As pretty much everyone can well remember, the CDC’s shifting stance on face masks in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic was almost comical. It first claimed that face covering weren’t needed, then made a sudden about-face and demanded that everyone wear one – including kids as young as two years old. CDC Director Robert Redfield insisted that “face masks are the most important powerful health tool we have” to fight the pandemic, and even suggested that they are more important than vaccines. But a new scientific review finds that the CDC was dead wrong. Led by 12 preeminent researchers from across the world, the study found that masks did little, or perhaps even nothing, to help curb transmission of the virus. The study considered whether “physical interventions” like masking and hand-washing made any noticeable difference. Turns out, it didn’t. When comparing wearing a medical/surgical mask to not wearing a mask, the review found that “wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness (nine studies; 276,917 people); and probably makes little or no difference in how many people have flu/COVID confirmed by a laboratory test (six studies; 13,919 people).” But wait. The fancy N95 respirators that medical experts said would surely help were effective, right? Nope. “Wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (five studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness (five studies; 8407 people), or respiratory illness (three studies; 7799 people).” Kudos to all the people that won’t give up on those masks and still wear them religiously. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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