As the pandemic winds down, scientists and pollsters are looking closer at public health decisions in hindsight. A new Axios-Ipsos poll looked into whether masking and social distancing actually saved lives.

Relying on self-reported data, the poll results showed that respondents who never wore a mask were twice as likely to get COVID-19 as those who wore masks all the time. Meanwhile, only 10% of people who always kept a six-foot distance from others tested positive whereas 26% of people never followed social-distancing guidelines tested positive.

Given that people who social distanced and wore masks all the time got tested more regularly than those who didn’t, we can extrapolate that the infection gap was even greater than indicated in this poll. The conclusion: “Turns out that wearing a mask and social distancing really weren’t a waste of time.” Much more on this and the following questions in this episode of Coronavirus: The Truth with Jeremy Corr and Dr. Pearl.

[01:00] Each show begins with the most recent and relevant facts concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on American life. What’s happening and what does it mean?

[06:53] When will the FDA give Covid-19 vaccines full approval?

[11:08] Listener question: “Why has the U.S. been reluctant to help other countries with their Covid-19 problems?”

[14:47] Listener question: “How are other countries doing with vaccinations? When will the rest of the world open up like [the U.S. is] doing?”

[17:22] How will Covid-19 impact the U.S. economy long-term?

[23:51] How does the Delta variant in India impact global travel?

[28:02] Did social distancing make a difference, according to research?

[32:04] What’s good this week?

[37:00] Listener suggestion: “Maybe you could expand this program to other new information from healthcare. I love your style of telling it as it is, and so maybe you can give updates beyond the coronavirus.”

[49:20] Do other nations struggle with the outsized influence of lobbying and campaign contributions on healthcare policy?

[5:3] What’s Jeremy’s take on the controversial new Alzheimer’s drug?

This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and other podcast platforms.

If you have coronavirus questions for the hosts, please visit the contact page or send us a message on Twitter or LinkedIn.

*To ensure the credibility of this program, Coronavirus: The Truth refuses to accept sponsorship, outside funding sources or guests with any financial or personal conflicts of interest.

The post CTT #40: Was social distancing a waste of time? appeared first on Fixing Healthcare.