Now I know for many of you this is beating a dead horse...but so be it.
@dad4 clings to masks. Frequently stating they are 70-79% effective.
He claims news to the contrary is Brietbart kind of stuff.
But it is not just him. We keep hearing various gov officials say wear masks. We keep hearing various news outlets saying wear masks. Schools and biz have notices saying wear masks.
And yet major government centers point out that they cannot PROVE masks work.
Recently I have posted from the EU version of the CDC and the WHO who both state there is little evidence showing masks work. Both say more studies need to be done.
If we are going to be bombarded with warnings to wear masks,
shouldn't there be a scientific basis for this recommendation? You know...DATA?
Here is one from our own National Institute of Health. Note that they say scientific evidence supporting
facemask efficacy is lacking. They also say bad things associated with masks ARE KNOWN.
From the first paragraph.
"Many countries across the globe utilized medical and non-medical facemasks as non-pharmaceutical intervention for reducing the transmission and infectivity of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).
Although, scientific evidence supporting facemasks’ efficacy is lacking, adverse physiological, psychological and health effects are established. Is has been hypothesized that facemasks have compromised safety and efficacy profile and should be avoided from use. The current article comprehensively summarizes scientific evidences with respect to wearing facemasks in the COVID-19 era, providing prosper information for public health and decisions making."
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"SARS-CoV-2 primarily affects respiratory system and can cause complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), respiratory failure and death
[3],
[9].
It is not clear however, what the scientific and clinical basis for wearing facemasks as protective strategy, given the fact that facemasks restrict breathing, causing hypoxemia and hypercapnia and increase the risk for respiratory complications, self-contamination and exacerbation of existing chronic conditions
[2],
[11],
[12],
[13],
[14]."
-
"Although several countries mandated wearing facemask in health care settings and public areas,
scientific evidences are lacking supporting their efficacy for reducing morbidity or mortality associated with infectious or viral diseases [2],
[14],
[19]."
-
"Efficacy of facemasks
The physical properties of medical and non-medical facemasks suggest that facemasks are ineffective to block viral particles due to their difference in scales [16],
[17],
[25]. According to the current knowledge, the virus SARS-CoV-2 has a diameter of 60 nm to 140 nm [nanometers (billionth of a meter)]
[16],
[17], while medical and non-medical facemasks’ thread diameter ranges from 55 µm to 440 µm [micrometers (one millionth of a meter),
which is more than 1000 times larger [25]. Due to the difference in sizes between SARS-CoV-2 diameter and facemasks thread diameter (the virus is 1000 times smaller),
SARS-CoV-2 can easily pass through any facemask [25]. In addition, the efficiency filtration rate of facemasks is poor, ranging from 0.7% in non-surgical, cotton-gauze woven mask to 26% in cotton sweeter material
[2]. With respect to surgical and N95 medical facemasks, the efficiency filtration rate falls to 15% and 58%, respectively when even small gap between the mask and the face exists
[25]."
-
"A
meta-analysis among health care workers found that
compared to no masks, surgical mask and N95 respirators were not effective against transmission of viral infections or influenza-like illness based on six RCTs [28]. Using separate analysis of 23 observational studies, this
meta-analysis
found no protective effect of medical mask or N95 respirators against SARS virus [28]. A recent systematic review of 39 studies including 33,867 participants in community settings (self-report illness), found no difference between N95 respirators versus surgical masks and surgical mask versus no masks in the risk for developing influenza or influenza-like illness,
suggesting their ineffectiveness of blocking viral transmissions in community settings [29]."
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Read the full study below.
Many countries across the globe utilized medical and non-medical facemasks as non-pharmaceutical intervention for reducing the transmission and infectivity of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Although, scientific evidence supporting facemasks’ ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov