www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/face-masks-could-giving-people-covid-19-immunity-researchers/

Would be good it it turns out to be true. Kind of makes sense in my mind.

Makes sense to me.

bbc4 inside science www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000mk37
Staying well hydrated and keeping the humidity your home up (can be done by placing a damp towel on the radiator) may reduce severity too. Simply things!

Yes sounds promising. It’s becoming apparent viral load is hugely important in determining the severity of COVID-19.

Really great to see this sort of information getting out there.

@Delatron

Yes sounds promising. It’s becoming apparent viral load is hugely important in determining the severity of COVID-19.

Yes. This is promising.

Really interesting. Thank you.

Yes I read that too. It's really positive news. Every little helps.

I also vaguely remember reading a while back about Japan using something in masks to increase immunity. Either copper or silver, I think (or was it both). No idea if it helps but it was interesting.

How can an UNPROVEN theory make any sense? It is time such publications started reporting facts not fiction.

Well I'm in a study that means I have an antibody test every two weeks & I definitely haven't had it so no immunity from wearing a face mask for me...on the plus side I know ive not passed it on, on the downside I've got no immunity so still at risk...

Its just a theory and not proven
I will only get excited about facts to many possible theories out there

Well I'm in a study that means I have an antibody test every two weeks & I definitely haven't had it so no immunity from wearing a face mask for me on the plus side I know ive not passed it on, on the downside I've got no immunity so still at risk

They’ve not mentioned T cells to you? Have a read. No antibodies doesn’t mean you haven’t had it.

That's not new, people have been saying it for weeks.

But the mask "face nappy" naysayers won't have it, of course.

It may not be proven yet, but there are very good indications coming out of the studies so where’s the harm in encouraging people doing these very easy, cheap things now?
For anyone who doesn’t read past the pretty crap misleading headline - wearing a mask in itself does not give you immunity, that would be some kind of magic and a vastly cheaper option to developing a vaccine. It’s helps reduce viral load if you do get infected which reduces the risk of how ill you get, possibly to the point of being asymptotic. Therefore you get the benefit of antibodies without getting as ill, of even ill at all. Long term immunity is still not assured.

As the OP rightly says, it's unproven.

Here is the view of a virologist:

What is this evidence that infectious dose correlates with disease severity? While generally true, this varies A LOT depending on the virus and route of exposure.

Currently no data shows masks mitigate disease severity or that this would protect via "variolation."

To be clear, you ABSOLUTELY should still wear a mask. Masks are essential for reducing transmission. You just should not rely on masks for an alternative to immunization.
mobile.twitter.com/angie_rasmussen/status/1309227972717457410

Also, people are confusing infectious dose and viral load. Infectious dose or viral dose refers to the initial exposure which causes the infection, viral load is the amount of virus an infected person has inside their body.

www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-questions-about-covid-19-and-viral-load/

www.newscientist.com/article/2238819-does-a-high-viral-load-or-infectious-dose-make-covid-19-worse/

Thanks @CoffeeandCroissant you are right I was mixing up infectious dose and viral load. If it is generally true that a lower viral dose reduces risk of more severe illness, do you know if there is evidence that this is not the case for Covid? Or just no evidence that it is the case.