The Man in the Mask.. or not
Looking at the CDC studies on mask effectiveness in stopping the spread of Covid - an engineers viewpoint
A hotly debated topic these days is whether masks work. That’s usually how it’s framed.
We know masks work; just wear one—a typical social media post.
Nate the Lawyer asked in a recent tweet
I told him I would break down why the “science” the CDC pushes doesn’t show masks work to prevent the spread of Covid 19. BTW Nate has an excellent Youtube channel where he breaks down cases and laws and why they happen the way they do. Well worth going to see if you like that kind of stuff.
Some background…when I first started looking at Covid related data in April 2020 I had no idea if masks would work or not. I came at it from a fresh perspective.
I have an engineering degree, have spent most of my adult life analyzing data for real-world applications, and spent 15 months doing a deep dive into bacteria/viruses as part of a project at work. Nowhere near an expert but enough of one I can dig through the reports and studies that are produced. I will provide as many links to studies as I can find so you can do your own research as well.
I am going to start with a study that the CDC doesn’t reference. It’s one that people ask all the time though…. why do surgeons wear masks if they don’t work?
Postoperative wound infections and surgical face masks: A controlled study | SpringerLink
Over 3000 surgeries performed over 115 weeks; half with masks half without….No statistical difference in infection. Now, these are bacterial infections that are much easier to prevent than viral infections.
Another review of the literature Surgical masks and post op infections
So enough about surgeons.. what about Masks and Covid. Does the CDC have data showing they work and are non-maskers just selfish Grandma killers? Or is it more complicated than that?
Here’s a link to the CDC Science Brief on Masks and Sars-Cov-2
They have an impressive-looking site. Filled with references to studies and conclusions. At a casual glance, it would appear they have proven masks work beyond a shadow of a doubt. BTW there is always doubt in science because we keep learning new things. So let’s look at it and see what we can see.
Notice their beginning statement (which influences all their research). They are focused on droplets (larger particles). Do masks help stop droplets? Yes. The question is are droplets the main route of transmission for Covid?
If all their science is based on droplet transmission and droplet transmission is not the primary method Sars-Cov-2 spreads then we can safely ignore any study that focuses on droplet transmission. Is that not a logical conclusion?