Former White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said masks work on an individual basis after he was confronted with a comprehensive study that found no evidence that masks reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.
The quixotic take by the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases came during a Saturday segment on CNN that opened with a clip of Donald Trump opposing COVID-19 mandates, including bringing back masking on Truth Social.
“But to every COVID tyrant who wants to take away our freedom, hear these words: We will not comply,” said the former president.
COVID Tyrants want to take away our Freedom.
Hear my words— WE WILL NOT COMPLY. pic.twitter.com/Kql1YaxuO0
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) August 30, 2023
In response to Trump, Fauci told the interviewer Michael Smerconish, “I am concerned that people will not abide by recommendations. And we’re not talking about mandates or forcing anybody.”
“I would hope that if, in fact, we get to the point where the volume of cases is such and organizations like the CDC recommend … that people wear masks, I would hope that they abide by the recommendation and take into account the risk to themselves and to their families. And again, we’re not talking about forcing anybody to do anything.” Fauci added, noting, “the CDC doesn’t mandate anything.”
However, Dr. Marc Siegel told Fox News that though the CDC may not mandate masks, state and local officials and businesses often pointed to its recommendations when instituting their own COVID mask mandates.
Smerconish asked Fauci about a peer-reviewed study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in January 2023 that compared the efficacy of masking versus not masking, which ultimately concluded that masks were ineffective in stopping the spread of COVID-19.
The study’s lead author, Oxford epidemiologist Tom Jefferson, had said, “There is just no evidence that [masks] make any difference. Full stop,” according to Smerconish. The finding also applied to the more advanced N-95 masks. “Makes no difference — none of it,” said Jefferson, noted Smerconish.
Jefferson went on to explain that the studies that policymakers relied upon to justify mask mandates were incorrect.
“They were convinced by nonrandomized studies, flawed observational studies,” he said, as quoted in the CNN segment.
Confronted with such evidence, Fauci remained unconvinced, claiming that the study did not account for protection provided to individuals by masks.
“There are other studies, Michael, that show at an individual level, for individual, when you’re about the effect on the epidemic or the pandemic as a whole, the data are less strong. But when you talk about as an individual basis of someone protecting themselves or protecting themselves from spreading it to others, there’s no doubt that there are many studies that show that there is an advantage.” Fauci explained.
Drawing a distinction between the broad Cochrane findings on masks and what individuals would experience, Fauci claimed, “We’re talking about an individual’s effect on their own safety. That’s a bit different than the broad population level.”
Many observers were quick to pounce on what they perceived as Fauci’s evasiveness.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), one of Fauci’s fiercest critics, took to Twitter to call him out.
“Fauci admits that masks don’t work for the public at large but still absurdly claims masks work on an individual basis. More subterfuge,” Paul wrote in a post.
Buck Sexton posted, “Fauci confronted with most definitive data analysis possible that masks make ZERO difference against Covid. Not a little, not slight- Zero. And he just mutters some numerical illiteracy bull***t about ‘individual protection.’ He’s a fraud and a liar.”
Still, Fauci is not the only medical professional who promotes masks as a COVID-19 prevention method. As authorities in North Texas and other areas of the nation report increasing cases of COVID, Dr. Mark Casanova of Baylor Scott & White and a member of the Texas Medical Association’s COVID-19 task force says people should don masks in addition to getting the latest vaccine.
“A lot of reasons for us to take this seriously, not panic, but consider getting that booster,” Casanova told WFAA ABC. “Masks still work, and vaccines save lives.”
