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**Hugh** · 16-04-2021, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonbxx

That report is all kind of 'woo'!

I started reading it got to the section 'Stringency of measures has no effect on total deaths assigned to COVID-19'. It looks very formal and scientifically written but doesn't bear any scrutiny. The two references (Chaudhry et al. and De Larochelambert et al.) are worth a read as this report very much cherry picks their conclusions.

Both reports state that socieconomic factors are more important drivers of outcomes than lockdowns but the first report also states that lockdowns spread out the pandemic over a longer period - flattening the curve in Boris speak. The hypothetical question will always be what would the mortality rate from COVID infections be with a short sharp peak that overwhelms hospitals. The second report states that a very rapid lockdown of international travel such as seen in Taiwan, New Zealand and Iceland was very effective.

I kind of gave up after that as this author is pulling out statements with little regard for the overall conclusions of the studies he is citing.

He's known for it...

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...Don't_Work

Quote:

In April 2020, former professor Denis Rancourt posted (on research gate) a short article which he claimed proved that “there is no known benefit arising from wearing a mask in a viral respiratory illness epidemic.” It was removed from research gate, presumably because of its poor quality and the fact that it spread misinformation. This is a complete explanation for not only every mistake his argument makes, but also how (and how we know) masks do work to help prevent the spread of COVID.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/b...-pseudoscience

Quote:

Coronaviruses typically spread through respiratory droplets, and masks hold those back, so infected people are less likely to spread them to others. Since it’s easy for people to have COVID-19 and not know it, making sure everyone is wearing a mask helps prevent accidental contamination. On a neighborhood message board, however, a poster claimed there was no scientific evidence of this.

When my colleague asked for scientific evidence to back this denial, the poster directed her to an article by Denis Rancourt, entitled “Masks Don’t Work.” And, indeed, Rancourt’s paper cited eight peer-reviewed essays, all from reputable journals. But when she actually clicked on the links provided, she found something very curious. None of the studies cited concluded what Rancourt says they did. For example, six of the eight studies measured the effectiveness of N95 respirators compared to surgical masks—not, as Rancourt implied, the effectiveness of wearing a mask vs. not wearing a mask.

Further, the quotes he provided from these articles misrepresented their findings. For example, his quote from a 2012 study in the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses read “None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection.” This implies that there is no benefit to wearing masks. In reality, however, the slash in the “mask/respirator” phrase is meant to indicate a comparison between the two types of facial coverings. In other words, the study is saying that masks and respirators are equally effective; it is not lumping them together and declaring them both ineffective. Several of the sentences before and after the one he quotes demonstrate this.