Barrett Chapin: Take a closer look at research used to declare masks ineffective

To The Daily Sun,

I feel an obligation to contradict Charlie Gallagher’s letter titled, “Masks don’t work against flu-like viruses; look at the science,” in yesterday’s Laconia Sun.

Mr. Gallagher’s main point is that masks are ineffective against transmission of the COVID virus because masks have been shown to be ineffective against the influenza virus. He references an internet article by Denis G. Rancourt, PhD, (https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/masks-dont-work-covid-a-review-of-science-relevant-to-covide-19-social-policy).

Seven articles were cited in Rancourt’s review. Three of them (Smith et al, Radonovick, et al, and Long, et al) are original studies comparing the use of N95 respirators and surgical masks. These articles are designed to investigate which face-covering is better to prevent virus transmission.

We are not interested in which type of face covering is superior. What we want to know, "Is wearing a mask protective against transmitting a respiratory virus compared with not wearing a mask?" These three articles neither support nor refute his conclusion. It is my opinion that Rancourt cited these three studies to fluff up his internet article and make it appear more scientific. One of the seven cited articles (Jacobs et al) is an original study that showed no difference in catching a cold between wearing a mask or not. There were 32 subjects in each group during the 77 days of the study and one person caught a cold in each group. This an underpowered study. Underpowered studies are studies, in which there are not enough outcomes to draw any conclusion. Underpowered studies are a waste of resources, including the ink used to publish them in hardcopy and the electricity used to cite them on the internet. The remaining three articles cited by Rancourt are review articles. A review article researches the world’s scientific literature and uses the original articles found to draw a conclusion or conclusions.

Let me quote from each of the three review articles that Dr. Rancourt cites as evidence that wearing a mask has no effect on the transmission of Influenza and, by extrapolation, the COVID virus. In the first cited article, Cowling et al write, “There is some evidence to support the wearing of masks or respirators during illness to protect others, and public health emphasis on mask wearing during illness may help to reduce influenza virus transmission.” In the second cited article, Bin-Raza et al write, “some studies did show a difference.” In the third cited article, Offeddu et al write, “Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials indicated a protective effect of masks and respirators against clinical respiratory illness (risk ratio = 0.59; 95 percent confidence interval: 0.46-0.77).”

After reading the articles cited by Dr. Rancourt as evidence that mask wearing is ineffective, I conclude the complete opposite, that mask wearing is effective in reducing the transmission of respiratory viruses. During this pandemic, I will continue to wear a mask when I see patients, go into stores, and visit my elderly parents. It protects me from others and it protects others from me. It is the right thing to do.

Barrett Chapin, MD

Belmont