Commotion: Fauci's Email About Mask Effectiveness

Misbar's investigation found that the February 5, 2020 email in question reads: “Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infection. The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material.”

While the email does state that masks are ineffective at protecting the wearer from contracting the disease due to the size of the virus, this really isn’t new information. Masks are recommended by both the CDC and the WHO because they help prevent infected individuals from spreading COVID-19 and not because they are able to protect the wearer.

According to laboratory studies, masks are effective at stopping respiratory droplets from spreading when you speak, cough, or breath. These droplets can carry huge amounts of the virus in infected individuals. Stopping the spread of these droplets, which are much larger than the virus itself, has been shown to be effective at slowing the spread of COVID-19. 

Since many of those who are COVID positive are asymptomatic and may not know that they’re carrying the disease, it’s important that everyone wears a mask even if they have no symptoms. There is plenty of evidence available proving that areas that had a mask mandate in place showed a slower spread of the virus. Furthermore, in countries where mask-wearing is a cultural norm, the death rates tend to be lower.

The Fauci email was also written back in February 2020, months before the latest mask-wearing guidelines and effectiveness studies were released.