Microplastics in humans: After blood, scientists find traces in the lungs

by | May 15, 2022 | Health Blog, Newsdesk Blog

Scientists have found microplastics in many tissues in the body, including the lungs.
  • A study in lung tissue obtained from participants after surgery found microplastics in all lung regions, including in the deeper sections.
  • Researchers found 39 microplastics in 11 of the 13 lung tissue samples and 12 different types of microplastics.
  • Additional research is needed to determine the human health effects of microplastics.

Plastics are a common component in many items we use in everyday life. The United States alone generated approximately 36 million tons of plastic in 2018 but only recycled about 9%.

Additionally, plastics take a long time to degrade in landfills—anywhere from 100 to 1000 yearsTrusted Source—raising environmental and health concerns. Plastics can deteriorate into minute particles between 1 micrometer and 5 millimeters, called microplasticsTrusted Source

They are present in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the items we touch, and the food we eat. Microplastics are everywhere, making human exposure inevitable. A new study, published in the Science of the Total Environment, adds to the latest evidence.

Microplastics in human tissues

Plastic particles smaller than 20 micrometersTrusted Source, which are too small to be seen by the naked eye, can cross the cell membrane and accumulate in tissues. Previous research detected microplastics in the human colon, feces, placental tissue, human blood, and most recently, the lungs.

Dr. Fransien van Dijk, a researcher at the University of Groningen, explains in a 2019 Plastic Health Summit presentation, “Clothing textiles release micro and nanofibers to the environment. […] [In] the house where you live, approximately 20 kilograms of dust accumulates [per year], [of which] six kilograms [are] microplastic fibers, and because you spend most of the time indoors, this means that the exposure is pretty high.”

Microplastic exposure has been shown to cause inflammationTrusted Source, cell death, and DNA damage in laboratory animals and cell cultures. There is concern that toxicity to human cells from inhaled microplastic fibers may depend on the type of plastic, level of exposure, particle shape, size, absorbed pollutants, and leaching of additives present in plastics.

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School assessed the presence of microplastics in human lung tissue obtained following lung reduction surgery or lung cancer surgery.

Lung reduction surgery removes damaged tissue in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to improve lung function. Researchers used an analysis method called μFTIR spectroscopy to differentiate microplastics from non-microplastics.

μFTIR spectroscopy detected particles down to 3 micrometers in size.

Researchers used tissue samples taken from different lung areas after surgical procedures of 11 study participants at Castle Hill Hospital and Hull University Teaching Hospitals. 2 participants contributed 2 tissue samples from distinct lung areas.

45% of the study participants were female, with an average age of 63 years. Since microplastics are ubiquitous, the researchers used strict control measures to avoid and adjust for contamination.

Read more from original article: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/microplastics-in-humans-after-blood-scientists-find-traces-in-the-lungs

Face Masks Lead to Breathing Dangerous Levels of Carbon Dioxide Even When Sitting Still, Study Finds

by | May 15, 2022 | Health Blog, Newsdesk Blog, Public Speaking - Videos

By Will Jones  /  13 May 2022 • 07.00

Wearing a face mask results in exposure to dangerous concentrations of carbon dioxide in inhaled air, even when the mask is worn for just five minutes when sitting still, a study has found.

With surgical masks, the CO2 concentration of inhaled air exceeded the danger zone of 5,000 ppm in 40% of cases. With FFP2 respirators it exceeded it in 99% of cases. The CO2 concentrations were higher for children and for those who breathed more frequently.

The study, a pre-print (not yet peer-reviewed) from a team in Italy, used a technique called capnography to take the measurements of CO2 in inhaled air over the course of five minutes, following a ten minute period of rest, with participants seated, silent and breathing only through the nose. A medic took measurements at minutes three, four and five, with an average of the three measurements being used in the analysis.

The study found the mean CO2 concentration of inhaled air without masks was 458 ppm. While wearing a surgical mask, the mean CO2 was over 10 times higher at 4,965 ppm, exceeding 5,000 ppm in 40.2% of the measurements. While wearing an FFP2 respirator, the average CO2 was nearly double again at 9,396 ppm, with 99.0% of participants showing values higher than 5,000 ppm. Among children under 18, the mean CO2 concentration while wearing a surgical mask was well above the safe limit at 6,439 ppm; for an FFP2 respirator it was nearly double again at 12,847 ppm. The researchers found that breaths per minute only had to increase by three, to 18, for the mean concentration to reach 5,271 ppm in a surgical mask and breach the safe limit.

