Compilation Of Mask Studies

"Extraordinary measures demand EXTRAORDINARY EVIDENCE."

“ You can’t reason someone out of a position that they haven’t reasoned into “ 

*Updated Oct. 21, 2020.

Here are some of the studies I've read regarding masks. I selected these because I found them to be among the best of the crop.

These all show their ineffectiveness.

I've also read studies and essays that support masks but they weren't as convincing with several being flawed or non-randomized. None could prove masks on their own work. 

In short, three factors were necessary in order for masks to even have a chance at success. One, is mass compliance. You will not get that unless it comes with coercion. Some studies claim as high as 80%-90% just to get a potential 10%-25% reduction. Getting to those numbers is near impossible because the reality is forcing people to wear them only causes friction and people do have health issues preventing them from wearing a mask. In my case, I have ADD and perspire easily thus moisture humidity becomes a major problem for me. Also, people with reduced hearing like me do struggle. 

In any event, it seems to me efforts piled into pounding people into submission is inefficient. 

Two, proper handling. No matter how many times public officials claim people will learn, they won't. Asking humans to act in a community setting like health care workers do in a medical setting is not only not feasible or practical. It's already a challenge for professionals imagine average people, It's senseless and irrational. Then there comes the issue of disposing them in proper garbage facilities. If they have a virus, why are throwing them away in Glad bags? Also, littering has grown into a problem.

Three, other non-pharma measures (read non-scientific) like social distancing must be practiced alongside masks. 

Truth is all this - plus the lockdown - were just panic moves and came with such enormous negative trade-offs, whatever marginal benefit we got from these measures were rendered irrelevant.

Last, we may be severely under estimating both the psychological and physical harm this will cause. For example, on speech pattens for children, people with anxiety or skin conditions.

This fosters social angst and resentment.

If this persists, we could begin to see some negative trade offs.

Another fall out soon to likely become an issue is that where straws were poking turtles in the eyes, masks may be strangling them as they litter our streets and rivers.

Countries and states and provinces mandating them are deceiving themselves and doing a great disservice to the populations. Ontario and Quebec have seen infection rates rise.

Like the lockdowns were rooted in panic and not science, so it is with masks. 

The media are completely useless so it's left to us to do the work they should be doing.

1) An in-depth study from BMJ.

“This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks... moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks, and poor filtration may result in an increased risk of infection.”

2) Dr. Kellogg from 1920.

3) What the CDC actually thinks about masks. This study reached back to 1946.

4) Dr. Osterholm in CIDRAP.

 

5) New England Journal of Miedicine:

"It is also clear that masks serve symbolic roles. Masks are not only tools, they are also talismans that may help increase health care workers’ perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals. Although such reactions may not be strictly logical, we are all subject to fear and anxiety, especially during times of crisis. One might argue that fear and anxiety are better countered with data and education than with a marginally beneficial mask, particularly in light of the worldwide mask shortage, but it is difficult to get clinicians to hear this message in the heat of the current crisis."

6) Another deep study of not just masks but lockdowns as well. It shows California and Texas both experienced higher rates after mandating masks. We observe the same thing in Spain and other places.

7) Masks pose serious health risks. 

"As for the scientific support for the use of face mask, a recent careful examination of the literature, in which 17 of the best studies were analyzed, concluded that, "None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection..."

It is also instructive to know that until recently, the CDC did not recommend wearing a face mask or covering of any kind, unless a person was known to be infected, that is, until recently. Non-infected people need not wear a mask. When a person has TB we have them wear a mask, not the entire community of non-infected. The recommendations by the CDC and the WHO are not based on any studies of this virus and have never been used to contain any other virus pandemic or epidemic in history.... "

"...Now that we have established that there is no scientific evidence necessitating the wearing of a face mask for prevention, are there dangers to wearing a face mask, especially for long periods? Several studies have indeed found significant problems with wearing such a mask. This can vary from headaches, to increased airway resistance, carbon dioxide accumulation, to hypoxia, all the way to serious life-threatening complications."

Which makes me wonder what are we testing for and how reliable is it really?

8) A compilation of journals. Here we see Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland do not recommend masks based on weak science.

9) The Infection Myth. RIP Dr. Crowe.

10) A randomized study from Japan.

11) A collection of studies from Wuhan to Italy. 

12) Masks not based on sound science. 

13) A systematic review of masks don't work.

14) Masks in community settings inconclusive.

15) Masks can be dangerous. Dr. Tegnell.

16) Potential side effects must be considered. 

17) Oops?

18) Center for Evidence Based Medicine.

"Despite the clear requirement to carry out further large, pragmatic trials a decade later, only six had been published: five in healthcare workers and one in pilgrims. 3 This recent crop of trials added 9,112 participants to the total randomised denominator of 13,259 and showed that masks alone have no significant effect in interrupting the spread of ILI or influenza in the general population, nor in healthcare workers. 

