An overlooked study published recently by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that cloth face coverings or masks are mostly ineffective in preventing the spread of the Chinese coronavirus as promoted by public health officials.
The CDC conducted the study, largely ignored by the media, in the U.S. in July and made its findings public in September. It compared 154 “case-patients,” those who tested positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus disease), and a control group of 160 “control-participants,” those who were symptomatic but tested negative.
CDC researchers examined participants who reported wearing a cloth face covering or mask at least 14 days before illness onset, which falls into the incubation period of 2–14 days estimated by the agency.
The researchers found that 71 percent of the case-patients contracted the virus despite reporting “always” wearing a cloth face covering or mask at least 14 days before illness onset, and 14 percent contracted the virus despite reporting “often” wearing one at least 14 days before illness onset.
That indicates 85 percent of the COVID-19 study participants contracted the virus even after either always (71 percent) or often (14 percent) wearing a face covering or mask, suggesting the masks are not entirely effective at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
Additionally, the rate of COVID-19 patients who wore a mask mirrored the percentage of those who were showing symptoms but tested negative, suggesting that the masks did little to protect those who did not test positive from symptoms.
“In the 14 days before illness onset, 71% of case-patients and 74% of control-participants reported always using cloth face coverings or other mask types when in public,” the CDC reported.
Of the other positive patients who reported wearing a face covering or mask, seven percent did so “sometimes,” four percent “rarely,” and four percent “never.”
Acknowledging the limitations of the study, the CDC pointed out, “Adults in the study were from one of 11 participating health care facilities and might not be representative of the United States population.”
Notwithstanding the efforts of the 71 percent of patients who reported “always” wearing a mask, they still caught the highly contagious coronavirus.
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