Post ASwkmpL3c0TKuOcYVc by dankennedy_nu@journa.host
(DIR) More posts by dankennedy_nu@journa.host
(DIR) Post #ASwkmpL3c0TKuOcYVc by dankennedy_nu@journa.host
2023-02-22T17:39:25Z
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I warn my students about stories that are accurate but not true. Bret Stephens' anti-mask screed today is a good example of that — and what makes it accurate is a brief aside that he buries in order to cover his sorry ass. #journalism #covid My Media Nation post: https://dankennedy.net/2023/02/22/bret-stephens-wants-you-to-misunderstand-an-easily-misunderstood-report-on-masking/
(DIR) Post #ASwkmpu9VWXqfF2aDA by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T18:59:05Z
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@dankennedy_nu Unfortunately that essay repeats a major misunderstanding about the Cochrane report -- it says nothing about mask mandates or use of masks by the general population to protect against COVID-19. Instead it compiles data from studies on whether masking in very specific situations protected specific populations from flu. The main studies focused on college students in dorms (wearing surgical masks a few hours a day) or health care workers wearing masks while providing care to patients (but not otherwise while at work or at home). None of the masking studies addressed COVID, and none addressed situations where people were wearing masks whenever they entered a public building.#covid #masking
(DIR) Post #ASwlDsmKvjjlOdHWM4 by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:03:59Z
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@dankennedy_nu The reporting on this meta-analysis is absurdly sloppy. For instance, Tayag's article in the Atlantic says that it incorporated data from 78 masking studies. It only used 17 masking studies of masking (the bulk focused on hand-washing). This information is in the abstract of the Cochrane article -- which Tayag apparently did not read.#journalism #covid #masking
(DIR) Post #ASwlO8rdylsmBGejvU by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:05:50Z
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@dankennedy_nu The studies used for each analysis are also listed clearly in two figures:https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/references#CD006207-fig-0005https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/references#CD006207-fig-0006
(DIR) Post #ASwmtKSb11274nNK4W by aintist@mstdn.social
2023-02-22T19:22:40Z
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@DecaturNature @dankennedy_nu Also from the Author’s conclusion section:“The high risk of bias in the trials, variation in outcome measurement, and relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampers drawing firm conclusions.”
(DIR) Post #ASwn35u9zFYupTvNWy by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:24:26Z
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Sorry -- I needed to retract my earlier comment about the absence of COVID studies and the college dorm study being the main one; I had gotten something mixed up with the earlier version of the report (2020)
(DIR) Post #ASwoFUD5Xv4ZdkFcLA by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-22T19:37:53Z
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But I did check the updated report (Jan 2023) and see that both of the COVID studies included in the test of surgical masks showed that these masks did have a protective effect (Abaluck and Bungaard: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/references#CD006207-fig-0005). The 'negative results' are completely from flu studies. A few studies can be highlighted based on the weight given in the meta-analysis -- none of the main studies cover situations similar to American-style mask mandates (whether institutional or general), nor to the masking behavior of the 'covid cautious' in the US.#covid #masking #journalism
(DIR) Post #ASxYVHC6IoiJnSFwXo by Bertrecords@qoto.org
2023-02-23T04:16:11Z
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@DecaturNature @dankennedy_nu Just an observation based on anecdotal evidence, but I don't think the Atlantic is trustworthy on matters of science. I saw a tweet by someone claiming a PhD which seemed outrageous. Turned out it was published in the Atlantic by the tweeter.
(DIR) Post #ASxZ3D5o3fq4vDUcqG by DecaturNature@qoto.org
2023-02-23T04:22:18Z
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@Bertrecords @dankennedy_nu I've seen some good science reporters at the Atlantic. I've never noticed Tayag before. But I am losing a lot of trust in the magazine -- especially once I found them publishing a sympathetic article about advocacy being performed by a paranoid conspiracy theorist without mentioning that fact -- and even linking out to those conspiracy theorist websites as though they were legitimate information sources.