The “Association Between Universal Masking in a Health Care System and SARS-CoV-2 Positivity Among Health Care Workers” study was one of the primary mask studies that moved the CDC into the recommendation for universal masking in community settings. Unfortunately, this study had too many other variables that were not considered by the research team and as such this study does not adequately prove that a universal masking policy is good science.
This study was conducted in a biased manner and the team clearly lacked the knowledge, training, skills to properly evaluate the other mitigation efforts taking place within the hospital system. It is gross scientific negligence that most of the mitigation efforts in the hospital system were excluded from this study altogether. Furthermore, it is not reasonable to consider these omissions a mistake or oversight when the hospital system went to great lengths in publicly documenting everything it was doing.
It also raises the question of whether the peer review process as it has become today is sufficient, or even working at all considering the length of time that has now passed since it was published and the thousands of scientists that have looked at it with no red flags raised.
This study was conducted in a biased manner and the team clearly lacked the knowledge, training, skills to properly evaluate the other mitigation efforts taking place within the hospital system. It is gross scientific negligence that most of the mitigation efforts in the hospital system were excluded from this study altogether. Furthermore, it is not reasonable to consider these omissions a mistake or oversight when the hospital system went to great lengths in publicly documenting everything it was doing.
It also raises the question of whether the peer review process as it has become today is sufficient, or even working at all considering the length of time that has now passed since it was published and the thousands of scientists that have looked at it with no red flags raised.
