Once Again, Masking DOESN’T Work Against Respiratory Illness
Another New Study to Add to the List, This Time Specific to Children
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The timing couldn’t be better. On the heels of my most recent post on the lack of reliability (incompetence or purposeful?) of CDC COVID-19 masking studies, comes a newly released peer-reviewed, systemic review of COVID-19 masking studies in children.
Surprise, they don’t work. Shocking results right.
The study was published in the British Medical Journal, Archives of Disease in Childhood on November 3, 2023, titled Child mask mandates for COVID-19: a systematic review.
In the introduction, the authors do a great job of citing the highest quality evidence from the past many decades showing that masks don’t work against respiratory virus transmission, while also pointing out that ethically, children should be treated as a protected class and not forced into anything that is not undoubtedly beneficial based on the highest quality of evidence.
That sets the stage for the study which provides a cost benefit analysis based on a systemic review of the 22 observational studies of mask effectiveness in children that the authors did, compared to the existing evidence of potential detrimental effects of masking.
The authors we able to find 22 observational studies on mask effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 in children. Of note, the authors found that there were no randomized clinical trial (RTC) studies on masking in children published. Remember that RTCs are one of the highest levels of scientific evidence.
When reviewing the 22 studies, the researchers used a standard measurement of bias called, standard risk of bias (ROB). They found that in all 22 studies there was problematic ROB. There was not one study that had a low risk of bias. Whether the studies reported positive or negative effectiveness, none of the studies should be used as evidence given the high probability of bias!
Digging a little deeper, 6 of the studies reported significant mask effectiveness; however, 5 of those studies had a critical level of ROB and 1 had serious ROB!
More specifically,
Additionally, the largest 3 of the 22 studies that had the lowest ROB, and 1 study with the highest level of internal controls did not show a benefit of masking.
So there we have it, as expected, no evidence that masks reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in children, same as with adults.
The authors then go on to outline the possible risks of wearing masks for children with supporting evidence, and there might be more risks than one may expect.
Masks can have negative impacts on speech, language, learning, anxiety and mood (exacerbated in special needs children), exercise tolerance, headaches, sick days, and can increased carbon dioxide content above what is recommended in standard workplace health and safety guidelines.
And finally, some scathing words from the authors in their conclusion.
Well now, those who said masking, or wearing masks around children was child abuse sure did have a point didn’t they.
And boy didn’t this one turn out to be spot on!