While the findings are clearly concerning enough, the researchers note that “the experimental conditions, with participants at complete rest and in a constantly ventilated room, were far from those experienced by workers and students during a typical day, normally spent in rooms shared with other people or doing some degree of physical activity”. In such conditions the CO2 concentration of inhaled air is likely to be considerably higher.

While the study did not find a reduction in blood oxygen saturation during the five minutes of observation of a person at rest, the authors note that research on 53 surgeons wearing masks for an extended period found that blood oxygen saturation decreased noticeably. They add that exposure to CO2 in inhaled air at concentrations exceeding 5,000 ppm for long periods is “considered unacceptable for the workers, and is forbidden in several countries, because it frequently causes signs and symptoms such as headache, nausea, drowsiness, rhinitis and reduced cognitive performance”.

The study is a pilot study, and so calls for larger and more detailed studies to confirm the effects it observes and explore them further. The authors remark that should their findings be confirmed (and there is no reason to expect they would not be), mask-wearing should be “reduced as much as possible when the [Covid] risk is low”.

We might add that, given the lack of evidence masks do much if anything to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the mounting evidence they do harm, they should be jettisoned as a pandemic measure entirely.

The authors note this is the first study to assess properly the CO2 concentration of inhaled air while wearing a face mask. Two earlier studies were small and did not adequately remove water vapour. A third recent one was retracted for, among other concerns, not using a capnograph to distinguish inhaled and exhaled air. The present study addresses these problems. The full results are shown in the tables on the following pages:

Source: https://dailysceptic.org/2022/05/13/face-masks-lead-to-breathing-dangerous-levels-of-carbon-dioxide-even-when-sitting-still-study-finds/

Global Covid Summit 2022 with Dr. Robert Malone

by | May 15, 2022 | Newsdesk Blog

Declaration IV – Restore Scientific Integrity

A Joint Statement, representing 17,000 Physicians and Medical Scientists to end the National Emergency, Restore Scientific Integrity, and Address Crimes Against Humanity.

17,000 physicians and medical scientists declare that the state of medical emergency must be lifted, scientific integrity restored, and crimes against humanity addressed.

We, the physicians and medical scientists of the world, united through our loyalty to the Hippocratic Oath, recognize that the disastrous COVID-19 public health policies imposed on doctors and our patients are the culmination of a corrupt medical alliance of pharmaceutical, insurance, and healthcare institutions, along with the financial trusts which control them. They have infiltrated our medical system at every level, and are protected and supported by a parallel alliance of big tech, media, academics and government agencies who profited from this orchestrated catastrophe.

This corrupt alliance has compromised the integrity of our most prestigious medical societies to which we belong, generating an illusion of scientific consensus by substituting truth with propaganda. This alliance continues to advance unscientific claims by censoring data, and intimidating and firing doctors and scientists for simply publishing actual clinical results or treating their patients with proven, life-saving medicine. These catastrophic decisions came at the expense of the innocent, who are forced to suffer health damage and death caused by intentionally withholding critical and time-sensitive treatments, or as a result of coerced genetic therapy injections, which are neither safe nor effective.

The medical community has denied patients the fundamental human right to provide true informed consent for the experimental COVID-19 injections. Our patients are also blocked from obtaining the information necessary to understand risks and benefits of vaccines, and their alternatives, due to widespread censorship and propaganda spread by governments, public health officials and media. Patients continue to be subjected to forced lock-downs which harm their health, careers and children’s education, and damage social and family bonds critical to civil society. This is not a coincidence. In the book entitled “COVID-19: The Great Reset”, leadership of this alliance has clearly stated their intention is to leverage COVID-19 as an “opportunity” to reset our entire global society, culture, political structures, and economy.

Our 17,000 Global COVID Summit physicians and medical scientists represent a much larger, enlightened global medical community who refuse to be compromised, and are united and willing to risk the wrath of the corrupt medical alliance to defend the health of their patients.

The mission of the Global COVID Summit is to end this orchestrated crisis, which has been illegitimately imposed on the world, and to formally declare that the actions of this corrupt alliance constitute nothing less than crimes against humanity.

We must restore the people’s trust in medicine, which begins with free and open dialogue between physicians and medical scientists. We must restore medical rights and patient autonomy. This includes the foundational principle of the sacred doctor-patient relationship. The social need for this is decades overdue, and therefore, we the physicians of the world are compelled to take action.

