Against scientific evidence, UFRJ recommends return of masks

By means of a technical note issued this Wednesday (16), the Center for Combating and Studies in Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases (Needier) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) recommended the return of the use of masks in closed environments and in agglomerations. The note is signed by the director of Needier, researcher Terezinha Castiñeiras.

Despite justifying the measure by claiming precaution against “a new wave of covid-19”, the technical note does not cite any scientific evidence that ensures the effectiveness of the use of masks against the spread of the Chinese virus.

“We believe it prudent to alert the social body of the university and recommend the proper use of masks in closed environments and in contexts of human agglomeration, as well as frequent hand hygiene. It is worth emphasizing the importance of testing in the event of the appearance of respiratory symptoms or close contact with a case of covid-19 ”, says an excerpt from the note.

Needier adopted the measure after the release of data from the World Health Organization (WHO) that point to the registration of approximately 1.5 million cases of the disease caused by the new subvariant (BA.6) in some countries, without reports. of deaths.

Despite the hype from health authorities and “experts”, it is still not possible to say whether BA.6 poses major risks or whether it will follow characteristics of previous subvariants, which demonstrated greater contagion power and low lethality.

In addition to uncertainties about the newest subvariant, UFRJ ignores numerous scientific studies that point to the ineffectiveness of wearing a mask in combating the spread of the virus.

In September last year, the scientific journal Trials, belonging to the Springer Nature group, reanalyzed the most rigorous study ever carried out regarding the effectiveness of masks to stop or reduce the transmission of the covid-19 virus.

At the end of the reanalysis, the researchers concluded that it cannot be said that the use of masks had a significant effect, contrary to what was concluded in the original study.

As reported by Gazette o Povo, Cochrane, a respected medical organization, reviewed 67 studies in this regard and concluded that masks make little or no difference in the number of people who become infected with respiratory diseases such as covid. The Cochrane study is from November 2021.

Months earlier, a Danish study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, involved almost five thousand people and found no difference in Covid infections between the group with a mask and the group without a mask.

On its website, the Brownstone Institute – an NGO that collaborates with health professionals and experts from different areas, including law and economics – listed 170 comparative studies and articles on the ineffectiveness of masks, as well as the damage caused by excessive use of the equipment.

The list has been available on the institute’s website since December 2021.

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