An article from One America News Network shared thousands of times on Facebook claims that a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found face masks do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is false; the research examined the effectiveness of mask mandates, not masks, finding that state-issued orders requiring face coverings were linked to a decreased growth rate in COVID-19 cases and deaths, and a CDC spokeswoman said masks are very effective against the deadly illness.
The CDC has admitted face masks do little to prevent the spread of COVID-19 amid mounting pressure to lift mask mandates across the U.S. In a new study, the CDC found face masks had a negligible impact on coronavirus numbers that didn’t exceed statistical margins of error.
The study found that between March and December 2020, face mask orders reduced infection rates by 1.5 percent over the rolling periods of two months each. The masks were 0.5 percent effective in the first 20 days of the mandates and less than 2 percent effective after 100 days. The CDC added it still recommends wearing face masks, although it admitted such mandates do not make any statistical difference. In the meantime, some states across the nation have slowly returned to normalcy by putting an end to mask mandates.
The network, a favorite of former president Donald Trump, was suspended from YouTube for a week in November 2020 for falsely claiming there is a cure for COVID-19, and its article on the CDC study is part of a broader trend of inaccurate information about face masks and their impact on curbing the spread of the disease.
State-issued mask mandates were in effect in more than 2,300 US counties during the March-December 2020 period under review. “It is important to note that the study did not examine the effectiveness of masks,” a CDC spokeswoman, told AFP by email. OAN claimed the study found that “face masks had a negligible impact on coronavirus numbers that didn’t exceed statistical margins of error.” This is incorrect. The study showed, and the spokeswoman confirmed, that the findings related to mask mandates were statistically meaningful.
Though, abiding by the COVID-19 regulations might not completely eradicate the virus in the span of a few months, but can help reduce the number of cases by a considerable amount and thus, it must be strictly followed.
