We got through it. Did it work? Who's to know. Many didn't get sick with them but who's to say they wouldn't have gotten sick anyway. People who wore them got sick anyway. Did they work? Can't say for sure.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Review - Intervention
Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses
Tom JeffersonLiz DooleyEliana FerroniLubna A Al-AnsaryMieke L van DrielGhada A BawazeerMark A JonesTammy C HoffmannJustin ClarkElaine M BellerPaul P GlasziouJohn M ConlyAuthors' declarations of interest
Version published: 30 January 2023 Version history
https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6Collapse all Expand all
Abstract
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Background
Viral epidemics or pandemics of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) pose a global threat. Examples are influenza (H1N1) caused by the H1N1pdm09 virus in 2009, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 in 2019. Antiviral drugs and vaccines may be insufficient to prevent their spread. This is an update of a Cochrane Review last published in 2020. We include results from studies from the current COVID‐19 pandemic.
Objectives
To assess the effectiveness of physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of acute respiratory viruses.