After two years of scientific research, millions of patients treated, hundreds of clinical trials performed and scientific data shared, we have demonstrated and documented our success in understanding and combating COVID-19. In considering the risks versus benefits of major policy decisions, our Global COVID Summit of 17,000 physicians and medical scientists from all over the world have reached consensus on the following foundational principles:

  1. We declare and the data confirm that the COVID-19 experimental genetic therapy injections must end.
  2. We declare doctors should not be blocked from providing life-saving medical treatment.
  3. We declare the state of national emergency, which facilitates corruption and extends the pandemic, should be immediately terminated.
  4. We declare medical privacy should never again be violated, and all travel and social restrictions must cease.
  5. We declare masks are not and have never been effective protection against an airborne respiratory virus in the community setting.
  6. We declare funding and research must be established for vaccination damage, death and suffering.
  7. We declare no opportunity should be denied, including education, career, military service or medical treatment, over unwillingness to take an injection.
  8. We declare that first amendment violations and medical censorship by government, technology and media companies should cease, and the Bill of Rights be upheld.
  9. We declare that Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech, Janssen, Astra Zeneca, and their enablers, withheld and willfully omitted safety and effectiveness information from patients and physicians, and should be immediately indicted for fraud.
  10. We declare government and medical agencies must be held accountable.

Watch the full video here’s the link.

Source: https://globalcovidsummit.org/news/declaration-iv-restore-scientific-integrity

Millions of Lives Should Have Been Saved – What the World Wasn’t Supposed to Know

Millions of Lives Should Have Been Saved – What the World Wasn’t Supposed to Know

by | Mar 26, 2022 | Newsdesk Blog

Who changed the scientific conclusions of a paper that could have saved millions? At last, we may have a name.

This is a scandal of immense proportions that warrants an immediate investigation.

If what you are about to learn was playing out onscreen, the collective gasp of the audience at the moment of reveal would register at deafening decibels.

First, let’s set the stage:

— Over one year ago, there were ample peer-reviewed, randomized controlled trials that provided strong evidence on ivermectin’s efficacy as a treatment for COVID in every disease phase.

— A paper considering these many studies was written by lead author Dr. Andrew Hill at the University of Liverpool for the World Health Organization’s COVID Guideline Development Group. Hill was an early and vigorous proponent for ivermectin. His paper showed that ivermectin could reduce deaths by 75% if used throughout the world.

— Inexplicably, just days before its publication, the paper appeared on a pre-print server, with its conclusions changed. Instead of concluding that Ivermectin—one of the world’s safest and most inexpensive drugs— should be rolled out globally, it now concluded that more studies on Ivermectin were needed before it could be recommended worldwide.  Given the totality of scientific evidence for Ivermectin, it was a stunning—actually shocking—reversal by Dr. Hill.

—In an urgent Zoom call to Dr. Hill initiated by Dr. Tess Lawrie, Director of the Evidence-based Medicine Consultancy, Dr. Hill admitted to her that one of his study’s sponsors, Unitaid, had a say in the conclusions of his paper. But he would not divulge the name(s) of those who altered the paper’s conclusions.

But now, “The Digger” on Substack (aka producer/director Phil Harper) has revealed the name of the person who could have edited the paper’s conclusions—which led to the WHO’s non-recommendation of the use of ivermectin. That decision could have led to the unnecessary deaths of millions across the world.

GASP!

Mr. Harper studied the PDF of the paper, wanting to learn the identity of its “ghost” author. “The hope was that some artifact on the PDF would reveal something, maybe a font was different, maybe there was a hidden comment, maybe some tracked changes had been saved to the document,” said Harper. “None of those lines of inquiry came to anything.”

Then it came to him. Was it in the PDF’s metadata? “Sometimes it’s the most obvious of things,” Harper writes. “The ‘v1_stamped’ version of the paper did indeed have metadata. It even had author information inside the metadata. Expecting to see Andrew Hill listed as the author, instead, I saw a name I recognized. Andrew Owen.

“Unless someone used his computer, Andrew Owen has his digital fingerprint on the Andrew Hill paper.”

Professor Andrew Owen is the person who allegedly edited the critical Andrew Hill paper on Ivermectin. He was also in receipt of consultancy fees from pharmaceutical companies with competing products.

