Quick Take…Masks (Still) Don’t Work

Guest Post by Kit Knightly



Following the news that “American Covid” has stormed the beaches of the UK, the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency has suggested people should break out the ineffective face diapers and start signalling their virtue again.

If you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as COVID-19 […] wear a well-fitting face covering made with multiple layers or a surgical face mask

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Apparently the star-spangled virus is severe enough anyone with a sniffle needs to be masking up.

Except masks don’t do anything. The data is and always has been clear:

Between 2004 and 2016 at least a dozen research or review articles have been published on the inadequacies of face masks. All agree that the poor facial fit and limited filtration characteristics of face masks make them unable to prevent the wearer inhaling airborne particles. In their well-referenced 2011 article on respiratory protection for healthcare workers, Drs. Harriman and Brosseau conclude that, “facemasks will not protect against the inhalation of aerosols.”

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Health care workers have long relied heavily on surgical masks to provide protection against influenza and other infections. Yet there are no convincing scientific data that support the effectiveness of masks for respiratory protection.

[…]

It should be concluded from these and similar studies that the filter material of face masks does not retain or filter out viruses

Why Face Masks Don’t Work: A Revealing Review

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Numerous studies have found this:

Disposable medical masks are loose-fitting devices that were designed to be worn by medical personnel to protect accidental contamination of patient wounds, and to protect the wearer against splashes or sprays of bodily fluids. There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.

Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings—Personal Protective and Environmental Measures

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Again and again and again:

Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza‐like illness (ILI)/COVID‐19 like illness compared to not wearing masks […] Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory‐confirmed influenza/SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to not wearing masks…
Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses

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Apart from not working, they can also be harmful:

[N]ot only is there substantial evidence masks will not prevent you getting sick, there is some evidence they could actually be counter-productive.

A trial of cloth masks in 2015 found that “Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in an increased risk of infection.”

There’s also the issue of other possible complications, such as hypercapnia, an excess of carbon dioxide in the blood caused by re-breathing your own expelled air. It’s also been shown that mask use can exacerbate chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and perhaps other respiratory issues. There’s also the question of possible psychological harm.
Coronavirus Fact-Check #6: Does wearing a mask do anything?

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None of this is (or, at least, was) controversial…until, in 2020, they decided to try and re-write history and purge the internet of wrong-think:


And replaced this hard science with contrived surveys that told them what they wanted to hear:

What we have here is not “science” it’s a computer model based on the results of a subjective phone survey conducted by a government agency with a vested interest. It is entirely meaningless, and yet is published in journals and cited by “experts”, perhaps even used as the basis of introducing new laws.
This Pro-Mask Study is Why You Should NEVER “Trust the Science”

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And the people in charge know this, that’s why they were caught – numerous times – pretending to wear them. Like this:




Masks do not work. This is simply true. They were enforced to help create the illusion that there was a pandemic, and are now pushed as a sort of reminder of the phantasmal danger. It is behavioural conditioning, and anybody who wears a mask is taking part in some humiliating conformity ritual.

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[ H/T The Burning Platform ]