Hospitals reinstate mask mandates despite scientific evidence

Hospitals in at least five states have reintroduced mask mandates despite overwhelming scientific evidence challenging the efficacy of face masks.

Patients and staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston have been forced to wear masks since December 18th and will continue doing so indefinitely.

“We check a number of different data points, including rates of influenza-like illness, staff absenteeism, and emergency room visits and hospitalizations caused by respiratory viruses,” said the cancer center on its website. “We will lift the mask requirement when these data points  remain consistently lower.”

NYC Health + Hospitals in New York is also mandating masks in all its facilities.

“Masks are still required. COVID-19 and other respiratory infections continue to pose a threat to all New Yorkers,” the hospital group wrote on its website. “Protecting our patients, visitors and staff continues to be our priority. When you come in for an appointment or patient visit, please wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose and help us keep everyone safe.”

As of January 2nd, staff at Mass General Brigham in Massachusetts who interact with patients in clinical care settings are required to wear masks until respiratory illnesses drop. The state’s largest health system is also strongly encouraging patients and visitors to cover their faces.

MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington DC is also requiring staff to wear masks.

University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics are also requiring mask-wearing in their facilities.

Several hospitals throughout California have been forcing people to wear masks, though that is only a recent development for some. Hospitals in Santa Clara County, for example, have been requiring masks since April 2023 while Marin County has been forcing mask-wearing since November 1st. Yolo County recently reinstated its mask mandate in hospitals after detecting COVID-19 and RSV in wastewater, according to Newsweek.

“Our wastewater monitoring program is currently detecting high COVID-19 and RSV levels,” said Yolo County Public Health Officer Aimee Sisson. “I recommend that everybody in the community take steps to protect themselves from infection, including wearing a high-quality mask when indoors around others.”

The mandates come after the largest and first-rate studies found that masks are not effective at preventing respiratory illness.

Oxford University Senior Associate Tutor Dr. Tom Jefferson, MD, spearheaded a meta-study published last year by the highly regarded Cochrane Institute. Known as the “gold standard of evidence-based reviews,” this publication holds significant weight in the academic community. The study’s findings suggest that surgical masks, as well as N95 or P2 respirators, provide minimal, if any, defense against COVID-19.

Dr. Jefferson and his team examined a collection of 78 global studies, encompassing a staggering sample size of over 600,000 individuals. Notably, the studies they examined were randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies, widely regarded as top-tier research and the gold standard in scientific methodology.

“There is just no evidence that they make any difference,” Dr. Jefferson said in an interview last year. “Full stop. My job, our job as a review team, was to look at the evidence, we have done that. Not just for masks. We looked at hand washing, sterilisation, goggles, etcetera…”

Based on the current data, there is a lack of randomized controlled trials demonstrating substantial effectiveness of masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Jefferson has so deduced that public health authorities such as Fauci “were convinced by nonrandomized studies, flawed observational studies.”

Dr. Jefferson clarified that his Cochrane study aimed to discern the “trash studies” on masks and scrutinize those that adhered to scientific criteria.

“It might be that Fauci is relying on trash studies,” Dr. Jefferson suggested. “Many of them are observational, some are cross-sectional, and some actually use modelling. That is not strong evidence.”

The Oxford researcher expressed his uncertainty over the reasons behind Fauci and others’ insistence on promoting the use of masks, despite scientific evidence that contradicts their stance.

“Could it be part of this whole agenda to control people’s behaviour? Perhaps,” he speculated.

“What I do know is that Fauci was in a position to run a trial, he could have randomised two regions to wear masks or not. But he didn’t and that’s unforgivable,” Dr. Jefferson added.