As it turns out, Andrew Owen is a Professor of Pharmacology & Therapeutics and co-Director of the Centre of Excellence in Long-acting Therapeutics (CELT) at the University of Liverpool. He is also scientific advisor to the WHO’s COVID-19 Guideline Development Group. Just days before Dr. Hill’s paper was to be published, a $40M grant from Unitaid, the paper’s sponsor, was given to CELT —of which Owen is the project lead. “The $40 million contract was actually a commercial agreement between Unitaid, the University of Liverpool and Tandem Nano Ltd (a start-up company that commercializes ‘Solid Lipid Nanoparticle’ delivery mechanisms)— for which Andrew Owen is a top shareholder,” says Harper.

Furthermore, Harper writes that, “Andrew Owen is prolific in the art of receiving money from pharmaceutical companies. He’s received research funding from ViiV Healthcare, Merck, Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Laboratories, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Tibotec, Roche Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb.”

GASP!

Read the entire essay HERE. In it, Harper reveals much, much more. This is just the latest in a series of postings on ‘The Digger’ exposing the machinations and the backdoor wheeling and dealing to prevent ivermectin from saving lives so that other, more profitable (and scientifically proven more dangerous) designer drugs could take center stage and make bank.

The Great Facemask Debate – 121 Links and References to Scientific Studies

The Great Facemask Debate – 121 Links and References to Scientific Studies

by | Jan 20, 2022 | Health Blog

121 References to Scientific Studies on Facemask Effectiveness

We have provided the following information to assist you in your research so you can make a fully informed decision on the matter of wearing facemask.  We cannot yet find any independent peer-reviewed studies without any conflict of interest to support the idea that wearing a facemask outside a medical or dusty setting will do anyhting to improve your health or the health of others.

We recommend you take the time to educate yourself as much as possible by reading as many of the following links as you can.  This extensive list has been collected over time, some links may no longer be valid.  Please report invalid links so we can correct them.

Masks, False safety and real dangers Part 1

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/wp-content/uploads/Masks-false-safety-and-real-dangers-Part-1-Friable-mask-particulate-and-lung-vulnerability.pdf

1. Masks for prevention of viral respiratory infections among health care workers
and the public: PEER umbrella systematic review
A 29 study meta-analysis review that included 11 studies and 18 random control trials of 26,444
participants. This systematic review found limited evidence that the use of masks might
reduce the risk of viral respiratory infections.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32675098/

2. Mask mandate and use efficacy in state-level COVID-19 containment
“We did not observe associaGon between mask mandates or use and reduced COVID-19
spread in US states.”  https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.18.21257385v2

3. 16 Studies: Effectiveness of personal protec4ve measures in reducing pandemic influenza
transmission
This meta-analyses concluded that regular hand hygiene provided a significant protecGve
effect, and face mask use provided a non-significant protecGve effect.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755436516300858?via=ihub
4. Study: Experimental investigation of indoor aerosol dispersion and accumula4on in the
context of COVID-19: Effects of masks and ventilation
This study published by the American Institute of Physics found that face masks reduced
indoor aerosols by 12% at most — which is not enough to prevent infections.
https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0057100
5. Study: Non-pharmaceu4cal Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Non-healthcare SePngs-
Personal Protec4ve and Environmental Measures
The use of face masks, either by infected or non-infected persons, does not have a
significant effect on influenza transmission.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32027586/

6. Study: Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses
“There is moderate certainty evidence that wearing a mask makes li;le or no difference to
the outcome of laboratory-confirmed influenza compared to not wearing a mask.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33215698/

7. Study: An Overview on the Role of Rela4ve Humidity in Airborne Transmission of SARS-
CoV-2 in Indoor Environment
RelaGve Humidity (RH) is an important factor responsible for airborne transmission of SARS-
CoV-2 virus. In dry indoor areas, chances of airborne transmission are higher than humid
areas. Indoor air at 40 to 60 percent RH is the opGmum level for human health. Important
to set minimum RH standard for indoor environments.
https://aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-20-06-covid-0302

8. 29 Studies: Effectiveness of Masks and Respirators Against Respiratory Infec4ons in
Healthcare Workers
This meta-analysis concluded that evidence of a protecGve effect of masks or respirators
against verified respiratory infecGon was not staGsGcally significant.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/65/11/1934/4068747

9. Study: “Exercise with face mask; Are we handling a devil’s sword?” – A physiological
hypothesis
There is no evidence to suggest that wearing a mask during exercise offers any benefit from
the droplet transfer from the virus. [This is noteworthy, as the argument is that although
masks can not filter out the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that they may be able to filter out droplets
that carry the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study seems to say no.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32590322/

