Researchers have found that a mask mandate in West Virginia did nothing to stop Covid outbreaks and is correlated with a rise in cases.
In West Virginia, the number of recorded Covid cases increased from 45 cases per million residents when the mask mandate was ordered on July 6 to 95 per million in late August.
Rational Ground, a research group that used publicly available data to create these graphs and charts, released the graph showing the proliferation of new Covid cases following mask mandates.
The group said its findings underpin already existing studies showing mask usage is essentially useless. Rational Ground used Sweden and Israel as base models from which to study other geographic areas.
Sweden took nearly no precautions. While other countries were requiring masks, Covid infection rates in Sweden followed a telltale bell curve present in all other models.
In Israel, officials took the pandemic and mask mandate to an extreme. The country mandated masks early on in the pandemic on April 12 and escalated mask mandates by adding fines and restrictions. Israel just went into a second lockdown after an infection rate spike in mid-September. Meanwhile, Sweden’s infection rate has normalized.
Rational Ground’s findings were backed up by another recent academic study revealing the majority of masks offer essentially no protection.
“Well, here’s a study that looked at this exact scenario,” Ian Miller, co-founder of Rational Ground, said on Twitter. “Hmm, what’s that? ‘Cloth masks were found to be ineffective’? So weird, I’ve been told they’re better than a vaccine .”
Rational Ground found in most scenarios a sharp spike in the number of Covid cases correlated with mask mandates.
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) recently said the CDC, WHO and NIH all moved too hastily toward masks and did not properly consult academic research.
“[They] recommend wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are hard to do (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies),” the AAPS wrote on its blog. “The recommendation was published without a single scientific paper or other information provided to support that cloth masks actually provide any respiratory protection.”
According to the AAPS, nearly all masks are ineffective, outside of the N-95 mask that is limited in quantity and regularly reserved for medical professionals. In fact, the AAPS found sweatshirts and towels used to cover one’s mouth were more effective than masks.
“Wearing masks (other than N-95) will not be effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, whether worn as source control or as PPE,” the AAPS statement reads.
Critics are questioning CDC Director Robert Redfield’s judgment when it comes to masks. The CDC still lists “cloth face coverings” as “a critical tool” in the pandemic.
Redfield infamously told Congress earlier this year that masks in general are more effective than a vaccine. He rolled back that claim shortly afterwards.
The CDC itself in May released findings regarding an influenza study that found masks did not work.
“[We] did not find evidence to support a protective effect of personal protective measures or environmental measures in reducing influenza transmission,” CDC researchers said in their summary.
Redfield’s tenure at the CDC has been rocky. As an appointee to the CDC, critics focused on rumors of his questionable history of involvement in the mid-1990s on an AIDS vaccine. One doctor working with him at the time called Redfield’s vaccine data either “sloppy” or “fabricated.”
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