Trish Greenhalgh
A
1. Thread on masks (also posted on Twitter). Addresses:
- Why so much controversy?
- Airborne transmission
- RCTs of masks – strengths/limitations, community, healthcare settings
- Meta-analyses – gold standard or lazy lumping?
- Non-RCT evidence – why is it needed, what does it show?
- AOB
09:16 AM - Feb 26, 2023
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Trish Greenhalgh
A
In response to Trish Greenhalgh.
2. Before I start, here’s my OLD mask thread from Twitter July 21, which ran to >100 tweets. Some of that is now rather dated but a lot still holds. I’ll paste the best from that into this new thread. Will take a while (~100 total)
https://twitter.com/trishg...
09:17 AM - Feb 26, 2023
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Trish Greenhalgh
A
3. WHY IS MASKING SO CONTROVERSIAL?
First, ‘masks’ and ‘masking’ are very broad terms. They cover different technologies (cloth, medical, respirator), wearers (public, patient, healthcare worker), settings (low v high risk) and requirements (mandated v free choice).
In response to Trish Greenhalgh.
09:18 AM - Feb 26, 2023
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Trish Greenhalgh
A
In response to Trish Greenhalgh.
4. WHY CONTROVERSIAL?
Because of this multiplicity, statements like “masks [don’t] work” may be referring to very different interventions in different populations for different activities at different times, not to mention different diseases. The literature, in short, is a mess.
09:18 AM - Feb 26, 2023
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Trish Greenhalgh
A
In response to Trish Greenhalgh.
5. WHY CONTROVERSIAL?
Second, masking is a cultural practice as well as a public health intervention. It has symbolic meaning. Pirates and burglars wear masks. To some, masking means you’re a ‘pansy’, ‘sheep’ etc. Masking offends libertarians.
https://www.bmj.com/conten...
09:19 AM - Feb 26, 2023
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