The statement
“The existing scientific evidences challenge the safety and efficacy of wearing facemasks as preventive intervention for COVID-19. The data suggest that both medical and non-medical facemasks are ineffective to block human-to-human transmission of viral and infectious disease such SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, supporting against the usage of facemasks. Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated to have substantial adverse physiological and psychological effects. These include hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of breath, increased acidity and toxicity, activation of fear and stress response, rise in stress hormones, immunosuppression, fatigue, headaches, decline in cognitive performance, predisposition for viral and infectious illnesses, chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Long-term consequences of wearing facemask can cause health deterioration, developing and progression of chronic diseases and premature death. Governments, policy makers and health organizations should utilize prosper and scientific evidence-based approach with respect to wearing facemasks, when the latter is considered as preventive intervention for public health.”
The source
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7680614/
Author Baruch Vainshelboim PhD is an exercise physiologist in the Cardiology Division, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA. The article ‘comprehensively summarizes scientific evidences with respect to wearing facemasks in the COVID-19 era, providing prosper information for public health and decisions making.’ It demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that face masks have absolutely zero chance of preventing the spread of Covid-19.
The study was posted on the National Center for Biotechnological Information government website. The NCBI is a branch of the National Institute for Health. Despite this, any reference to the study’s ‘contra-narrative’ findings appears to attract the censorial wrath of dominant social media platforms. I found it via Telegram and the American Conservative Movement website.
My take on it
The article describes itself accurately, in my view, as a comprehensive summary of relevant scientific evidence; which makes it useful to anyone who is still trying to work out what to believe about masks. (Provided of course that they can find the artricle in the first place!)
The evidence suggests that masks (not only) fail to achieve the intended result, but (also) contribute to a whole range of adverse health outcomes.
Summary? Ineffective, and unsafe.