Masks
Civil Liberties
Not wearing a mask is a flashpoint for being a free human being.
Mask-Myths Video: Dr. Merritt
This is the mask video to watch!
Science of Masks
The quick and dirty facts to tell the nonbelievers in your life.
More Research
Awesome research paper - know all the facts the scientists do.
Even More Research
73 pages of scientific studies on masks.
Stanford Mask Study
Masks don’t work. (Obviously. Then the corruption hit.)
Danish Study
3.000 masked and 3.000 unmasked. What happened?
Mask Data
| Article Name | Date | Synopsis | Source/Cite | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physio-metabolic and clinical consequences of wearing face masks-Systematic review with meta-analysis and comprehensive evaluation | 04/05/2023 | This report reviewed 2,168 studies and found masks cause headaches, itching and lower oxygen intake. | N/A - This study was recently reported in April 9, 2023 Epoch Times https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/masks-cause-headaches-itching-and-lower-oxygen-intake-study_5181866.html?utm_source=Goodevening&src_src=Goodevening&utm_campaign=gv-2023-04-10&src_cmp=gv-2023-04-10&utm_medium=email&est=U9Zg%2BVnarw%2FkSU%2BLWlWWJbkcyU3jumqy1gb10jyYJvc8uVg4jtQv%2BofVGnE6BT0%3D | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1125150/full |
| Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses | 01/30/2022 | There were no clear differences between the use of medical/surgical masks compared with N95/P2 respirators in healthcare workers when used in routine care to reduce respiratory viral infection. Hand hygiene is likely to modestly reduce the burden of respiratory illness. | Jefferson T, Dooley L, Ferroni E, Al-Ansary LA, van Driel ML, Bawazeer GA, Jones MA, Hoffmann TC, Clark J, Beller EM, Glasziou PP, Conly JM. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD006207. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6. Accessed 11 April 2023. | https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full |
| Surgical masks as source of bacterial contamination during operative procedures | 07/27/2018 | This study provides strong evidence that bacterial contamination occurs on surgical masks during operative procedures. | Zhiqing L, Yongyun C, Wenxiang C, Mengning Y, Yuanqing M, Zhenan Z, Haishan W, Jie Z, Kerong D, Huiwu L, Fengxiang L, Zanjing Z. Surgical masks as source of bacterial contamination during operative procedures. J Orthop Translat. 2018 Jun 27;14:57-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jot.2018.06.002. PMID: 30035033; PMCID: PMC6037910. | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6037910/ |
| Universal Masking in Hospitals in the COVID-19 Era | 05/01/2020 | Masks are ineffectual as well as serving as mere "symbols" and "talismans." **Per the researchers:** 1. "We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection."; 2. "Although such reactions may not be strictly logical, we are all subject to fear and anxiety, especially during times of crisis. One might argue that fear and anxiety are better countered with data and education than with a marginally beneficial mask."; and 3. "It is also clear that masks serve symbolic roles. Masks are not only tools, [but] they are also talismans that may help increase health care workers perceived sense of safety, well-being, and trust in their hospitals." | N Engl J Med 2020; 382:e63; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2006372 | https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmp2006372 |
| Is a Mask That Covers the Mouth and Nose Free from Undesirable Side Effects in Everyday Use and Free of Potential Hazards? | 04/20/2021 | Researchers identified a plethora of psychological and physical harms of masks they classified as Mass-Induced Exhaustion Syndrome (MIES). | Kisielinski K, Giboni P, Prescher A, Klosterhalfen B, Graessel D, Funken S, Kempski O, Hirsch O. Is a Mask That Covers the Mouth and Nose Free from Undesirable Side Effects in Everyday Use and Free of Potential Hazards? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 20;18(8):4344. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084344. PMID: 33923935; PMCID: PMC8072811. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33923935/ |
| Masks, false safety and real dangers, Part 1: Friable mask particulate and lung vulnerability | n/a | Face masks should not be worn by healthy individuals to protect themselves from acquiring respiratory infection because there is no evidence to suggest that face masks worn by healthy individuals are effective in preventing people from becoming ill. | Childrens Health Defense | https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/Masks-false-safety-and-real-dangers-Part-1-Friable-mask-particulate-and-lung-vulnerability.pdf |
| Masks, false safety and real dangers, Part 2: Microbial challenges from masks | Boris Borovoy et al. notes that masks are not only ineffective, but they increase the risk of fungal infections in the lungs caused by inhaling fungal fibers attached to the masks and laboratory testing of used masks from 20 train commuters revealed that 11 of the 20 masks tested contained over 100,000 bacterial colonies. Molds and yeasts were also found. Three of the masks contained more than one million bacterial colonies The outside surfaces of surgical masks were found to have high levels of the following microbes, even in hospitals, more concentrated on the outside of masks than in the environment. Staphylococcus species (57%) and Pseudomonas spp (38%) were predominant among bacteria, and Penicillium spp (39%) and Aspergillus spp. (31%) were the predominant fungi. | Childrens Health Defense | https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/Masks-false-safety-and-real-dangers-Part-2-Microbial-challenges-from-masks.pdf | |
