The PPJ Gazette

Lew Rockwell

CDC Journal 5/1/20: Masks Don’t Work

Face masks might help prevent the spread of some infections, but there’s no proof that they work with Covid-19 or influenza: “We did not find evidence that surgical-type face masks are effective in reducing laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility. However, as with hand hygiene, face masks might be able to reduce the transmission of other infections and therefore have value in an influenza pandemic when healthcare resources are stretched.”

CDC Journal 5/1/20: Face Masks Don’t Work When Worn By The Sick Either

Some say face masks should be worn by the infected, not the healthy. In doing so, they can prevent infected people from transmitting the virus to the healthy. Xiao found no such evidence of this. Rather than relying on datasets based on questionnaires such as “Did you suffer from the sniffles last week?” Xiao, in examining this issue, only looked at laboratory-confirmed cases and found no proof that people sick with Covid or influenza should wear masks either:

“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.”

CDC Journal 5/1/20: Don’t Wear A Dirty Mask, It Can INCREASE  The Risk Of Covid Transmission

Xiao takes if a step further, saying not only are face mask be unhelpful in stopping the spread of Covid-19, they can actually increase the risk of transmission: “Proper use of face masks is essential because improper use might increase the risk for transmission. Thus, education on the proper use and disposal of used face masks, including hand hygiene, is also needed.”

The following from WHO is listed as behavior that can increase transmission:

• Touching mouth and nose
• Touching a mask in use
• Touching a clean mask with unwashed hands
• Not washing hands every time after touching a dirty mask
• Wearing a mask that is not new and clean
• Continuing to wear a mask after it has become damp, instead of immediately replacing it 
• Re-using a single-use mask
• Not discarding a single-use mask immediately upon removal, as opposed to leaving it in the immediate environment

Have you seen even one person follow that protocol in 2020? Proper mask protocol doesn’t stop there either. Rather than informing the public that such behaviors may actually help spread Covid, the most vocal instead demand that everyone be masked, regardless of the potential negative impact it may have in increasing the transmission of Covid-19.