Well, it’s finally been proven that “there is no evidence that they make any difference. Full stop.” So let’s hope we can all forget about carrying masks, wearing masks and accept that the millions of discarded masks have littered our streets, countryside and oceans and will continue to do so for years. A lot of people made mega money from providing these useless masks.
I hope now our local medical practice will take down their signs although I have refused to wear one for months. People who wore masks throughout still caught covid!
Hubby had pre op appointment at hospital last week and masks are no longer required there, thank goodness and they said we won’t need them when he goes in for his op next week. Starting to see sense at last!
Yes I have read this and I do agree to an extent . Virus can get into eyes through air or touch but I always wear a mask when on a crowded bus, I usually am the only one but often the windows are closed . As said gut feeling . I agree many got very wealthy as they often do in business from situations like pandemic etc
I just read the study he linked. I’m not seeing how he came to the conclusion he’s drawing. Here’s the conclusion of the study he linked.
The conclusion seems to be that there needs to be more effective studies.
Also, the author of the article labels himself as a contrarian. Yep, that’s a contrarian view. I’m not as sure it’s one backed by all the facts.
This bit makes no sense at all to me. He compared the infection rate of the states with mask mandates with the rate of infection of states with no mask mandates and found them to be identical. But the states with mask mandates created those mandates because the rates of infection in that state was very high. Those states without mask mandates didn’t have the mask mandates because the rates of infection were low. If anything, that proves that masks work because the infection level of the states with mask mandates (where infection rates were high) matched those of states with no mask mandates (where infection rates were low).
I’m always cautious about accepting the results of a scientific study when it is reported by the media or someone with a pre-conceived opinion and uses exaggerated words like “zero evidence” and “useless” - it just does not sound like the language a responsible scientist would use, so I would take other people’s second-hand interpretation of the study results with a pinch of salt until I can find the actual research paper and read it for myself.
In this case, if you refer back to the original research paper, it does not say that there is zero evidence or use some of the language used in the OP.
This is the conclusion from the Study, copied directly from the actual text of the research paper - “We are uncertain …” does not sound as conclusive as the City Journal magazine or the OP suggests.
Authors’ conclusions
The high risk of bias in the trials, variation in outcome measurement, and relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampers drawing firm conclusions.There were additional RCTs during the pandemic related to physical interventions but a relative paucity given the importance of the question of masking and its relative effectiveness and the concomitant measures of mask adherence which would be highly relevant to the measurement of effectiveness, especially in the elderly and in young children.
There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect. The pooled results of RCTs did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks. 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. Hand hygiene is likely to modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness, and although this effect was also present when ILI and laboratory‐confirmed influenza were analysed separately, it was not found to be a significant difference for the latter two outcomes. Harms associated with physical interventions were under‐investigated.
There is a need for large, well‐designed RCTs addressing the effectiveness of many of these interventions in multiple settings and populations, as well as the impact of adherence on effectiveness, especially in those most at risk of ARIs.
Plain language summary
Do physical measures such as hand‐washing or wearing masks stop or slow down the spread of respiratory viruses?
Key messages We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed.
Hand hygiene programmes may help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses.
@butterscotch - Snap! - I looked up the actual research study paper too - sorry to duplicate what you posted - I must have still been typing when you submitted your post!
As with so many things with the Covid situation, it amounts to personal choice.
Have they not heard of the ‘Placebo’ effect. It can be as effective as any medication.
Information is becoming unreliable these days but psychology is more popular than ever.
I don’t wear mine at work anymore, people were wearing them incorrectly anyway ( myself included) so they would have no effect, plus, as everyone’s had multiple jabs anyway what’s the point?
There is a very simple reason the basic face masks do not make any difference and the reason is the smallest ‘holes’ in the standard mask are 6 microns; where as viruses are 5 microns and smaller.
“Face masks are useless at stopping Covid-19 because the gaps in them are larger than a Covid-19 viral particle.”
“Face masks, especially surgical masks, have been shown to reduce Covid-19 infection.”
A post on Instagram claims a Stanford study has shown face masks are ineffective at blocking Covid-19 viral particles.
We have written about the study cited before. The author was not affiliated with Stanford University and the paper was strewn with basic errors, misrepresenting legitimate research on the effect of face masks.
The post goes on to claim that face masks have gaps measuring 55,000 nanometres across while the Covid-19 virus is just 140 nanometres, suggesting face masks are useless.
The gaps in face masks can be much larger than the size of a viral particle. That doesn’t mean face masks are useless.
For one thing, Covid-19 is often spread by viral particles carried in saliva droplets that are exhaled. These droplets are much larger than a viral particle itself, and so are more likely to be blocked by a face mask.
Also, as explained in The Conversation by epidemiologists from McMaster University, Leiden University and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, “at this microscopic level, the thread has thickness, or depth, so the gap is more a tunnel than a window. Microfilaments from broken or irregular threads project into the gap.”
In other words, even if there are relatively large gaps in mask fabric, that’s not to say a particle is guaranteed to move unimpeded through that gap. It would need to be travelling at an angle so as to not impact with the material, and avoid any stray threads which go some way to filling in the gaps in the fabric weave.
I doubled up on masks (2) when I went shopping a few weeks ago,and the first thing I’ve always done as soon as I get home is wash My hands…but three days later I tested positive for covid…still can’t smell or taste anything…so I’ve come to the conclusion masks only prevent You catching covid if everyone is wearing them.
You can still catch and pass on the virus even if you have been vaccinated, so wearing a face covering helps to reduce the spread.
COVID-19 usually spreads by droplets from coughs, sneezes and speaking.
The best available scientific evidence is that, when used correctly, wearing a face covering may reduce the spread of coronavirus droplets in certain circumstances.
Although they may not prevent you from becoming infected with the virus, face coverings help prevent you from spreading it to others if you are unaware you are infected (some people don’t have any symptoms, especially early in the infection).
Because face coverings are mainly intended to protect others, not the wearer, from COVID-19, they’re not a replacement for social distancing and regular hand washing.
We need a session with the report writer (unmasked), we need one infected covidist (unmasked), a small room with no windows and a couple of folks with masks on, (Well Fitted) and a ten minute time span, lets see who is the first to cough!