10. Study: A cluster randomized trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in
healthcare workers
Penetration of cloth masks by influenza particles was almost 97 percent and medical masks
44 percent — so cloth masks are essentially useless, and “medical grade” masks don’t
provide adequate protection. This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results
caution against the use of cloth masks.
[Note: influenza particles are over three times the size of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (see here),
so it can be inferred that the filter efficiency for the SARS-CoV-2 virus would be worse.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25903751/

11. Study: Surgical face masks in modern operating rooms – a costly and unnecessary ritual?
The wearing of face masks by non-scrubbed staff working in an operating room with forced
ventilation seems to be unnecessary. [An argument from mask proponents is that wearing a
mask protects others from you. This study seems to say no.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1680906/

12. Study: Face mask against viral respiratory infections among Hajj pilgrims…
A large randomized controlled trial with 8000± participants, found that face masks “did not
seem to be effecGve against laboratory-confirmed viral respiratory infections nor against
clinical respiratory infection.”
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240287

13. Study: Simple respiratory protection–evaluation of the filtration performance of cloth
masks and common fabric materials against 20-1000 nm size particles
“Results obtained in the study show that common fabric materials may provide marginal
protecGon against nanoparGcles, including those in the size ranges of virus-containing
parGcles in exhaled breath.” [SARS-CoV-2 virus is about .1 micron = 100 nm]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20584862/

14. Study: Respiratory performance offered by N95 respirators and surgical masks: human
subject evalua4on with NaCl aerosol represen4ng bacterial and viral par4cle size range
“The study indicates that N95 filtering face piece respirators may not achieve the expected
protecGon level against bacteria and viruses.”

15. Study: Analysis of the Effects of COVID-19 Mask Mandates on Hospital Resource
Consump4on and Mortality at the County Level
There was no reducGon in per-populaGon daily mortality, hospital bed, ICU bed, or
venGlator occupancy of COVID-19-posiGve paGents a;ributable to the implementaGon of a
mask-wearing mandate.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18326870/

16. Study: Modeling of the Transmission of Coronaviruses, etc. in Dental Clinics
The evidence suggests that transmission probability is strongly driven by indoor air quality
— specifically venGlaGon — and the least by respiratory protecGon via mask use.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32614681/

17. 16 Studies: Evidence for Community Cloth Face Masking to Limit the Spread of SARS-
CoV-2: A Critical Review
This review looked at the quality of the studies supporting masking. “Of sixteen meta-
analyses, eight were equivocal or critical as to whether evidence supports a public
recommendaGon of masks, and the remaining supported a public mask intervention on
limited evidence, primarily on the basis of the precautionary principle.”
https://www.cato.org/working-paper/evidence-community-cloth-face-masking-limit-spread-sars-cov-2-critical-review

18. Study: Aerosol penetra4on and leakage characteris4cs of masks used in the health care
industry
“We conclude that the protecGon provided by surgical masks may be insufficient in
environments containing potenGally hazardous sub-micrometer sized aerosols.” [Note: the
SARS-CoV-2 virus is a sub-micrometer sized parGcle.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8239046/

19. 3 Studies: Disposable surgical face masks for preven4ng surgical wound infec4on in clean
surgery
“We included three trials, involving a total of 2106 parGcipants. There was no staGsGcally
significant difference in infecGon rates between the masked and unmasked group in any of
the trials.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27115326/

20. 2 Studies: Disposable surgical face masks: a systema4c review
“Two randomized controlled trials were included involving a total of 1453 paGents. …in a
large trial there was no difference in infecGon rates between the masked and unmasked
group.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16295987/

21. Study: Face seal leakage of half masks and surgical masks
“The filtraGon efficiency of the filter materials was good, over 95%, for parGcles above 5
micron in diameter but great variaGon existed for smaller parGcles.” Coronavirus is .1±
microns, therefore these masks would not offer good protecGon from that virus.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4014006/

22. Study: Comparison of the Filter Efficiency of Medical Non-woven Fabrics against Three
Different Microbe Aerosols
“The filter efficiencies against influenza virus parGcles were the lowest.”
[Note: influenza parGcles are over three Gmes the size of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (see here),
so it can be inferred that the filter efficiency for the SARS-CoV-2 virus would be worse.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29910210/

23. Study: Aerosol penetration through surgical masks
“Although surgical mask media may be adequate to remove bacteria exhaled or expelled by
health care workers, they may not be sufficient to remove the sub-micrometer size aerosols
containing pathogens.” [The SARS-CoV-2 virus is sub-micrometer.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1524265/

