There’s an incredible amount of muddying the waters going on, simply to take issue with the simple phrase of “masks don’t work.”
Tom Jefferson, lead author of the recent Cochrane mask meta-study, which looked at 78 different RCTs on population-level / community mask-wearing for preventing viral respiratory illness, who found that mask wearing showed no effectiveness for COVID or otherwise, says yes - “masks don’t work” *is* an accurate statement when viewed from the lens of 1) traditional Evidence Based Medicine (EBM), 2) from the perspective of physicians and clinicians in the field (who need things that are proven to work for those they recommend them to in the real world), and 3) from the perspective of anyone who understands the difference between efficacy and effectiveness.
Tom Jefferson is clearly an old school professional, a careful thinker, and a physician-scientist.
I get it - the people who have so desperately clung to masks for the last three years feel they need something to cling to. Tom Jefferson isn’t going to give it to them.
Thank you, this was excellent. And in fact, I do NOT really understand the difference between effectiveness and efficacy, and I’m going to try to find out what that’s about.
I asked ChatGPT (basically echoes what Tom Jefferson said in the podcast:
“Efficacy refers to the extent to which a treatment or intervention produces a beneficial effect under ideal or controlled conditions, such as in a clinical trial. In other words, it measures the treatment's ability to achieve a specific outcome in a research setting, where the participants are carefully selected and the treatment is administered according to a standardized protocol.
“Effectiveness, on the other hand, refers to the extent to which a treatment or intervention produces a beneficial effect in real-world settings, where the patient population and conditions of use may differ from those in a clinical trial. Effectiveness considers the treatment's ability to achieve a specific outcome in routine clinical practice, where there may be variation in patient characteristics, clinician experience, and adherence to the treatment protocol.”
Thank you, this was excellent. And in fact, I do NOT really understand the difference between effectiveness and efficacy, and I’m going to try to find out what that’s about.
I asked ChatGPT (basically echoes what Tom Jefferson said in the podcast:
“Efficacy refers to the extent to which a treatment or intervention produces a beneficial effect under ideal or controlled conditions, such as in a clinical trial. In other words, it measures the treatment's ability to achieve a specific outcome in a research setting, where the participants are carefully selected and the treatment is administered according to a standardized protocol.
“Effectiveness, on the other hand, refers to the extent to which a treatment or intervention produces a beneficial effect in real-world settings, where the patient population and conditions of use may differ from those in a clinical trial. Effectiveness considers the treatment's ability to achieve a specific outcome in routine clinical practice, where there may be variation in patient characteristics, clinician experience, and adherence to the treatment protocol.”