The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's own scientists conducted studies showing N95 respirators are no more effective at stopping viruses than surgical masks - yet the agency issued guidance contradicting those and other studies showing both types of masks are ineffective at stopping the spread of COVID-19, according to an investigation by independent journalist Paul D. Thacker.
Thacker said CDC scientists found no difference between N95 and surgical masks in the ability to stop the spread of respiratory viruses.
More evidence contradicting the CDC's public position came at a June 2023 CDC meeting in Atlanta, when Erin Stone, MPH, a public health analyst in the agency's Office of Guidelines and Evidence Review, presented the findings of a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of N95 respirators and surgical masks.
"Laboratory studies have demonstrated that FFRs provide greater protection against aerosols compared with surgical masks however, the results of clinical studies have been inconclusive," the CDC wrote, citing a 2019 study in JAMA comparing N95 respirators to masks.
Four years after the onset of the pandemic, the CDC now openly cheerleads for masks, despite research the agency published showing that masks don't really protect people from catching viruses, he said.
Thacker said his investigation shows that "In their guidance to the CDC, experts do recommend masks as part of what they call 'transmission-based guidance' which the CDC defines as a second tier of infection control." However, the CDC's own guidance also finds that masks are effective only for "Source control" - preventing an already infected person from infecting others.
"MMWR publications pertaining to masks drew positive conclusions about mask effectiveness >75% of the time despite only 30% testing masks and <15% having statistically significant results. No studies were randomized, yet over half drew causal conclusions."
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