<
https://theconversation.com/masks-work-our-comprehensive-review-has-found-229658>
"When a Texan farm worker caught bird flu from cattle recently, social media
was abuzz with rumours. While bird flu is not a human pandemic, scientists and
policymakers the world over are keen to prepare as best they can for when such
a pandemic emerges – a tricky task, given that science is messy, policy must be
pragmatic and people’s values don’t always align.
It’s time for masks to enter the chat. At the beginning of a pandemic caused by
a novel or newly mutated virus, there may be no vaccine, no firm knowledge
about how bad things will get and no specific treatment. Slowing transmission
until more is known will be critical.
Getting most people to wear a mask could nip the outbreak in the bud,
preventing a pandemic or lessening its impact. Wearing a mask is inconvenient,
but not as inconvenient as lockdowns.
But do masks work? A review of masks and respirators, that looked only at
clinical trials, concluded that there was not enough evidence to assess whether
mask wearing reduces the risk of spreading or contracting respiratory diseases.
However, we disagree with that.
The review, by the not-for-profit Cochrane Collaboration, failed to influence
recent guidance issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) in response to the troubling news of bird flu transmission to humans. The
CDC recommended well-fitting respirators – along with overalls and safety
goggles – for anyone working with potentially infected cattle until the bird
flu threat subsides.
Is this latest guidance based on sound evidence? According to our new review of
the evidence, yes. Like the Cochrane team, we pooled data from randomised
controlled trials (RCTs) and analysed the combined data – a so-called
meta-analysis.
Unlike them, we also examined non-RCT evidence, including dozens of laboratory
studies which showed that respiratory infections, including the common cold,
COVID, flu, measles and TB, spread mainly through the air."
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: May 23, 2024
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-104782141
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
