An article at the Brownstone Institute argues that surgical and cloth masks have no impact on virus transmission. There are 167 studies included.
The article also criticises the broader public health policies, particularly lockdowns and school closures.
It states that these measures have been the single greatest mistake in public health history.
- A Danish study found that wearing surgical masks did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50%.
- A study among Marine recruits showed that despite strictly enforced mask-wearing, approximately 2% became positive for SARS-CoV-2.
- A review by Jefferson in 2020 found low certainty evidence that wearing a mask makes little or no difference in the outcome of influenza-like illness.
- A cluster-randomised trial in Bangladesh found that surgical masks reduced symptomatic COVID infections by between 0 and 22 percent.
- A CDC study from 2020 found no substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza from wearing face masks.
Masks have also led to disgruntled employees!
