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New Covid wave has begun and masks should be worn again, scientists warn
(www.independent.co.uk)
this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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Cloth masks don’t do shit anyway. Neither do N95s apparently. You are out of date on the literature.
https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-such-hand-washing-or-wearing-masks-stop-or-slow-down-spread-respiratory-viruses
There is uncertainty about the effects of face masks. The low to moderate certainty of evidence means our confidence in the effect estimate is limited, and that the true effect may be different from the observed estimate of the effect. 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. Hand hygiene is likely to modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness, and although this effect was also present when ILI and laboratory-confirmed influenza were analysed separately, it was not found to be a significant difference for the latter two outcomes. Harms associated with physical interventions were under-investigated.
You are out of date on the literature
https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review
Did you even read what you linked? Jesus. You hexbear folk are pretty dumb it seems.
It literally says " 'We are uncertain whether wearing masks or N95/P2 respirators helps to slow the spread of respiratory viruses based on the studies we assessed.' "
That means that the study was inconclusive. Even in the most mask-active trial, only ~42% of people wore masks. They weren't testing if wearing a mask helps an individual not get sick, they were measuring if it slowed the spread of a respiratory virus. Of less than half of people wear a mask, it makes it REALLY hard to know if the masks made an impact in reducing the spread of a contagious respiratory virus.
Let's think about this in the context of something not directly covid related - secrets. In a crowd of 500 people, if you tell one person a secret, and then tell them to tell as many people as they can, even if 40% of people in that crowd are wearing earplugs, most people are going to end up hearing that secret. Even some of the people with earplugs in might have them not in all the way, or have taken them out for a moment to adjust them, and heard the secret. But, the people with earplugs will be much less likely to have heard the secret.
That's COVID and masks. Unless EVERYONE is wearing a mask, it makes it really hard to stop spreading of the virus, even if individuals wearing masks are less likely to catch or spread the virus themselves.
Counterpoint: Wearing and maintaining a clean mask takes nearly zero effort and provides peace of mind for a lot of people.