> but that's because there was no randomized control trial performed to check mask effectiveness against SARS variants, and how could there be?
The argument was not "we can't do tests because this is new", the argument was "we've got dozens of studies across a range of settings and respiratory diseases (which we expect to act similarly to covid) and we struggle to see any benefit, until we drop the quality of the research down".
IIRC the argument was "we can't say it works because we have no relevant tests at all". That's what I remember from March, but I may be misremembering.
The argument was not "we can't do tests because this is new", the argument was "we've got dozens of studies across a range of settings and respiratory diseases (which we expect to act similarly to covid) and we struggle to see any benefit, until we drop the quality of the research down".