The Face Mask Controversy
By John V. Schloss, PhD
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch made the news recently for refusing to wear a face mask. The argument over face masks has been with us a long time. Back in 1910, a deadly plague broke out in the Chinese City of Manchouli and quickly spread to Harbin. A young Oxford-educated doctor, Wu Lien Teh, determined that the disease was a new form of Yersinia Pestis, which could be spread by breath or sputum. A French doctor, Gérald Mesny, challenged the young Dr. Wu’s conclusion. Although Dr. Wu had introduced face masks to slow the spread of the plague, Dr. Mesny refused to wear a mask while investigating the disease. Dr. Mesny died of the plague. Dr. Wu went on to be the first Chinese doctor to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Doctor Wu Lien Teh
