That this was such a focus of our pandemic response and the evidentiary basis still this murky is really just 🤯

This is the gold standard randomized controlled trial showing no real effect on virus suppression 🥴 https://t.co/HA40BFOyoe

— Angie Schmitt🚶‍♀️ (@schmangee) February 7, 2023

I suspect face masks do work a bit, and worked a lot better against less-transmissible variants of Covid. However, they are not the 10,000m of lead shielding the mask-obsessed imagine them to be — and poorly-worn and/or cloth masks are nearly useless against Omicron.

Under ideal conditions, with a great fit and worn properly, N95 masks probably provide significant protection. But how often does that happen? Not that frequently. Thus, the real answer is not masking but air sanitation. We don’t seem much interested in that, though.