Data From 2020 On Mask Usage Provides Yet Another Example Showing Masks Don't Work

It hasn't been that long since the collective public health establishment decided, without evidence, that wearing masks would stop COVID. 

Just five years ago, Anthony Fauci, the CDC, and their media partners demanded the proliferation of mask mandates. Then demanded public compliance with those mask mandates. In May 2020, one Vanity Fair article was clear and specific in its claims about the efficacy of masking. 

Headlined "If 80% of Americans Wore Masks, COVID-19 Infections Would Plummet, New Study Says," the writer plainly states that more masking would cut infections down to 1/12th the then-current level. 

Anthony Fauci was clear in his expectations too. In late 2020, he told KQED, the Bay Area's PBS affiliate, that he had "no doubt" that "uniform mask wearing" would "make a difference."

"I think initially you may think you’re seeing the same result, but when it really plays out, there’s no doubt in my mind that … uniform mask wearing, distancing, avoiding crowds or the kinds of shutdowns that you’re talking about, it does make a difference and you should be assured of that," he said.

Even better, he called out the importance of comparing locations with and without masking to show that difference.

"…When you compare those states, those cities, those locations that implemented significant public health measures…and compare it with a comparable state, city, town, location…there's no doubt that when you mitigate…it does make a difference."

Well, thanks to a new analysis of data published by the New York Times, we can see that Fauci, and his friends at Vanity Fair, had already been proven wrong. They just didn't notice, and didn't care. 

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 13: U.S. President Joe Biden holds a mask as he gives remarks on his administration's response to the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country from the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on January 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. During the remarks President Biden urged unvaccinated individuals to seek the vaccine and highlighted his plan to distribute free COVID-19 tests and masks to the American people. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Here's How We Can Show Masks Didn't Work

It's one of the most important questions: do masks work? Do masks work when worn by the general population in order to stop or lower transmission of a highly infectious respiratory virus? If 98-100% of people wear them, will there be a noticeable difference? It's vitally important to know the truth about this policy, in order to inform future decision-making. It was even more vital in 2020, when policies and mandates were being rolled out. Then promoted and defended by a committed class within media, public health and politics. 

As Fauci said, it's important and valuable to compare locations that had high levels of masking to those that didn't. 

So here's what we can do to provide more answers when it comes to this all-important question. The New York Times continues to host their GitHub, a repository of data, through their COVID tracking page. In it, they have the full results of a survey on mask usage, with data down to the county level. 

These results were taken from July 2020, when Fauci and the CDC's campaign of misinformation had fully taken hold. Masking had become "The Single Most Important Thing We Can Do To Stop COVID." And as you'd expect, masking had become a near religion among a certain subset of the population. 

Here's how this works: take the survey data, look at the counties that had the most masking, those with the highest percentage of respondents that frequently or always wore masks, and take their population-adjusted case rate during the same time period as the survey. 

Then, do the same for the counties where respondents had the lowest percentage of frequently or always masking. For example, the "most masked" counties were those where 98-100% of those surveyed said they fell into the frequently or always bucket. If masks were effective, and important, it would be obvious that this level of masking led to significantly better results. Stands to reason, right? Masks lead to lower COVID transmission. Therefore, counties with more masking would have better outcomes.

Well, here's the chart comparing those two sets of counties and their case rates from July 2020, unlabeled.  

Impossible to tell which is which, isn't it? If the total case rates seem similar, it's because they are. And believe it or not, the most consistently masked counties had a higher overall case rate than the least masked. 12.7 per 100k for the more compliant counties to 12.4 per 100k. Those are very close, obviously, but that's the point. 

If masks were effective, if they were as effective as the experts and their partners in the media claimed they were, this chart would not be possible. It would show, clearly, that when 98-100% of a population wears masks, there is a marked, obvious, visible difference in outcomes. Specifically the spread of the virus, which is what we were told would happen.

Especially compared to counties where mask usage was in the 40's, in the 50's. Remember, we were told repeatedly during the pandemic that the reason mask mandates weren't working is that not enough people were wearing them. Vanity Fair's article on it said that masking in the 40 percent range wouldn't be enough. Well, here's the example of the counties where "not enough" people were wearing them. 

And what we see, as always, is that there's no difference whatsoever in the rate of COVID spread. In the percentage of residents infected. All during a time period where we have measured survey data on masking compliance. 

What makes this especially frustrating is that, again, this data is from the summer of 2020. We knew almost immediately, just a few months after the start of the pandemic and associated restrictions, that masks were not going to stop or even limit transmission. And it raises an even more important point; if an outsider can pull this data together from multiple sources, why did nobody else do this? Why was nobody interested in getting answers to an important question years ago, when it mattered?  

In some states like California, general mask mandates continued well into 2022, nearly two years later. In some extremist California counties, mask mandates in healthcare settings are still in place every winter and into spring. Not because there's any evidence they work, or because of an increased threat of COVID spread. Just because health "experts" and medical officials have decided they want to.

That's the legacy of COVID restrictions; heavily promoted ineffective policies demanded by an incompetent "expert" and political class. Ignoring data that proves those heavily promoted restrictions wrong. Then continuing the policies indefinitely, causing immeasurable harm in the process. 

We can prove them wrong. We did way back in 2020.