WHO now emphasizes that widespread use of masks is unnecessary

With little repercussion, the World Health Organization (WHO) published on the 18th a new technical report produced after consultation with public health agencies around the world. The document, dedicated to the “proposed terminology for airborne pathogens”, timidly addresses the use of masks, in contrast to previous demonstrations by the entity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the 52 pages of the report, masks are mentioned only three times in lists of “mitigation measures” that “can reduce the risk of airborne pathogens”: “distancing, masks, adequate ventilation/dilution and air circulation pattern in closed spaces.” There is no mention of the exact distance measure, previously specified as one or two meters in the guidelines published during the pandemic.

The text emphatically states that “there is no none suggestion from this consultative process that to mitigate the risk of airborne transmission over short distances, comprehensive ‘airborne precautions’ (as they are currently called) should be used in all situations, for all pathogens.” Precautions that are unnecessary for the general case are clarified in a footnote: “placing the patient in a room isolated from airborne infections, use of personal protective equipment by healthcare professionals (including respirator), limiting transportation and movement of patients, and ask the patient to wear a mask when appropriate.”

The document also makes clear that airborne diseases are a problem mainly in closed environments, not open spaces. Although the WHO was not emphatically in favor of mandatory masks during the pandemic, there was an “eloquent silence” on the part of the organization regarding prohibitions that even affected open spaces, as was the case with draconian rules in many places around the world, including Brazil, which led to punishments against people who walked or ran in open spaces without a mask.

The WHO’s own recognition that Covid is transmitted through the air is already a step forward. There was a spurious consensus in medicine that led to a delay in recommendations that this type of virus would need large droplets of fluid to transmit, so there was an emphasis on surfaces and washing hands early in the pandemic. This consensus was overturned in August 2021 thanks to the work of aerosol expert Lindsay Marr, from Virginia Tech. She reported having faced resistance to being heard by medical authorities.

Why mandatory masks were a bad idea

While there is “mechanical” evidence (such as pore size) that particularly supports respirators for individual use, the social use of masks, whether imposed or not, does not have sufficient evidence in its favor. This was already the case when the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) insisted on mandatory masks at airports in early 2023, drawing sharp criticism from José Hiran da Silva Gallo, president of the Federal Council of Medicine. “Masks as virtue signaling or as a measure of a sense of social belonging can never be imposed on people who do not share such ideologies or behaviors,” Gallo said at the time.

The lack of evidence justifying mandatory masks, even fabric ones, for the entire population was already known just before the pandemic, as stated by scientific journalist John Tierney in an article from September 2023. The ineffectiveness for social use was confirmed in two reviews of the Cochrane, a respected organization dedicated to evaluating and summarizing evidence of the effectiveness of medical treatments. A People’s Gazette covered this entire debate and criticism against the largest pro-mask study carried out during the pandemic, carried out in Bangladesh.

The evolution of WHO positions on masks

January 2020:
Initially, the organization declared that the general public did not need masks, except for people who had symptoms or were caring for those who had symptoms, such as medical professionals.

April 2020: In a twist, the WHO recommended that masks be used in specific situations, such as public transport, where distancing between people is difficult. There was a caveat that the use of masks could create a false sense of security with neglect of other measures such as washing hands. The recommendation to wash hands, however, was associated with the mistaken position that the Covid virus needed large droplets to transmit, rather than being transmitted through the air.

June 2020: the WHO recognized that there were asymptomatic carriers of the virus and revised its recommendations on masks, endorsing those made of fabric (as an alternative to surgical masks and respirators such as N-95), with three layers, for public use. “You should also maintain a minimum physical distance of one meter from others,” the organization said, a recommendation also based on the falsehood of Covid’s preferential transmission via large droplets.

August 2020: WHO guidelines together with UNICEF did not recommend masks for children up to five years of age, due to potential problems that would be imposed by use on their development. For children aged six to 11, they left it up to each country to decide based on the intensity of local viral transmission and other factors. For children over 12 years old, the same rules apply to adults.

December 2020: this time the entity went into more detail about types of masks, to adjust recommendations per situation.

December 2021: last update date for WHO recommendations specifically on the use of masks against Covid, made four months after Lindsay Marr gained a voice in the press through the magazine Wired. The entity continued to recommend fabric masks and published a podcast on the same page titled “send five billion masks, please”.

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