This is a smart explanation of how the "masks don't work" message spread & why we know masks do work (and so does flossing) even if there aren't randomized controlled trials to prove it https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-went-wrong-with-a-highly-publicized-covid-mask-analysis/
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@laurahelmuth but you're missing the point and directly contributing to the issue the piece is trying to address.
It's the difference between knowing masks work/don't work vs not having the data in.
Swinging the pendulum back and forth without data leads to the conclusion that masks don't work when it swings back.
The study ended up saying we don't know, and we could have simply reported that, to avoid the pendulum swing.
