I think I buy the premises here that being sick/getting sick is high cost and happens a lot at conferences, but I also think the cost of wearing masks is pretty non-trivial. I wonder if there are some 80⁄20 approaches to masking that can cover a lot of ground with lower costs. E.g., wearing a mask on transit on the way, as people also get sick/pick up bugs from planes/transit. Similarly, norms of not shaking hands, using air purifiers, or having more walking meetings all seem pretty cheap/easy to implement.
I think nasal sprays are a more cost-effective solution.
Last I checked, the evidence for efficacy of nasal sprays was iffy (in part due to a paucity of unbiased studies and some questionable methodologies). I’m not opposed to the idea of using selected sprays on a very low risk of harm / uncertain benefit calculus, but—unless the evidence base is significantly better than I recall—then I think we should be careful to clarify that this intervention isn’t in the same evidentiary ballpark as the one OP recommends.
Sure, $1 is an underestimate. It’s just the cost of the mask. Though it’s harder to estimate the costs of discomfort / sound / seeing faces. How do we account for that?
IMO Nasal sprays seem like a higher friction option, because you have to actively use it multiple times throughout the day. Masks, you can put on & leave on & people are familiar with it. Maybe it’s easier than I imagine & everyone could be spraying their nostrils every hour every day of EAG.
If nasal sprays were cost effective (which I don’t think they are), why don’t we offer them at conferences and tell people to use them?
Similarly for zinc lozenges. Those are evidence-based at reducing cold duration & preventing cold onset. Why don’t we offer these at EAGs?
(Not saying you’re the one who is responsible by replying to your comment)
For me this would be a way lower cost, yes. But it’s very contingent on what the workshops are like. Just listening to someone speak and a Q&A? I’d do it for like $10. But if it’s speed meetings or anything with significant face to face interaction I’d need to be paid more.
$1 cost seems like a big underestimate of the cost to me. Aside from the discomfort being able to see people’s lips is useful in a loud environment.
I think nasal sprays are a more cost-effective solution.
I think I buy the premises here that being sick/getting sick is high cost and happens a lot at conferences, but I also think the cost of wearing masks is pretty non-trivial. I wonder if there are some 80⁄20 approaches to masking that can cover a lot of ground with lower costs. E.g., wearing a mask on transit on the way, as people also get sick/pick up bugs from planes/transit. Similarly, norms of not shaking hands, using air purifiers, or having more walking meetings all seem pretty cheap/easy to implement.
Last I checked, the evidence for efficacy of nasal sprays was iffy (in part due to a paucity of unbiased studies and some questionable methodologies). I’m not opposed to the idea of using selected sprays on a very low risk of harm / uncertain benefit calculus, but—unless the evidence base is significantly better than I recall—then I think we should be careful to clarify that this intervention isn’t in the same evidentiary ballpark as the one OP recommends.
Sure, $1 is an underestimate. It’s just the cost of the mask. Though it’s harder to estimate the costs of discomfort / sound / seeing faces. How do we account for that?
IMO Nasal sprays seem like a higher friction option, because you have to actively use it multiple times throughout the day. Masks, you can put on & leave on & people are familiar with it. Maybe it’s easier than I imagine & everyone could be spraying their nostrils every hour every day of EAG.
If nasal sprays were cost effective (which I don’t think they are), why don’t we offer them at conferences and tell people to use them?
Similarly for zinc lozenges. Those are evidence-based at reducing cold duration & preventing cold onset. Why don’t we offer these at EAGs?
(Not saying you’re the one who is responsible by replying to your comment)
One could at least try to estimate their personal cost of wearing a mask by considering the following:
Suppose my chance of getting sick at EAG was 0%. How much would someone have to pay me to wear a mask?
If we’re talking about the entire conference, I think I’d need to be paid at least a few hundred dollars.
How about only during large group gatherings? So talks, workshops, & while getting food.
You can take it off for 1:1s and anything else.
Is it a very different cost?
For me this would be a way lower cost, yes. But it’s very contingent on what the workshops are like. Just listening to someone speak and a Q&A? I’d do it for like $10. But if it’s speed meetings or anything with significant face to face interaction I’d need to be paid more.