The design of these twelve trials differed: viral circulation was usually variable; none had been conducted during a pandemic. Outcomes were defined and reported in seven different ways, making comparison difficult. It is debatable whether any of these results could be applied to the transmission of SARs-CoV-2. Only one randomised trial (n=569) included cloth masks. This trial  found ILI rates were 13 times higher in Vietnamese hospital workers allocated to cloth masks compared to medical/surgical masks, RR 13.25, (95%CI 1.74 to 100.97) and over three times higher when compared to no masks, RR 3.49 (95%CI 1.00 to 12.17)." 

19) From OSHA:

• Cloth face coverings do not constitute personal protective equipment.
• Surgical masks are not considered to be PPE if they are being used solely to contain the respiratory droplets of the person wearing them (referred to by OSHA as “source control”).
• Although employers are not required to provide their employees with cloth face coverings or surgical masks, the use of such face coverings and/or surgical masks would constitute part of “a control plan designed to address hazards from SARS-CoV-2” under the General Duty Clause.

20) CEBM:

"It is often more difficult to breathe while wearing masks (particularly the respirator masks), which can exacerbate other health issues. An overview of 84 articles found that protective facemasks also negatively impact respiratory and dermal mechanisms of human thermoregulation, making it hard for many to wear constantly. 

Thinking you’re protected, means you may put yourself at higher risk, and as individuals, we will change our behaviour in response to the perceived levels of risk. We are more careful if the level of risk is high and less careful if it is low. Measures we can take can include washing hands, avoiding touching, social distancing, school closures and self -isolating when unwell. You may also end up touching your face more often. 

A mask can become dirty with excessive moisture, and contaminated with airborne pathogens. And because your voice is muffled; individuals may have to get closer to people, particularly the elderly, to hear from you...."

"....So we got into this situation unprepared with a faulty evidence base and hotly debated practices, after two decades of “pandemic preparedness”.  

Society has choices: find out if they work or not, and in what circumstances, or recommend their use, with or without other measures, or use those non-pharmacological interventions where there is more evidence of benefit."

21)An overview of 84 articles:  "The use of protective facemasks (PFMs) negatively impacts respiratory and dermal mechanisms of human thermoregulation through impairment of convection, evaporation, and radiation processes. The relatively minor reported increases in core temperature directly attributable to the wearing of PFMs suggest that associated perceptions of increased body temperature may have a significant psychological component or that regional or global brain temperature changes are involved. "

22) Cochrane Library: "...Adding virucidals or antiseptics tonormal handwashing to decrease respiratory disease transmission remains uncertain. Global measures, such as screening at entry ports, led to a non‐significant marginal delay in spread. There was limited evidence that social distancing was effective, especially if related to the risk of exposure.

23) Chart from the CDC (which I believe remains up) explicitly and clearly showing the differences between medical and N95 masks. The former, to repeat, aren't effective. The latter offers adequate protection. However, they're NOT practical and MUST be discarded as they're single-use items. It's worth reminding N95 masks are primarily used for construction and not meant for wide community settings use. And like medical masks, are awful in summer temperatures. Cloth masks are less useful than both. 

24) Cornell:

"Usage of face masks are strongly encouraged by health officials, to prevent the spread and transport of respiratory droplets. In this study, however, we show that a single layer of a surgical mask can atomize a cough droplet into numerous tiny droplets, thereby significantly increasing the total population of aerosols ejected during a single human cough. Although droplets of a broader size distribution are ejected during coughs, we focused our attention towards a relatively large droplet size (~ 620 𝜇𝑚), which shows great affinity to undergo atomization during its penetration through the mask layers. The entire phenomenon was captured using a high-speed shadowgraphy imaging technique at a recording rate of 6500 fps. The single-layer masks were found to be ineffective in restraining cough droplets while no penetration could be noticed for a triple-layer mask. This is because a single-layer or double-layer face mask causes atomization of the droplets resulting in the formation of larger number of droplets with smaller sizes (< 100 𝜇𝑚). These tiny droplets can aerosolize in the immediate environment and can remain suspended for a longer time. Thus, it is recommended to avoid the use of a single-layer or double-layer surgical face mask as a physical obstruction to the ejected cough droplets for controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

More: Here.. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here. Here.

Ici en francais.

33) California Globe:

"As for the mandatory mask-wearing orders some counties and Mayors are imposing on citizens: “studies have shown that the ordinary surgical mask does little to prevent inhalation of small droplets bearing influenza virus,” the doctors reported. “The pores in the mask become blocked by moisture from breathing, and the air stream simply diverts around the mask.”

34) From Livescience.  Don't know how many ways to say but masks are ineffective. 

35) European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention:

"However, due to the high volume of transmission, it appears that the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in place have not been effective in limiting significant increase of infection, either because adherence to the measures may not be optimal or the measures in place may not be sufficient to reduce or control exposure."

36) Masks don't work in a graph.

37) Detailed look at masks from the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons.

38) CDC: People with known Covid-19, 71% of people always wore a mask. 4% never did and another 4% rarely.

39) From the World Health Organization: If table print to small go to Table in the link provided.

Ditch the masks. The only thing they're good for is to remind you to stay in fear.