Did All Those Masks Help with Covid or Not?

Headlines recently blared about the new review that looked at how effective masks are at preventing the transmission of flu-like disease. Cochrane reviews are well respected, and the media coverage about the recent review has been hard to parse. So is that it, end of story on masks? Not if you skip the media headlines and read the actual review!

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[IsYitzach]

I do know this much: people don't throw them out correctly as I keep finding the things on the road side.

[CG_Hali]

We're both disabled with auto-immune issues. I used to get a cold or flu every 3 weeks when I was working in a school. It was part of the reason I got so weak I couldn't work anymore. My system was shot. But I have been wearing a mask due to high sensitivity since 2016 with people visiting, only felt sick once in this whole time because hubby brought back a cold. But that's it. He's been going out in the pandemic with N95 the whole time, never got sick.

[stuiesmb]

At the end of the video, Dr. Carol references studies that show masks do work. What studies are those? Why were they not cited?

[californiumblog]

Of the other things that led to decreased mask effectiveness are all the other behaviors that layman mask wearers don't adequately exercise - eg the constant face touching and adjusting of the mask, and especially wearing the mask UNDER the nose (I saw this way more than I ever saw it right).

[tophers]

I'm interested in the effect of sick/infected people wearing them to protect others. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems that scenario is likely to be effective to some extent. They're worn in surgery to protect the other person after all.

[lbyron]

I am one who diligently masked through the pandemic (and still continues to do so). For the past 3 years, I managed to avoid getting any colds or the flu, and COVID until last month. What finally brought me down was that I travelled with a group that had a super-spreader in our midst. When you have to travel on a bus/plane for 15+ hours with someone who's infected and not wearing a mask (despite being very symptomatic), the deck is completely stacked against you. I did wear a KN-95 mask for the entire time when we were travelling, but took it off to eat and drink. The virus is airborne, and it doesn't miraculously disappear when you are eating and drinking. So, I did end up testing positive for COVID. What is worth pointing out is that close to 20 people in our group ended up testing positive for COVID. My symptoms of a runny/stuffy nose and headache was significantly more mild than my fellow un-masked travellers who were saddled with an unrelenting cough, fever, fatigue, body aches. The duration of my illness was also much shorter. So, while my mask didn't prevent me from getting sick, it did reduce my viral load, and that's a benefit that should not be overlooked.

[TKSSLCHN]

Understanding the context of mask wearing really is everything.

A surgical mask or even N95 is like a fire extinguisher - great for relatively small, moderate risk situations like shopping at a supermarket or having a chat with an acquaintance you happened to meet in the city.

But it's almost totally useless for an intense situation like a raging forest fire, or respectively working in a Covid ward or sitting 8+ hours in an office with 20 coworkers. In the latter case, a consistently and WELL FITTED N95 can still make some difference, but the germ ratio reduction of a surgical mask just won't cut it at all. And the virus concentration may get high enough that just a few minutes of taking off the mask will get you infected almost as certainly as not wearing one.

I was very consistent with wearing masks in low to moderate intensity situations and only caught it Christmas 2022 when I got lazy about it and met family without one.

[AdamSmith-gsdv]

In science "wasnt shown to make a measurable impact" means it either doesnt work or has such small impact that said impact couldn't be detected. Was that worth people calling people who didnt wear masks grandma killers for 3 years? IMO no.

[gyozakeynsianism]

Thank you for doing this. I can't tell you how many times I've come across people screaming from the rooftop about this Cochrane review who DIDN'T READ THE CONCLUSION.

[RSInman]

There has been ample opportunity over the last 3 years to have done more than one well designed randomly controlled study to confirm whether or not masks have any efficacy in preventing infection or transmission, and yet none were done. If you’re going to mandate any measure….be it masking, vaccines, etc, the onus has to be on those issuing the mandates to demonstrate this efficacy, otherwise the use of the measures should have been, and should continue to be moving forward, optional. Sweden has provided the control portion of those studies…i.e. no mandates for masking, school shutdowns, lockdowns, vaccines, and their experience, which is middle of the road for how different jurisdictions faired during Covid, clearly demonstrates no appreciable benefit of these measures in limiting infections, and transmission, of Covid. Legal justice demands proof of guilt prior to conviction, just as the imposition of mandates demands proof of benefit.

