Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill14564
There is a huge difference between "proven ineffective" and "don't stop all germs." I'll take 95% effective over nothing every day.
(I also don't believe N95 masks were proven ineffective)
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erider
Cochrane Library
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 report also contained these paragraphs:
The high risk of bias in the trials, variation in outcome measurement, and relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampers drawing firm conclusions.
The observed lack of effect of mask wearing in interrupting the spread of influenza‐like illness (ILI) or influenza/COVID‐19 in our review has many potential reasons, including: poor study design; insufficiently powered studies arising from low viral circulation in some studies; lower adherence with mask wearing, especially amongst children; quality of the masks used; self‐contamination of the mask by hands; lack of protection from eye exposure from respiratory droplets (allowing a route of entry of respiratory viruses into the nose via the lacrimal duct); saturation of masks with saliva from extended use (promoting virus survival in proteinaceous material); and possible risk compensation behaviour leading to an exaggerated sense of security (Ammann 2022; Brosseau 2020; Byambasuren 2021; Canini 2010; Cassell 2006; Coroiu 2021; MacIntyre 2015; Rengasamy 2010; Zamora 2006).
So it isn't clear whether the N95 masks are ineffective or whether they were used in an ineffective manner.
If you want to argue that the overall (real-life) effectiveness is a combination of the effectiveness of the tool and the skill of those who wield the tool, I can accept that. In that case it appears that masking is not effective as normally practiced in real-world settings.
But that doesn't mean the masks are ineffective. There is no way I would be comfortable having surgery done where the doctors weren't wearing masks because a study showed they were ineffective. That isn't what the study looked at and it isn't what it showed.
The study also did not show the mask itself was ineffective. I don't believe there is no laboratory testing on these masks showing that they in fact did block 95% of particles.
The mask itself is effective. Every individual wearing the mask may or may not wear it properly and may or may not always wear it. Multiply the possibly mistakes made one individual by the hundreds or thousands of people in the community and the overall effectiveness quickly drops. This, I think, is what the study shows.