Widely Shared Study on the Dangers of Mask Wearing Is to Be Retracted

A study widely shared by those who oppose mask mandates will be retracted by the Elsevier journal, Medical Hypotheses, that originally published it. The article “Facemasks in the COVID-19 Era: A Health Hypothesis” suggested that wearing face masks to control the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was not only ineffective but also dangerous to the wearer’s health. Elsevier stated that the article is “misleading,” “misquotes and selectively cites published papers,” and that some data presented are “unverified.” The author Baruch Vainshelboim, PhD, is an exercise physiologist who listed an affiliation with Stanford University. Administration at the university note that Vainshelboim has no affiliation with Stanford, and its policies strongly support the use of face masks in combatting the spread of COVID-19. Click here to read more.