Originally Posted by
LonghornDXB
My point in posting this is not to claim that masks will not help, it is to show that whether masks reduce transmission of viruses is a debatable topic
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article
Disposable medical masks (also known as surgical masks) are loose-fitting devices that were designed to be worn by medical personnel to protect accidental contamination of patient wounds, and to protect the wearer against splashes or sprays of bodily fluids (36). There is limited evidence for their effectiveness in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person for source control or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure. Our systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.
There is zero original research here.
Meta analysis allows an author to pick the studies that suit her conclusion and combine them, combining the error involved in each, to reach another less supported conclusion.
WWWNC is not CDC itself but a sister publication that has had many dubious publications recently in the advent of "publishing before peer review". The author was a grad student and was paid for by WHO possibly since WHO now desperately needs to support their own failures in the past.