| SARS-CoV-2 Transmission among Marine Recruits during Quarantine | 12/17/2020 | Our study showed that in a group of predominantly young male military recruits, approximately 2% became positive for SARS-CoV-2, as determined by qPCR assay, during a 2-week, strictly enforced quarantine. Multiple, independent virus strain transmission clusters were identifiedall recruits wore double-layered cloth masks at all times indoors and outdoors. | N Engl J Med 2020; 383:2407-2416 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2029717 | https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2029717 |
| Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses | 01/30/2023 | There is low certainty evidence from nine trials (3507 participants) that wearing a mask may make little or no difference to the outcome of influenza-like illness (ILI) compared to not wearing a mask (risk ratio (RR) 0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82 to 1.18. There is moderate certainty evidence that wearing a mask probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of laboratory-confirmed influenza compared to not wearing a mask (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.26; 6 trials; 3005 participants)the pooled results of randomised trials did not show a clear reduction in respiratory viral infection with the use of medical/surgical masks during seasonal influenza. | Jefferson T, Dooley L, Ferroni E, Al-Ansary LA, van Driel ML, Bawazeer GA, Jones MA, Hoffmann TC, Clark J, Beller EM, Glasziou PP, Conly JM. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2023, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD006207. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6. Accessed 18 March 2023. | https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full |
| Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare SettingsPersonal Protective and Environmental Measures | 05/01/2020 | Evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenzanone of the household studies reported a significant reduction in secondary laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the face mask groupthe overall reduction in ILI or laboratory-confirmed influenza cases in the face mask group was not significant in either studies. | Xiao J, Shiu E, Gao H, Wong JY, Fong MW, Ryu S, et al. Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare SettingsPersonal Protective and Environmental Measures. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26 https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2605.190994 | https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article |
| N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Personnel | 09/03/2019 | As worn by health care personnel in this trial, use of N95 respirators, compared with medical masks, in the outpatient setting resulted in no significant difference in the rates of laboratory-confirmed influenza. | Radonovich LJ, Simberkoff MS, Bessesen MT, et al. N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preventing Influenza Among Health Care Personnel: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2019;322(9):824833. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.11645 | https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2749214 |
| Non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza | 2020 | Ten RCTs were included in the meta-analysis, and there was no evidence that face masks are effective in reducing transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. | WHO Suggested Citation: Non-pharmaceutical public health measures for mitigating the risk and impact of epidemic and pandemic influenza; 2019. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. | https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329438/9789241516839-eng.pdf?ua=1 |
| The Strangely Unscientific Masking of America | 11/27/2020 | One report reached its conclusion based on observations of a dummy head attached to a breathing simulator. Another analyzed use of surgical masks on people experiencing at least two symptoms of acute respiratory illness. Incidentally, not one of these studies involved cloth masks or accounted for real-world mask usage (or misusage) among lay people, and none established efficacy of widespread mask-wearing by people not exhibiting symptoms. There was simply no evidence whatsoever that healthy people ought to wear masks when going about their lives, especially outdoors. | American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) | https://www.aier.org/article/the-strangely-unscientific-masking-of-america/ |
| The Year of Disguises, by Roger W. Koops | 10/16/2020 | The healthy people in our society should not be punished for being healthy, which is exactly what lockdowns, distancing, mask mandates, etc. doChildren should not be wearing face coverings. We all need constant interaction with our environments and that is especially true for children. This is how their immune system develops. They are the lowest of the low-risk groups. Let them be kids and let them develop their immune systems The Mask Mandate idea is a truly ridiculous, knee-jerk reaction and needs to be withdrawn and thrown in the waste bin of disastrous policy, along with lockdowns and school closures. You can vote for a person without blindly supporting all of their proposals! | American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) | https://www.aier.org/article/the-year-of-disguises/ |
| Is a mask necessary in the operating theatre? | 1981 | It would appear that minimum contamination can best be achieved by not wearing a mask at all but operating in silence. Whatever its relation to contamination, bacterial counts, or the dissemination of squames, there is no direct evidence that the wearing of masks reduces wound infection. | Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (1981) vol. 63 | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493952/pdf/annrcse01509-0009.pdf |