[JonathanIsrael]

Just tested positive for COVID for the first time ever. Throughout the pandemic was always a consistent KN95 wearer, at the beginning SupplyAid when nothing else was available then PoweCom, even donated them to local urgent cares and facilities. Been around coworkers, family members, even our teenager who were infected, but never caught it. We would also get tested if someone we had been around found out they were positive.

[RobRoschewsk]

I just can’t wrap my head around it … to me wearing a mask is such a minimal effort… I never had a problem with it. It was the whole politicalization of it that made it a big issue, some saw it as a sign of fear and weakness while others just didn’t like being told what to do. Actually just pretty sad knowing how many people valued their “feelings” more than doing something that might help their fellow humans.

[DanielBrotherston]

I honestly don't understand how we are in a place where our HOSPITALS which are filled with people with respiratory diseases AND highly vulnerable people to respiratory diseases are now removing mask requirements.

Frankly, this feels like 100 years ago if we'd discovered how effective handwashing was, decided to start doing it, saw how it worked, and then a year later just en mass decided that killing patients with dysentery is just easier. Like...honestly...if we can't require them in hospitals...then we as a society are a failure.

[auntijen]

I went to veterinary school but we did have history of medicine courses and I do remember the first real success story about the broad use of face coverings happened during a particularly morbid strain of diphtheria that was dropping every one, (even the hospital staff) like flies UNTIL they all started wearing kerchief type face coverings. This simple addition was like a miracle and Drs & nurses were finally able to treat the sick without succumbing themselves...

So, when I saw all of the "usual suspects" spreading this "Proof masks don't work" study I knew it must have flaws- especially if the people the masks "didn't work" for were the same folks who wore masks but also took their masks off to eat in restaurants, etc...

Having pre existing conditions myself I kept the kn95 mask on- I even put off going to get a cavity filled forever bc just the thought of lying back in that chair w my mouth propped wide open for an extended period of time just made me shutter!

[Conciencia]

Cloth masks filter less than 15% of virus-sized particles and don't fit well: they don't work. Surgical mask material can only filter about 50% of viral particles. That's better, but they still leave a gap between the face and the mask, and air, like any other fluid, will prefer the path of least resistance, so most of the air will be inhaled and exhaled bypassing the mask. That's why they hardly make any difference. The N 95 masks are the ones that filter the best and fit the best, but in my country they told us not to use them... so the imposition of masks was not for our safety. Wearing masks outdoors doesn't make sense for healthy people because viral loads spread very quickly in the air: you won't be exposed to significant viral loads unless someone coughs on you. In such a case it is clear that it is the symptomatic individual, not the healthy one, who should wear a mask.
This is not a politicized comment. I'm not an American and I don't care about their politics. These are known facts of physics.

[barneyfyfe]

None of my 3M N95 masks mention anti-pathogen protection on the box/bag. It just says for use while sanding or sweeping.

[jeffbrownstain]

I'd like people to wear masks when they're sick in public simply to prevent being cough and spat on.
With that said, I don't get sick, at all. Haven't been in ten years of public healthcare service and should have another 30+ left.

[DevotedpupaVODs]

Can we get these studies on a country that isn’t insane and actually wore their masks?

[EyeLean]

Masks are one of the lines of defense but can't be the only one. I've been consistent with all the safety protocols all this time, and have never gotten covid. My friends and family who got lazy, got covid.

[t.h.]

Before covid I would get sick every winter. I work in social services and even though we do not treat ill children no matter what clients would bring in children with every contagious illness on the move. Including stomach bugs, influenza, contagious strep throat, RSV. You get the point. I cared for my frail mother who was in End stage COPD. I purchased and faithfully wore kn95 masks, we changed them out for clean ones very frequently, my husband did as well. I took what I call a 3 part approach. I dutifully wore the mask, had a plastic shield at work and kept a fan running at all times aimed at me. In 3 years i kept me and my mother well and safe. January of this year my husband stopped wearing a mask to work. He got covid, gave it to me and my mom who lived with us. Mom died within 12 hours of me testing her positive at home. I believe my 3 part approach was a good way to keep from getting any contagious illness. I still have my shield up, use the fan and even though i stopped wearing my mask in March I plan to start wearing it again with cold and flu season.