3 ms·

All the legitimate studies that did not find masks to be effective had glaring omissions, such as adherence to guidelines. Would you wear the mask properly or l

All the legitimate studies that did not find masks to be effective had glaring omissions, such as adherence to guidelines. Would you wear the mask properly or let it droop? E.g. from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8499874/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8499874/ Results: When the adherence to mask usage guidelines is taken into account, the empirical evidence indicates that masks prevent disease transmission: all studies we analysed that did not find surgical masks to be effective were under-powered to such an extent that even if masks were 100% effective, the studies in question would still have been unlikely to find a statistically significant effect.

hackingonempty 2y ago
Systematic reviews like those done by Cochrane search the literature for relevant studies then apply pre-set standards to exclude those that have a high risk of bias. That's why so few studies were included. It's not their fault that good studies haven't been done. The answer is to do sufficiently powered RCTs to resolve the question, not conclude that masking works on the basis of low quality observational studies.
friendzis 2y ago
Paradoxically, from public health perspective that does not matter. If you study efficacy of masks, adherence to masking protocols is absolutely crucial variable to control. However, if you study efficiency of masking mandates, you do not get the luxury of controlling masking protocols and *have* to take adherence to masking protocols as population parameter. As expected, studies where actual adherence is in the gutter find masking mandates ineffective at population level.
- orwin 2y ago
  This exactly my thinking. I'm still wearing a mask when I have a cold though, especially in public transportation.
kcplate 2y ago
> When the adherence to mask usage guidelines is taken into account Which pretty much in my observation no one back then was wearing masks correctly, was wearing the correct masks that actually had some effect (when worn correctly), or were changing them at a appropriate frequency according to guidelines.

hackingonempty 2y ago

Systematic reviews like those done by Cochrane search the literature for relevant studies then apply pre-set standards to exclude those that have a high risk of bias. That's why so few studies were included. It's not their fault that good studies haven't been done. The answer is to do sufficiently powered RCTs to resolve the question, not conclude that masking works on the basis of low quality observational studies.

friendzis 2y ago

Paradoxically, from public health perspective that does not matter. If you study efficacy of masks, adherence to masking protocols is absolutely crucial variable to control. However, if you study efficiency of masking mandates, you do not get the luxury of controlling masking protocols and *have* to take adherence to masking protocols as population parameter. As expected, studies where actual adherence is in the gutter find masking mandates ineffective at population level.

orwin 2y ago
This exactly my thinking. I'm still wearing a mask when I have a cold though, especially in public transportation.

kcplate 2y ago

> When the adherence to mask usage guidelines is taken into account Which pretty much in my observation no one back then was wearing masks correctly, was wearing the correct masks that actually had some effect (when worn correctly), or were changing them at a appropriate frequency according to guidelines.