The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an estimated 15,000 in its workforce; some 88 of them work on Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID), a highly regarded, peer-reviewed journal of epidemiology, published by the CDC.

April 3, 2020 — CDC Face Mask Order 
On April 3, 2020, the CDC announced that everyone should wear face masks, wash their hands, and clean surfaces in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

CDC 4/3/20: Wear Masks To Fight Covid 
On April 3, 2020, the CDC advised “Everyone should wear a cloth face cover when they have to go out in public, for example to the grocery store or to pick up other necessities.” Private and governmental policies across the US and internationally were crafted according to this statement.

CDC 4/3/20: Wash Hands To Fight Covid 
On April 3, 2020, the CDC advised “Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.”

CDC 4/3/20: Clean Surfaces To Fight Covid 
On April 3, 2020, the CDC advised “Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.”

May 2020 — Researchers Prove the Opposite 
May 2020, Dr. Jingyi Xiao, an epidemiologist from the University of Hong Kong, and her colleagues, ran a paper entitled “Nonpharmaceutical Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Nonhealthcare Settings—Personal Protective and Environmental Measures” at Emerging Infectious Diseases, in which they sought to separate myth from reality and to demonstrate what data-driven measures can be helpful in preventing the spread of Covid-19. Xiao’s research showed the opposite of the April 3, 2020, statements from the CDC to be true.

Superior Methodology 

Xiao’s efforts began with more diligent and rigorous methodology than recent reviewers who came before: “We searched 4 databases (Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL) for literature in all languages. We aimed to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of each measure for laboratory-confirmed influenza outcomes for each of the measures because RCTs provide the highest quality of evidence.”

Throughout 2020, it has been easy for low-quality Covid research to get published and then circulated through the media, entirely out of context. This has been detrimental in a time when high quality and dependable information would be most useful in the protection of life and livelihood in 2020. Consequently, Xiao does not treat every study the same. Randomized controlled trials with laboratory confirmed outcomes were the standard their review of the literature sought. Rather than cherry-picking the studies with fashionable results, they sought truth and quality over political correctness and assessed the gold standard studies. Not surprisingly, in doing so, Xiao produced the exact opposite results of what you would find from Fox News, the New York Times, Google, or their many clones.

Xiao unsurprisingly reports what researchers of randomized controlled trials with laboratory-confirmed outcomes have long known:

“Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. We similarly found limited evidence on the effectiveness of improved hygiene and environmental cleaning. We identified several major knowledge gaps requiring further research, most fundamentally an improved characterization of the modes of person-to-person transmission.”

You read that right:

1.) It doesn’t matter if you sanitize surfaces;
2.) It doesn’t matter if you wash your hands;
3.) Masks don’t work.

… Continue reading →

Source: Reminder: CDC Says Facemasks Don’t Stop Covid – LewRockwell