The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned? [opinion column]

New York Times via Internet Archive ^ | Ferbruary 21, 2023 | Bret Stephens

[consult]

This article was referring to the following study confirming what we knew before, during and after the pandemic.

• Meta-analysis and systemic review finds that wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness (ILI)/COVID‐19 like illness (laboratory‐confirmed or not) compared to not wearing masks; moderate‐certainty evidence (Cochrane Database Systematic Rev. 2023;1:CD006207. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6). 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. The use of a N95/P2 respirators compared to medical/surgical masks probably makes little or no difference for the objective and more precise outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza infection (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.34; 5 trials, 8407 participants; moderate‐certainty evidence). We included 11 new RCTs and cluster‐RCTs (610,872 participants) in this update, bringing the total number of RCTs to 78. Six of the new trials were conducted during the COVID‐19 pandemic; two from Mexico, and one each from Denmark, Bangladesh, England, and Norway.

[Paal Gulli]

" The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?"

Considering the Veterans Administration hospitals still require a mask for admittance, I'd say it'll be a while yet.

[Grampa Dave]

Scott Morefield

CNN’s
@smerconish
confronts Dr. Fauci with the latest evidence that masks, even N95s, made “no difference” in the pandemic. Fauci responds by basically conceding that point while adding the nonsensical claim that masks work on an “individual basis,” or something.

Smerconish ends the interview by asking whether going forward we should just “protect the most vulnerable and allow others to lead their normal lives,” essentially what the authors (
@DrJBhattacharya
,
@MartinKulldorff
,
@SunetraGupta
) of the Great Barrington Declaration asserted in 2020. Fauci ducks the question entirely, but doesn’t attempt to refute it.

https://brownstone.org/articles/author-of-cochrane-mask-review-responds-to-fauci/

[Grampa Dave]

Good for spotting crazies, so you know to avoid them 24/7.