If masks are to protect the health of the wearer and those around him or her, they don’t work. They do, however, serve another purpose. From Clayton J. Baker, M.D. at brownstone.org:
It is difficult to believe that Public HealthTM is trying to force America to mask up again, but here we are.
The question is, why?
The dirty secret is this: Masks don’t work by controlling the virus. Masks work by controlling the people.
If we’re talking about stopping the spread of the virus, masks simply don’t work.
But if we’re talking about stoking fear, instilling blind obedience to state authorities, sowing discord between citizens, and publicly “outing” skeptics and dissidents – in other words, creating an authoritarian, even totalitarian system of public health – then masks work very well indeed.
MASKS DON’T WORK AT CONTROLLING THE VIRUS
By this late date, it has been established beyond honest scientific doubt that masking is ineffective at stopping the contraction and spread of COVID-19. This is true both at the microscopic level and at the population level.
The early mask mandates regarding COVID-19 were largely “justified” on the assertion that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was not prone to airborne spread. However, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has since been proven to be an airborne virus (like influenza), meaning it can remain circulating in room air for extended periods of time, and spreads in this manner. SARS-CoV-2 viruses have also been proven to be much smaller in size than the holes in cloth and surgical masks.
Therefore, at a microscopic level, Harvey Risch is correct: trying to block the SARS-CoV-2 virus with a surgical mask is quite literally like trying to keep mosquitos out of your yard by erecting a chain-link fence.
