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New Covid wave has begun and masks should be worn again, scientists warn
(www.independent.co.uk)
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this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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It seems you have not read my post or the study in detail.
Indeed it seems that cloth masks are not very or even not effective. But, and that's a big but: FFP2/KN95 Masks seem to be quite effective.
The Cochrane study authors themselves note the low confidence they have in their results. The sample size is quite small (e.g. only 8407 people in summary over all studies they evaluated for FFP2 masks) They even got the result that handwashing has no benefits.
In Contrast the studies in the metastudy I linked work with far larger sample sizes.
I won't respond anymore after this comment as you seem agitated and resort to personal attacks which won't lead to a productive discussion. I hope you find a calmer moment to consider the evidence studies have gathered and overthink your position.
Largely what the Cochrane report appears to say is that these studies aren't actually suitable to draw firm conclusions from (which is what all the talk of "evidence" are about. They mean that the studies they read don't have sufficient evidence to support their own claims and that while Cochrane can therefore tell us "study X had conclusion Y" they and we shouldn't assume that's actually correct as "study X" wasn't actually very good.)
My whole point is that the scientific consensus on whether masks make a difference at the population level for respiratory illnesses is inconclusive. So why should governments continue mandating them? “Just to be safe” is not a sound argument, especially when the intervention is so drastic against the human condition.
I love showing my face and seeing other people’s’ faces. It angers me that so many people don’t care about faces. I find these folk to be expressively anti-human and it angers me. Masks limit human expression. They dull human life.