5 ms·

A Danish randomized controlled trial with 6000 participants, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in November 2020, found no statistically significant e

A Danish randomized controlled trial with 6000 participants, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in November 2020, found no statistically significant effect of high-quality medical face masks against SARS-CoV-2 infection in a community setting. https://swprs.org/face-masks-evidence/ https://swprs.org/face-masks-evidence/

ceejayoz 5y ago
Your source is lying to you. That's not actually what that study (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817) says. > The recommendation to wear surgical masks to supplement other public health measures did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50% in a community with modest infection rates, some degree of social distancing, and uncommon general mask use. The data were compatible with lesser degrees of self-protection. They studied the efficacy of "wear a mask" recommendations. Not mask wearing itself.
- mxxc 5y ago
  > They studied the efficacy of "wear a mask" recommendations. Not mask wearing itself. as far as policy is concerned, these two are equivalent
  - ceejayoz 5y ago
    Not at all. "Masks work on a functional level, but people don't wear them if asked" would be something to tackle by policy differently than "masks offer no functional benefit". Like fines and other enforcement measures for not wearing one beyond "please?".
    - mxxc 5y ago
      no idea where you live but since masks have been enforced everywhere here (including: the beach, hiking trails, walking alone at night), with the police actually checking people, we've had 3 subsequent waves of covid. i'm only talking about exteriors because i haven't seen a single person not wearing a mask inside – no mask in a shop? you don't get allowed in. expecting more than this and discussing the result of a study that can't really be done in a lab is debating philosophy, but of course critics can go on downvoting.
      - ceejayoz 5y ago
        Again, from the specific study in question: > In this community-based, randomized controlled trial conducted in a setting where mask wearing was uncommon and was not among other recommended public health measures related to COVID-19... This study did not tackle the effectiveness of masks. It attempted to determine the effectiveness of asking people to voluntarily wear one in a location where masking is not a recommendation by local health authorities. > expecting more than this and discussing the result of a study that can't really be done in a lab is debating philosophy Testing mask effectiveness can and has been done in a lab.
        mxxc 5y ago
        no not really. the study says that one of the two groups was instructed to wear masks. it's the people outside that were only recommended to do so. half of them reported always wearing them and only a small minority reported never doing so. the results of the test are in line with the sad reality in most european countries that have mandatory mask wearing since last summer. nobody is questioning lab tests. to be clear: the effectiveness of mask-wearing policies on a broad population can not be done in a lab, although it would be interesting to test "not wearing masks" in a country that does have that policy; this unfortunately can't be done either because it's currently against the law - where applicable.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
ch4s3 5y ago
The study here[1] was inconclusive, but their limitations seemed pretty noteworthy: > Inconclusive results, missing data, variable adherence, patient-reported findings on home tests, no blinding, and no assessment of whether masks could decrease disease transmission from mask wearers to others. I'm not sure what conclusions could be drawn from this study alone. [1] https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817

ceejayoz 5y ago

Your source is lying to you. That's not actually what that study (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817) says. > The recommendation to wear surgical masks to supplement other public health measures did not reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate among wearers by more than 50% in a community with modest infection rates, some degree of social distancing, and uncommon general mask use. The data were compatible with lesser degrees of self-protection. They studied the efficacy of "wear a mask" recommendations. Not mask wearing itself.

mxxc 5y ago
> They studied the efficacy of "wear a mask" recommendations. Not mask wearing itself. as far as policy is concerned, these two are equivalent
- ceejayoz 5y ago
  Not at all. "Masks work on a functional level, but people don't wear them if asked" would be something to tackle by policy differently than "masks offer no functional benefit". Like fines and other enforcement measures for not wearing one beyond "please?".
  - mxxc 5y ago
    no idea where you live but since masks have been enforced everywhere here (including: the beach, hiking trails, walking alone at night), with the police actually checking people, we've had 3 subsequent waves of covid. i'm only talking about exteriors because i haven't seen a single person not wearing a mask inside – no mask in a shop? you don't get allowed in. expecting more than this and discussing the result of a study that can't really be done in a lab is debating philosophy, but of course critics can go on downvoting.
    - ceejayoz 5y ago
      Again, from the specific study in question: > In this community-based, randomized controlled trial conducted in a setting where mask wearing was uncommon and was not among other recommended public health measures related to COVID-19... This study did not tackle the effectiveness of masks. It attempted to determine the effectiveness of asking people to voluntarily wear one in a location where masking is not a recommendation by local health authorities. > expecting more than this and discussing the result of a study that can't really be done in a lab is debating philosophy Testing mask effectiveness can and has been done in a lab.
      - mxxc 5y ago
        no not really. the study says that one of the two groups was instructed to wear masks. it's the people outside that were only recommended to do so. half of them reported always wearing them and only a small minority reported never doing so. the results of the test are in line with the sad reality in most european countries that have mandatory mask wearing since last summer. nobody is questioning lab tests. to be clear: the effectiveness of mask-wearing policies on a broad population can not be done in a lab, although it would be interesting to test "not wearing masks" in a country that does have that policy; this unfortunately can't be done either because it's currently against the law - where applicable.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]

ch4s3 5y ago

The study here[1] was inconclusive, but their limitations seemed pretty noteworthy: > Inconclusive results, missing data, variable adherence, patient-reported findings on home tests, no blinding, and no assessment of whether masks could decrease disease transmission from mask wearers to others. I'm not sure what conclusions could be drawn from this study alone. [1] https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817