24. 6 Studies: Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks against influenza: A
systema4c review and meta-analysis
This meta-analysis was of six Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) involving 9,171
parGcipants. The conclusion: “the use of N95 respirators compared with surgical masks is
not associated with a lower risk of laboratory- confirmed influenza. It suggests that N95
respirators should not be recommended for the general public.”
https://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/8/567

25. Study: N95 Respirators vs Medical Masks for Preven4ng Influenza Among Health Care
Personnel: A Randomized Clinical Trial
“2371 parGcipants completed the study and accounted for 5180 HCW-seasons. … Among
outpaGent health care personnel, N95 respirators vs medical masks as worn by parGcipants
resulted in no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2749214

26. Commentary: Universal Masking in Hospitals in the COVID-19 Era
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine (wri;en by five physicians) came to the
conclusion that face masks offer li;le to no protecGon in everyday life.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372

27. Study: Masking lack of evidence with politics
“It would appear that despite two decades of pandemic preparedness, there is considerable
uncertainty as to the value of wearing masks.”
https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/masking-lack-of-evidence-with-politics/

28. 12 Studies: Face masks to prevent transmission of influenza virus: a systematic review
In this meta-analysis of twelve studies, the authors found li;le data to support the use of
face masks to prevent wearers from becoming infected.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/face-masks-to-prevent-transmission-of-influenza-virus-a-systematic-review/64D368496EBDE0AFCC6639CCC9D8BC05

29. Study: Use of surgical face masks to reduce the incidence of the common cold among
health care workers in Japan: a randomized controlled trial
Face mask use in healthcare workers has not been demonstrated to provide benefit in
terms of colds symptoms or geqng colds.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19216002/

30. Study: Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommenda4on to Other Public Health Measures
to Prevent SARS- CoV-2 Infec4on in Danish Mask Wearers
The COVID-19 infection results between mask wearers and the control group were not
statistically significant.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33205991/

31. CDC: “CDC is not aware of any randomized controlled trials that show that masks, or
double masks, or cloth face coverings are effective against COVID-19.”
https://twitter.com/tlowdon/status/1387049350111449097

32. Study: Testing the efficacy of homemade masks: would they protect in an influenza
pandemic?
“Our findings suggest that a homemade mask should only be considered as a last resort to
prevent droplet transmission from infected individuals.” [Note that droplets are significantly
larger than the SARS-CoV-2 virus.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24229526/

33. Study: Evaluating the efficacy of cloth face masks in reducing particulate mader exposure
“Our results suggest that cloth masks are only marginally beneficial in protecting individuals
from particles <2.5 micron.” [Coronavirus is .1± micron.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27531371/

34. Study: Assessment of Proficiency of Mask Donning Among the General Public in
Singapore
The survey was administered to 2499 adults, who were given instrucGons for proper mask
use. Subsequently, only 12.6% passed the Visual Mask Fit (VMF) test. This would indicate
that the compliance of children would be lower yet.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2766070

35. 17 Studies: The use of masks and respirators to prevent transmission of influenza: a
systema4c review of the scien4fic evidence
Seventeen studies were reviewed in this meta-analysis. “None of the studies we reviewed
established a conclusive relaGonship between mask ⁄ respirator use and protecGon against
influenza infecGon.”
[Note: influenza parGcles are over three Gmes the size of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (see here),
so it can be inferred that the filter efficiency for the SARS-CoV-2 virus would be worse.]
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00307.x

36. Study: Facial protection for healthcare workers during pandemics: a scoping review
This study used 5462 peer-reviewed arGcles and 41 grey literature records. Conclusion:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to criGcal shortages of medical-grade PPE. AlternaGve
forms of facial protecGon offer inferior protecGon.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32371574/

37. Study: Particle removal from air by face masks made from Sterilization Wraps:
Effectiveness and Reusability
“We found that 60 GSM face mask had particle capture efficiency of 94% for total particles
greater than 0.3 microns.” [These are be;er quality masks than standard cloth masks, so
cloth masks would provide li;le effectiveness for the .1 micron SARS-CoV-2 virus.]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33052962/

38. Study: Visualizing the effec4veness of face masks in obstruc4ng respiratory jets
A few studies have considered the filtraGon efficiency of homemade masks made with
different types of fabric; however, there is no broad consensus regarding their effecGveness
in minimizing disease transmission.
https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0016018

 

A Further 83 Compelling References

We have provided the following information to assist you in your research.

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