Mask Studies

Updated: 8/9/2020

Holland says they don't help. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html

Updated: 7/22/2020

I could not care less about "what experts say", that's killed too many people. That said, this is a good examination of the situation.

https://www.ftportfolios.com/Common/ContentFileLoader.aspx?ContentGUID=a9e49836-abc7-41cf-8949-4497ddee0018


Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) and the World Health Organization now recommend cloth masks for the general public, but earlier in the pandemic, both organizations recommended just the opposite. These shifting guidelines may have sowed confusion among the public about the utility of masks.

But health experts say the evidence is clear that masks can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and that the more people wearing masks, the better.
Very interesting modeling with some predictive verification.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2004.13553.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3gTZo2vwtO46f1-2IImMT8Cj5kv3lb_HWr1mdZC-MX8ZCYb9L6GrrGXAY


This is hard to study:


A recent study identified 10 RCTs that examined the effectiveness of facemasks on reducing influenza virus infection in the community from 1946-201811. The study
did not distinguish estimates by the type of mask but did examine masks in combination with hand hygiene. The RCTs were heterogeneous across community settings ranging from Hajj pilgrims, university and households settings. In

a pooled meta-analysis, the authors conclude that there was no significant reduction in influenza transmission with the use of face masks (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.51-1.20, p=0.25). But notably, the authors state that: “most studies were underpowered because of limited sample size, and some studies also reported suboptimal adherence in the face mask group.”
https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/set-c/set-c-facemasks.pdf?la=en-GB&hash=A22A87CB28F7D6AD9BD93BBCBFC2BB24


Masking works? Well, more masks are worn in areas with a high rate of infection - so did folks start wearing them too late? Or does the asian experience show masks don't work? What kind of masks did they wear? We don't know that much.
Asian countries that had previous experiences of the SARS outbreak experienced early and virtually universal mask usage. But, says Professor Mills, many other countries have seen a reversal of behaviour. She maintains, ‘There is a general assumption that countries such as the UK, which have no culture or history of mask wearing, will not rapidly adopt them. But this just doesn’t hold when we look at the data. As of late April, mask-wearing was up to 84% in Italy, 66% in the US and 64% in Spain, which increased almost immediately after clear policy recommendations and advice was given to the public.’
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-07-08-oxford-covid-19-study-face-masks-and-coverings-work-act-now?fbclid=IwAR0s0JqUa_YlRr89USs38LBYUxpr7upQfByhYCZjXYKb6twP3NUmEgeMi-8

Parts of this are really good, some already are outdated.
A study by John P A Ioannidis of Stanford University — according to the Einstein Foundation in Berlin one of the world’s ten most cited scientists — showed that immunity against Sars-Cov-2, measured in the form of antibodies, is much higher than previously thought. Ioannidis is certainly not a conspiracy theorist who just wants to swim against the stream; nontheless he is now being criticised, because the antibody tests used were not extremely precise. With that, his critics admit that they do not have such tests yet. And aside, John P A Ioannidis is such a scientific heavy-weight that all German virologists combined are a light-weight in comparison.

https://medium.com/@vernunftundrichtigkeit/coronavirus-why-everyone-was-wrong-fce6db5ba809