Hot Off the Press: No Solid Evidence that Masks Work
A Cochrane Database Systematic Review
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was assigned an impact factor of 12.008 in 2021. This makes it a high-impact source of scientific information. Just a few hours ago, they published an incredibly thorough and comprehensive review of the masking literature. You can find the paper here.
With all of the data included, it is a beast; 326 pages-worth of high-quality science.
The take-home message is this:
Apparently, there is no good evidence to suggest that masking works in the context of the flu or SARS-CoV-2.
Who knew? [sarcasm] But, seriously, we need these kinds of comprehensive and objective studies to back-up what so many people have been voicing for the past three years. Mandating masks in the absence of solid proof that it will help is egregious.
I recently conducted my own extensive review of the masking literature over a period of approximately two months and drew almost the same conclusions as the authors of this Cochrane review:
Generally, masking studies have been of poor quality.
Many studies are biased.
There is a need for well-designed, well-controlled, large randomized controlled trials to obtain more definitive evidence.
Here is one of the main take-home messages from the paper...
"Wearing masks [medical/surgical] in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks"
Even in the context of N95/P2 respirators, this is what the authors concluded…
There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection.
…and remember that health care workers undergo fit testing for their N95/P2 respirators, which is something that most members of the public don’t even know about.
Nobody can accuse the authors of cherry-picking a few of their favourite papers. Their state-of-the-art review included data from 78 randomized clinical trials!
The ultimate conclusion is the same one that I and many others drew a long time ago:
There is and was no strong rationale for forcing masking mandates on people, even in health care settings!
Now think about the cloth masks and bandanas, etc. that were worn by so many people. Clearly, that was no more than virtue signaling on steroids.
As the health and safety manager of a commercial and residential painting and decorating business. Someone who needs to understand how to mitigate a bunch of different airborne toxins. Whether that be dust particles, lead or asbestos, or solvents and other chemicals. I was pretty shocked when we were told a dust mask, or worse a handkerchief would stop tiny liquid respiratory droplets. Because that isn't how masks like N95/P2 even work. They stop solid dust particles, not gasses or liquids.
But I was even more concerned about how I was suddenly wrong about such a vital part of my job and how students in cafes and new migrants at supermarket checkouts suddenly knew more than me about it. Even when I explained the science to the best of my understanding. They knew more because the experts said so on TV.
As part of pandemic planning, every single study, conclusion, and expert opinion re public masking
went AGAINST it prior to May 2020. Even Fauci was against public masking. There was NEVER any
real science to support public masking; much less mandating it. In May 2020 it became government
policy only as a means of authoritarian control.
As a co-inventor of a NIOSH approved N95 respirator I know of its protective effectiveness in specific scenarios; but NOT for public use. To be effective, they need to be fit-tested, properly donned
and doffed, and discarded after every exposure.