| Mask mandate and use efficacy for COVID-19 containment in US States | 08/07/2021 | Mask mandates and use are not associated with slower state-level COVID-19 spread during COVID-19 growth surges. | medRxiv | https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.18.21257385v2 |
| Twenty Reasons Mandatory Face Masks are Unsafe, Ineffective and Immoral, by John C.A. Manley | 01/23/2021 | A CDC-funded review on masking in May 2020 came to the conclusion: Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza None of the household studies reported a significant reduction in secondary laboratory-confirmed influenza virus infections in the face mask group. If masks cant stop the regular flu, how can they stop SAR-CoV-2? | GlobalResearch | https://www.globalresearch.ca/twenty-reasons-mandatory-face-masks-are-unsafe-ineffective-and-immoral/5735171 |
| A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers | 04/22/2015 | Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection. And However, as a precautionary measure, cloth masks should not be recommended for HCWs, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated. | MacIntyre CR, Seale H, Dung TC, Hien NT, Nga PT, Chughtai AA, Rahman B, Dwyer DE, Wang Q. A cluster randomised trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers. BMJ Open. 2015 Apr 22;5(4):e006577. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006577. PMID: 25903751; PMCID: PMC4420971. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25903751/ |
| 47 studies confirm ineffectiveness of masks for COVID and 32 more confirm their negative health effects | 07/23/2021 | No studies were needed to justify this practice since most understood viruses were far too small to be stopped by the wearing of most masks, other than sophisticated ones designed for that task and which were too costly and complicated for the general public to properly wear and keep changing or cleaning. It was also understood that long mask wearing was unhealthy for wearers for common sense and basic science reasons. | Life Site News | https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/47-studies-confirm-inefectiveness-of-masks-for-covid-and-32-more-confirm-their-negative-health-effects/ |
| Face mask waste generation and management during the COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of the Peruvian case | 05/08/2021 | This Peruvian study concluded plastic masks take decades to degrade; adversely affect the food chain (are ingested by or injure and kill marine species); and contain a host of toxic microplastics that bioaccumulate in human health, and are toxic to the environment. | Torres FG, De-la-Torre GE. Face mask waste generation and management during the COVID-19 pandemic: An overview and the Peruvian case. Sci Total Environ. 2021 Sep 10;786:147628. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147628. Epub 2021 May 8. PMCID: PMC8105123. | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8105123/ |
| Are used face masks handled as infectious waste? Novel pollution driven by the COVID-19 pandemic | 05.2022 | Masks influenced plastic-related waste pollution and pose deleterious ecological and environmental impact. | N/A | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667378921000110 |
| Mandatory Masking of School Children is a Bad Idea | 07/16/2021 | Masking is a psychological stressor for children and disrupts learning; children lose ability to communicate nonverbally and wearing them increases anxiety and depression. | By Neeraj Sood, PhD and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, USC University of Southern California | https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/article/mandatory-masking-of-school-children-is-a-bad-idea/ |
| Masks Dont Work A review of science relevant to COVID-19 social policy | 04.2020 | Masks and respirators do not work. | Denis G. Rancourt, PhD, Researcher, Ontario Civil Liberties Associate (ocla.ca) | https://vixra.org/pdf/2006.0044v1.pdf |
| These 12 Graphs Show Mask Mandates Do Nothing To Stop COVID | 02/03/2021 | No matter how strictly mask laws are enforced or the level of compliance, cases of COVID-19 fall and rise around the same time. Masks dehumanize us and ironically serve as a constant reminder that we should be afraid. | Yinon Weiss, tech entrepreneur, US Military veteran, degree in bioengineering from U.C. Berkely. | https://www.ndlegis.gov/assembly/67-2021/testimony/HPOLSUB-1323-20210204-5275-F-SEELY_BRADLEY.pdf |
| Masks dont work, are damaging health and are being used to control population: Doctors panel | 02/19/2021 | Drs. Tenpenny, Nepute, Popper formed a panel to discuss issues of masks (and vaccines) to highlight errors in the mainstream media narrative. They note there is no data or research to support masks are beneficial, and to the contrary they actually undermine human health, and are used as a means to control the populace. | LifeSite | https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/masks-dont-work-are-damaging-health-and-are-being-used-to-control-population-doctors-panel/ |
| An Evidence Based Scientific Analysis of Why Masks are Ineffective, Unnecessary, and Harmful | 11/20/2020 | Despite mixed messages from so called experts, absolutely NO NEW research appeared to counter the forty years of meta-analyses and systemic reviews of many randomized controlled trials that concluded that masks dont work to prevent the transmission of upper respiratory viruses. | Jim Meehan, MD, ophthalmologist and preventive medicine specialist with over 20 years of experience. | https://www.meehanmd.com/blog/post/173679/an-evidence-based-scientific-analysis-of-why-masks-are-ineffective-unnecessary-and-harmful |
| Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19, Interim Guidance, World Health Organization | 06/05/2020 | Per the WHO, the use of a mask alone is insufficient to provide an adequate level of protection, and other measures should be adopted. | World Health Organization | https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332293/WHO-2019-nCov-IPC_Masks-2020.4-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |
