Where's My Mask?

For the past couple of months the experts have been telling us "don't wear a mask" because they don't work---or "we need to save them for medical workers," or both.

On Friday, President Trump announced that the medical community is now advising us to wear a mask---but it should be a homemade one of some kind, not the medical masks because they are needed for the front line medical workers.

"WHO" said we should---then said we shouldn't?

Why are we out of masks, and other vital medical emergency supplies?

And some personal thoughts about masks.

Be informed.

The mask. To wear or not to wear? That seems to be the question.

Friday, the President and Vice President announced the medical experts have changed their recommendations regarding face masks.

"But," Dr. Deborah Brix warned, "we should not replace the social distancing guidelines."

And she said, "We don't want people to get an artificial sense of protection because they're behind a mask."

I'll come back to that in a minute.

The "science," including the World Health Organization (WHO), has been saying don't wear a mask if you don't have the virus---in fact---they said wearing a mask could actually have a negative effect.

This while the far left chided Trump, and especially Pence to be sure to go with the "science," not Pence's religious faith.

Last Tuesday, Associated Press said while WHO is still saying don't wear a mask if you don't have the virus, "US officials are mulling if eventually, that advice might change."

AP said, "That debate is happening amid a shortage so severe that if federal facilities can't provide proper masks, health workers are allowed to bring their own from home."

As late as last Monday, WHO's epidemics chief Dr. Mike Ryan told reporters "there is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any particular benefit."

"In fact," he said, "there's some evidence to suggest the opposite," noting risks from an "improperly fitted mask or touching the face while taking it off or putting it on."

On February 29, Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote in a tweet: "Seriously people, STOP BUYING MASKS They are not effective in preventing the general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can't get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk."

AP said Dr. Fauci is looking into the matter. Fauci says he may go with the "new" science, but he wants to be sure that kind of new approach won't take away from the supply for health workers.

Has the "no mask science" been about conserving masks all along, when we should have been wearing them? Or were they confused?

I don't know.

Why, as AP noted, is the shortage of masks so severe?

Where's my mask?

The federal government knew about the shortage of protective masks clear back in 2009, after the H1N1 virus, but they did nothing to replenish them.

H1N1, or "Swine Flu," drew down about 100 million N95 protector respirator masks.

Both the Los Angles Times and Bloomberg reported on it at the time. The Obama-Biden administration did nothing about it.

The Heritage Foundation says, "The Obama administration had at least 7 years to replenish the stockpile of masks.

The N95 masks have a shelf life of about 5 years according to the CDC. The "95" means the masks are approved by the FDA to filter out 95% of particulates.

Bloomberg News reported March 13,

"The national stockpile used to be somewhat more robust. In 2006, Congress provided supplemental funds to add 104 million N95 masks and 52 million surgical masks in an effort to prepare for a flu pandemic. But after the H1N1 influenza outbreak in 2009...the stock pile distributed about three-quarters of its inventory and didn't build back the supply."

While the Left is trying every trick in the book to use this crisis to bring down President Trump, Newt Gingrich tweeted,

Can Vice President Biden explain why the Obama administration did not order the N95 masks to replace the 100 million used in the Asian Flu epidemic. Experts advised replacing them but Obama-Biden team failed to buy them. Shortage starts with them. Explain it Joe!

— newtgingrich (@newtgingrich) March 23, 2020

Well, Joe won't have to explain because the press will never ask him to do so. Believe me, anyone on the Left and associated with Obama will never even be asked a serious question about the shortage of masks---much less pressed about it.

In fact, the first response from the Left was denial.

However one of their own, USA Today, fact-checked it and reported,

"There is no indication the Obama administration took significant steps to replenish the supply of N95 masks in the Strategic National Stockpile after it was depleted from repeated crises. Calls for action came from experts at the time concerned for the country's ability to respond to future serious pandemics. Such recommendations were, for whatever reason, not heeded."

So, where's my mask? It may well be in "to do" memo still be tucked in Joe Biden's briefcase.

Dr Brix made a statement during the President's press conference on Saturday that caught my attention:

"We don't want people to get an artificial sense of protection because they're behind a mask."

As this coronavirus has essentially brought the world to a standstill, I believe it's revealing a number of "masks" that have been giving us an artificial sense of security.

I heard a pastor say yesterday in streaming his sermon to an empty auditorium, that this virus has reduced the fast pace of what had become our "normal lives" to slow motion so we can get a more clear look at who we are and what we actually believe.

I've heard many pastors say that many more people are tuning in to their Sunday sermons that are streamed live on the Internet than attended services before the churches were shut down. One large church of several thousand members in the greater Los Angles area has logged over a million viewers tuned in to listen to the pastor's sermon in the past two Sundays.

I'll be talking more about the ways this virus has gotten our attention and how Christians can and should be responding on our daily radio program "Straight Talk" this morning. You may join me on the air, on your iPhone or on your desktop. Here's how.

Are you aware of the "7:14" movement? I'll give you the details.

I will also be sharing a prophetic word that my good friend, the late David Wilkerson, founder of Teen Challenge, gave to his church in New York City in 1986.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.