COVID Mask Effectiveness

FTA:> Masking has widely been seen as one of the best COVID precautions that people can take. Still, it has sparked ceaseless arguments: over mandates, what types of masks we should wear, and even how to wear them. A new review and meta-analysis[0] of masking studies suggests that the detractors may have a point. The paper—a rigorous assessment of 78 studies—was published by Cochrane, an independent policy institution that has become well known for its reviews. The review’s authors found “

There is a lot of evidence for efficiency of masks, actually:https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...

This shows that masks aren't perfect, not that they don't help.

> Meanwhile, they ignore the dozens of studies showing masks are ineffective, or even counterproductiveLet's try to figure out how well your summary is actually supported by your citations, especially as TFA is about medical masks and N95 masks and doesn't mention cloth masks.TL;DR: It's not (and ignores the multiple studies showing surgical and N95 masks are effective to prevent SARS-CoV infections).What your citations say is "cloth masks seem ineffective (but no

It seems to be well researched and documented by now that masks are quite effecting in reducing transmissionshttps://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6498/1422.full

That masks help prevent spread of Covid?

Masks are largely ineffective in controlling the spread of Corona so the answer is 0.Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51205344

That's incorrect. Here is a review of 19 RCTs showing that masks work: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7191274/

There's also little if any evidence masks were effective at stopping spread. Maybe in idealized conditions, but the mandated use likely did nothing.

Why isn't that the evidence that mask is effective?