| Effects of mask-wearing on the inhalability and deposition of airborne SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in human upper airway | 12/01/2020 | This study demonstrates that masks reducing viral loads in respiratory tract is unclear. | Xi J, Si XA, Nagarajan R. Effects of mask-wearing on the inhalability and deposition of airborne SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in human upper airway. Phys Fluids (1994). 2020 Dec 1;32(12):123312. doi: 10.1063/5.0034580. PMID: 33362401; PMCID: PMC7757581. | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7757581/ |
| Mask mandate and use efficacy for COVID-19 containment in US States | 08/07/2021 | There is no observation between mask mandates reducing COVID-19 spread in US | CITATION TOOLS Mask mandate and use efficacy for COVID-19 containment in US States Damian D. Guerra, Daniel J. Guerra medRxiv 2021.05.18.21257385; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.18.21257385] This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed [what does this mean?. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice. | https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.18.21257385v2.full.pdf |
| Maximizing Fit for Cloth and Medical Procedure Masks to Improve Performance and Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and Exposure, 2021 | 02/19/2021 | Per a double-blind, double-masking simulation, the findings of these simulations [supporting mask usage] should neither be generalized to the effectiveness nor interpreted as being representative of the effectiveness of these masks when worn in real-world settings. | Brooks JT, Beezhold DH, Noti JD, et al. Maximizing Fit for Cloth and Medical Procedure Masks to Improve Performance and Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and Exposure, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:254257. DOI: http://httpdx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7007e1 | https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7007e1.htm?s_cid=mm7007e1_w |
| Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource Consumption and Mortality at the County Level | 09/03/2021 | There was no reduction in per-population daily mortality, hospital bed, ICU bed, or ventilator occupancy of COVID-19-positive patients attributable to the implementation of a mask-wearing mandate. | Schauer SG, Naylor JF, April MD, Carius BM, Hudson IL. Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource Consumption and Mortality at the County Level. South Med J. 2021 Sep;114(9):597-602. doi: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001294. PMID: 34480194; PMCID: PMC8395971. | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8395971/ |
| Protective Face Masks: Effect on the Oxygenation and Heart Rate Status of Oral Surgeons during Surgery | 02/28/2021 | Wearing a mask induces a reduction in circulating oxygen concentrations without clinical relevance, while an increase of heart frequency and a sensation of shortness of breath, light-headedness/headaches were recorded. | Scarano A, Inchingolo F, Rapone B, Festa F, Tari SR, Lorusso F. Protective Face Masks: Effect on the Oxygenation and Heart Rate Status of Oral Surgeons during Surgery. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 28;18(5):2363. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052363. PMID: 33670983; PMCID: PMC7967725. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33670983/#:~:text=Conclusions%3A%20In%20conclusion%2C%20wearing%20an,%2Dheadedness%2Fheadaches%20were%20recorded. |
| Effects of surgical and FFP2/N95 face masks on cardiopulmonary exercise capacity | 12.2020 | This study concluded, Ventilation, cardiopulmonary exercise capacity and comfort are reduced by surgical masks and highly impaired by FFP2/N95 face masks in healthy individuals. These data are important for recommendations on wearing face masks at work or during physical exercise. | Fikenzer S, Uhe T, Lavall D, Rudolph U, Falz R, Busse M, Hepp P, Laufs U. Effects of surgical and FFP2/N95 face masks on cardiopulmonary exercise capacity. Clin Res Cardiol. 2020 Dec;109(12):1522-1530. doi: 10.1007/s00392-020-01704-y. Epub 2020 Jul 6. PMID: 32632523; PMCID: PMC7338098. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32632523/ |
| Health Canada issues advisory for disposable masks with graphene | 04/02/2021 | Health Canada advised Canadians in a public advisory message starting July 13, 2021 not to use face masks that contain graphene as wearers could inhale a single layer of carbon atoms. | N/A | https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/graphene-face-masks |
| COVID-19: Performance study of microplastic inhalation risk posed by wearing masks | 06/05/2021 | Surgical cotton, fashion, and activated carbon mask wearing pose higher fiber-like microplastic inhalation while all masks generally reduced exposure when under their supposed time (<4 h). N95 poses less microplastic inhalation risk. | Li L, Zhao X, Li Z, Song K. COVID-19: Performance study of microplastic inhalation risk posed by wearing masks. J Hazard Mater. 2021 Jun 5;411:124955. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124955. Epub 2020 Dec 30. PMID: 33445045; PMCID: PMC7773316. | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33445045/ |
| Medical Masks | 03/04/2020 | Per this issue in JAMA, "Face masks should not be worn by healthy individuals to protect themselves from acquiring respiratory infection because there is no evidence to suggest that face masks worn by healthy individuals are effective in preventing people from becoming ill." | Desai AN, Mehrotra P. Medical Masks.?JAMA.?2020;323(15):15171518. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2331 | https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2762694 |