Anthony Fauci continues to mislead about masking, as CNN confronts him (amazing video)

It works for individuals but not populations, is his new line, but, this too, lacks data

During the pandemic, I have closely read the literature on masking, and in 2021, we published a 60 page working paper with 300 references that community masking doesn’t work. Our analysis included cloth, surgical and n95 masks— there was and is no evidence to justify any community recommendation for any mask. Especially for kids.

Recently, Cochrane validated this, and found no evidence to support masking adults. Yet, all these years, Anthony Fauci repeatedly went on TV, and falsely claimed masking works, including cloth masks—which demonstrably don’t work, contradicted by multiple randomized trials.

Now, on CNN, Fauci is challenged. Please watch this amazing 1 minute video, link below. Fauci is directly confronted with the recent Cochrane review. Then consider his answer.

https://twitter.com/TheEliKlein/status/1698154471375646857?s=20

Fauci’s answer is that masks work for individuals, but not at the population level. But this is bizarre. He advocated for mask mandates at the population level. If he knew they did not work, why did he encourage them for populations? Moreover, even this week, he continues to advocate for them— at a population level.

Does the CDC’s population advice improve health outcomes? No. That is literally the question. Instead it gives the false idea that these recommendations are anything better than slaughtering a goat to ward off infection.

How would one prove that masks work for individuals?

The best way would be to do a trial where everyone is asked to wear masks. Anyone who is not fully compliant is excluded, and compliant people are randomized to continue wearing or discontinue them. Then, outcomes are measured at 3, 6, and 12 months.

I am confident there will be no difference in sars-cov-2 acquisition (as measured by Ab titers) in such an experiment. Even selecting for compliant people cannot select for perfect compliance, as the time horizon is extended, the risk of COVID will approach 100%. HRQoL could be a secondary outcome, and likely persistent masking will lose by this metric, as in itself it is uncomfortable— a disutility.

Fauci’s claim that it works for individuals is merely a rhetorical gambit to avoid admitting that he was wrong, and fueled a polarized issue at a time of crisis. There is no evidence it works for individuals. There is no evidence sars-cov-2 can be avoided indefinitely, and there is no evidence that mask wearing means you are less likely to report the subjective symptoms of long covid at any time point.

Why Fauci failed as a scientist

Fauci was head of NIAID, which has a multibillion dollar budget to run trials. If he had merely used his gravitas to run a series of cluster RCTs— we would know the answer, whether or not mask advice works and under what circumstance. We could have had more information on harms and on children.

Instead, Fauci has given thousands of television interviews, from a room adorned with his photograph, making claim after claim— all of which are unsupported. As people increasingly are willing to embrace the truth— that community masking never had good data and should have been tested with RCTs rather than mindlessly coerced— he has had to back peddle. But he is still unwilling to be honest. He still makes things up.

This is sad to witness as someone who once admired him. His historical legacy will be terrible. As time goes on, more people will see how greatly he erred.