Why are there so few randomized controlled trials on mask use? Stevenson did not return a request for comment. They provided scores of systematic reviews, ecological studies and laboratory studies showing that masks play an important role in reducing the spread of the coronavirus and play a critical role in interrupting viral transmission. We reached out to four public health experts and asked them to sum up the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of mask use. It also very notably misleads by leaving out the reason why randomized controlled trials have not been used for this purpose: in the midst of a pandemic, employing these methods to study the question would widely be considered unethical. Multiple randomized controlled trials have shown that mask-wearing effectively blunts the spread of other coronaviruses and influenza-like diseases.Īnd Stevenson’s assertion that no randomized controlled trials have conclusively proven that masks prevent the spread specifically of Sars-CoV-2 ignores that there is no lack of scientific proof establishing the efficacy of mask wearing. So is Stevenson correct in saying that there are no randomized controlled trials demonstrating the effectiveness of mask use in blunting viral infections? No, he’s not. Randomized controlled trials are time-consuming and expensive, but well-designed ones are more effective at minimizing bias than most other types of studies. A randomized controlled trial is a scientific study that randomly sorts participants into an experimental group and a control group to study the effect of a particular variable on the outcome.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |