Stuff you can now safely say about COVID: masks don’t work.

There are many things you could not say in public two or three years ago, all of which are now safe to say. Here is a starting point of the list of things you can now talk about in the open:

• Masks don’t work.
• Natural immunity works. (next post)
• The virus came from a lab leak. (upcoming post)

There is a disturbing pattern emerging, which further corrodes credibility of the entire public health sector.

A slow trickle of news reports are showing that lots of the crazy, coo-coo bird, nutzo, conspiracy theory wackiness from two or three years ago was actually correct. Turns out my wacko friends who were saying these things were right.

Masks don’t work.

Previously discussed this study as covered by a couple of other reports:

• 2/12/23 – Research shows no identifiable benefit from wearing masks.

From the New York Times (!), an opinion piece from Brett Stevens:

2/21/23 – Brett Stevens opinion in The New York Times – The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?

Article cites a study which analyzed 78 research reports, all of which were randomized control trials. Researchers say those little paper masks we were wearing for so long made little or no difference. They can find no evidence for positive impact.

How about those expensive N-95 masks? Same thing. No impact.

What about those studies which did show masks made a difference which were cited as proof positive that anyone who disagreed mask efficacy was a Neanderthal?

The researcher says those results were based on nonrandomized studies and had flawed observations as the base for the evidence. In other words that research was trash. Garbage. Worthless.

Researchers looked at studies that considered other preventive measures like air filtration, physical distancing and hand hygiene. Same thing. No evidence those protocols made any difference at all.

There is a subtlety to consider – these results are for a whole population. For an individual, who wears the mask right, frequently replacing the mask, and exerts proper care there could be an impact. For the population? No impact.

Author points out, and I will quote:

“Those skeptics who were furiously marked as cranks and occasionally censored as “misinformed” for opposing mandates were right.”

How ’bout that?

He points out the experts and professional writers who parroted the public health line were wrong. He suggests that group ought to admit they were in fact dead wrong.

I won’t hold my breath.

After pointing out the utter foolishness of the CDC’s recommendations in the past and their position today, he points out the mask mandates did nothing and were “a fools errand” from the first day until now.

He also suggests people who objected to mask mandates on the basis they would be ineffective should receive a huge apology. He knows, like everyone else, an apology will never be delivered.

10/31/23 – Cochrane Library – Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses – This is the research which should put the nail in the coffin of every argument ever expressed in favor of mask mandates. This research should also end the careers of dozens upon dozens, if not thousands, of alleged experts in so-called public health.

Research is based on 78 randomized control trials.

In comparing the benefits of medical/surgical and no masks this study concludes:

“Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory-confirmed influenza/SAR-CoV-2 compared to not wearing masks.”

The conclusion on wearing N95 or a P2 respirator compared to medical/surgical masks is in part:

“We are very uncertain on the effects of N95/P2 respirator as compared with medical/surgical mask on the outcome of clinical respiratory illness.… N95/P2 respirator as compared with surgical/medical masks may be effective for ILI {influenza -like infection}.”

How about washing hands? Certainly that would shut down Covid infections, right? Well, there actually was a small identifiable benefit. The results from 19 RCTs, again quoting:

“Comparing hand hygiene interventions with controls (i.e. no intervention), there is a 14% relative reduction in the number of people with ARIs in the hand hygiene group .… In absolute terms the benefit would result in a reduction from 380 events per 1000 people to 327 per 1000 people. … When considering the more strictly defined outcomes of ILI and laboratory-confirmed influenza, the estimate of effects for ILI…suggest intervention made little or no difference.”

Let me rephrase.

• Wearing masks by the community has no impact.
• Researchers cannot verify any impact from wearing a N95 mask or even a respirator.
• Handwashing may reduce the number of infections from 380 per 1,000 down to 327 per 1,000, a reduction of 53 per 1,000. On the other hand, handwashing may have no impact.