We now have a detailed, wide-ranging study about the coronavirus, masks, and “the science” that will surprise no one who has even a whiff of common sense.

Titled “Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses,” the Cochrane Library concluded, “Wearing masks in the community probably makes little or no difference to the outcome of influenza-like illness (ILI)/COVID-19 like illness compared to not wearing masks[.]”

According to this study, even wearing those lauded N95 masks and “P2 respirators compared to medical/surgical masks probably makes little or no difference for the objective and more precise outcome of laboratory-confirmed influenza infection[.]”

Remember all the handwashing we were told to do? Well, It is a little more beneficial than those stupid masks, but not much: “Pooled data showed that hand hygiene may be beneficial with an 11% relative reduction of respiratory illness[.]”

This was not a small study:

We identified 78 relevant studies. They took place in low-, middle-, and high-income countries worldwide: in hospitals, schools, homes, offices, childcare centres, and communities during non-epidemic influenza periods, the global H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, epidemic influenza seasons up to 2016, and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified five ongoing, unpublished studies; two of them evaluate masks in COVID-19. Five trials were funded by government and pharmaceutical companies, and nine trials were funded by pharmaceutical companies.

Ten studies looking at surgical masks were “in the community, and two studies in healthcare workers..

Conclusion: “ Compared with wearing no mask in the community studies only, wearing a mask may make little to no difference in how many people caught a flu-like illness/COVID-like illness[.]” These studies involved close to 300,000 people.

For the N95/P2 studies, four were among “in healthcare workers, and one small study was in the community.”

Conclusion: “N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (5 studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness[.]” These studies use close to 30,000 people.

And yet, our poor healthcare workers are now in year three of having to wear masks on the job. Can you imagine? It’s also a pain for the patient. My wife is preparing for surgery, which means at least six doctor’s appointments this week. Each time we have to put on those stupid masks.

My opinion on masks has been the same since the beginning. If you feel better or safer, or more virtuous wearing a mask, feel free to do so. But leave me alone. What does my not wearing a mask have to do with you? It doesn’t affect you. It’s the same with the vaccine. What do you care if someone else is not vaccinated? Someone else’s vaccine status has no effect on you.

Because the last thing my wife needed was one more health issue, I wore a mask until I got vaccinated. After that, I was done with masks. My town had a mask mandate. I ignored it. I enjoyed ignoring it.

The real horror here is what happened to school children—forcing them into masks—terrorizing them if they refused. How this impacted their ability to socialize and develop.

Monstrous.

Unforgivable.

I have one doctor who defied these mandates from day one. No one has ever worn a mask in his office. He described the stupidity of masks to me this way: If you photograph a mask and blow the photo up until the size of the pores in the mask are the size of a basketball, you will see that the comparative size of the coronavirus is that of a golf ball. This YouTube video illustrates it pretty well.

All the federal government does is lie to us, especially if that lie will harm children. There is nothing Democrats want more than to turn our kids into confused, scared, easily bullied neurotics.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.