The ⁦@nytimes⁩ surveyed 570 epidemiologists asking them how long Americans would be required to wear masks. 80% of them said for a year or more. Some said forever. Just 5% said a few more months. Three days after the survey the mask mandate ended. None saw it coming. pic.twitter.com/ZAGh2xq6Sy

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) May 17, 2021

beerad12man said:

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Dr. Fauci admits his wearing masks indoors despite being vaccinated was based on imagery, not science:

"I didn’t want to look like I was giving mixed signals but being a fully vaccinated person, the chances of my getting infected in an indoor setting is extremely low." pic.twitter.com/UdJdhHvoR0

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 18, 2021

Optics, which is what they were the whole time. Even the best CDC study, with questionable optics and other variables, claimed a 0.5% reduction daily, and 1.9% over 100 days. Again, with other variables, and certainly within statistical chance to begin with.

They were always AT BEST of very marginal benefit. Some cling to them like they are a miracle, though. Crazy. And now I just read an article today trying to push for masks every flu season. IF, and that's a big IF, masks worked for covid, the only reason would be pre and asymptomatic spread. The flu doesn't work the same way. You get symptoms quickly. Masks would do even less for the flu because all you need to do is stay home if you have symptoms. Otherwise healthy people have no business even considering masks at any point moving forward.

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planoaggie123 said:

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Can you cite this study so I can share it?

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Quote:

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The authors conclude that "community mask use by well people could be beneficial, particularly for COVID-19, where transmission may be pre-symptomatic. The studies of masks as source control also suggest a benefit, and may be important during the COVID-19 pandemic in universal community face mask use as well as in health care settings."
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On the other hand, a preprint systematic review that only included randomized control trials (RCTs) and observational studies concluded, based on the RCTs, that there was only weak evidence for a small effect from mask use in the community, but that the RCTs often suffered from poor compliance and controls. It found that, in observational studies, the evidence in favor of wearing face masks was stronger.
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Overall, direct evidence of the efficacy of mask use is supportive, but inconclusive.
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Overall, population-level studies of the impact of wearing masks suggest that mask use may have been an important driver of differences in SARS-CoV-2 outcomes in different regions.
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Overall, our understanding of the relative merits of different cloth mask designs and materials is still limited...However, there are no modern studies of the efficacy of a full range of mask designs and material combinations, using the most relevant flow rates (at rest or low exertion rate of 15 L/min), and contexts (exhalation from a real person, or simulation using a manikin).

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Quote:

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Researchers led by microbiologist Kwok-Yung Yuen at the University of Hong Kong housed infected and healthy hamsters in adjoining cages, with surgical-mask partitions separating some of the animals. Without a barrier, about two-thirds of the uninfected animals caught SARS-CoV-2, according to the paper7 published in May. But only about 25% of the animals protected by mask material got infected, and those that did were less sick than their mask-free neighbours (as measured by clinical scores and tissue changes).

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Quote:

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Although the difference observed was not statistically significant, the 95% CIs are compatible with a 46% reduction to a 23% increase in infection.
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The recommendation to wear surgical masks to supplement other public health measures did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50% in a community with modest infection rates, some degree of social distancing, and uncommon general mask use. The data were compatible with lesser degrees of self-protection.

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Quote:

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The study suggests that community mask use by well people could be beneficial, particularly for COVID-19, where transmission may be pre-symptomatic. The studies of masks as source control also suggest a benefit, and may be important during the COVID-19 pandemic in universal community face mask use as well as in health care settings. Trials in healthcare workers support the use of respirators continuously during a shift. This may prevent health worker infections and deaths from COVID-19, as aerosolisation in the hospital setting has been documented.

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