Hand sanitizer is also easy to manufacture and I haven't seen it in a local store for over 10 weeks. The ease to manufacture is just one of the steps to getting it on the shelves. Also getting vitamin D from the sun isn't an option for some people, especially those with darker skin.
The difference between masks and vitamin D is that one is proven to work and one might work. If vitamin D doesn't help as much as people here are claiming, there is a real downside if people are behaving as if it works. That applies to my arbitrary example of beach gatherings as well as other behavior the government has no hope of preventing.
Once again, this doesn't necessarily mean that vitamin D doesn't help. We just need better data. The early indication was that hydroxychloroquine helped too and we all know how that turned out.
What does "proven to work" mean with regard to masks? A lot of the measures put in place are unproven but thought to be reasonable.
Hand washing and social distancing appear to be the most important. That means soap and 6+ feet for at least the next 2 years. That is definitely doable. I don't see masks as a long-term strategy.
> The preponderance of evidence indicates that mask wearing reduces the transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected droplets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. [1]
When the primary vector of spread is through water droplets expelled while talking, coughing, or sneezing, I would think the importance of reducing the travel distance of those droplets would be self evident.
The difference between masks and vitamin D is that one is proven to work and one might work. If vitamin D doesn't help as much as people here are claiming, there is a real downside if people are behaving as if it works. That applies to my arbitrary example of beach gatherings as well as other behavior the government has no hope of preventing.
Once again, this doesn't necessarily mean that vitamin D doesn't help. We just need better data. The early indication was that hydroxychloroquine helped too and we all know how that turned out.