Study: Masks don't work against COVID

SpectatorWednesday marked the publication of a long-delayed trial in Denmark which hopes to answer that very question. The ‘Danmask-19 trial’ was conducted in the spring with over 3,000 participants, when the public were not being told to wear masks but other public health measures were in place. Unlike other studies looking at masks, the Danmask study was a randomized controlled trial — making it the highest quality scientific evidence.

Around half of those in the trial received 50 disposable surgical face masks, which they were told to change after eight hours of use. After one month, the trial participants were tested using both PCR, antibody and lateral flow tests and compared with the trial participants who did not wear a mask.

In the end, there was no statistically significant difference between those who wore masks and those who did not when it came to being infected by COVID-19. Of those wearing masks, 1.8 percent caught COVID, compared to 2.1 percent of the control group. As a result, it seems that any effect masks have on preventing the spread of the disease in the community is small.

To be clear: Masks work for some diseases and in some circumstances, when worn properly they can protect against large particles being spread from an infected person to other people. When trying to use them in widespread fashion, against the coronavirus, they do not work. Why not? The particles are too small and pass through the masks easily, even when properly worn, and they are not properly worn by the general public.

They are basically meaningless unless you experiencing symptoms (coughing, sneezing) which produce large particles the mask can catch before spreading. But if you're not showing those symptoms but are still contagious, the particles you are shedding are too small for the mask to stop.

It's just medical theater.

This entry was published Sun Nov 22 15:45:40 CST 2020 by TriggerFinger and last updated 2020-11-22 15:45:40.0. [Tweet]

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