So much debate over whether or not we should be wearing masks in order to fight C0VlD but multiple scientific studies over the past decade have already settled this question. Not only do medical masks not prevent the spread of virus, but a 1995 study proves that wearing a cloth mask can put you at greater risk for infection. Ben Swann breaks down the science.

Editor’s Note:

Some of these studies compare masks, but some of them are comparing masks to no masks including this section of one study:

Continuous Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment PPE Use vs No Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment. That study states “Two RCTs compared respiratory infection risk in HCWs wearing rPPE continuously to convenience-selected controls wearing no rPPE [24] or following routine care…Meta-analysis suggested a protective, but non-statistically significant, effect against laboratory-confirmed viral infections

The following is taken from fact check who suggest that masks in some circumstances can help

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has explained that face coverings are meant to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus by containing respiratory droplets created when people cough, sneeze or talk. That’s called source control.

The CDC has also noted that masks shouldn’t be worn if they are likely to cause harm, and it has said not everyone will be able to wear one.

That’s been the recommendation of the CDC since early April, when the agency changed its original position on the use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing new studies on the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Ben Swann released a follow-up video about a week after the original and relied heavily on this paper, claiming that it “proves that face masks do not prevent the spread of a virus.”

But one of the researchers who worked on the paper, Benjamin Cowling, by email, “It is wrong to say that our review said there was no effectiveness of face masks. We could only rule out very large effects.”

Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, explained that, “while we said there was not a significant effect, we could not exclude the possibility that masks reduce transmission by 10% or 20%. Those would be useful effect sizes.”

He also noted on Twitter that he and his colleagues worked with the World Health Organization in 2019 to come up with guidelines for mitigating pandemic influenza. Those guidelines recommend wearing a mask in “severe epidemics or pandemics.”

If masks are worn, proper use and disposal is essential to ensure they are potentially effective and to avoid any increase in risk of transmission associated with the incorrect use of masks.

The following information on correct use of masks derives from the practices in health-care settings:

  • place mask carefully to cover mouth and nose and tie securely to minimise any gaps between the face and the mask
  • while in use, avoid touching the mask − whenever you touch a used mask, for example when removing or washing, clean hands by washing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based handrub
  • replace masks with a new clean, dry mask as soon as they become damp/humid
  • do not re-use single-use masks − discard single-use masks after each use and dispose of them immediately upon removing.

I don’t know about you, but I still use them three or four days in a row, fiddle with them on my face, because they aren’t sitting right or blocking my vision to some degree. As for gaps, the standard surgical mask has heaps of air gaps.

So good luck with all that.