Masks weren’t 100% effective, but there was some benefit. That isn’t surprising since COVID-19 was spread through aerosols. The hard part with any public policy is weighing the pros and cons.
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So…. “No way I’m going to be told to act responsibility” - - because I’m an American, even if enough Americans agreed with me, we would be a sitting duck the next time someone wants to infect our country that only wipes out FREE cultures?
Ha!
Evidence from numerous real-world studies, natural experiments, and scientific modeling consistently shows that widespread mask-wearing helped to “flatten the curve” by significantly reducing the transmission of COVID-19:
Key Evidence and Findings.
Slowed Growth Rates: Multiple studies found that mask mandates led to a measurable slowdown in the daily COVID-19 case growth rate. One analysis of 15 U.S. states and the District of Columbia found that mandates slowed the daily growth rate by 0.9 percentage points after five days, a figure that increased to 2 percentage points after three weeks.
Reduced Cases and Deaths:
A study across 198 countries found that those with policies or cultural norms favoring mask-wearing had lower death rates. One U.S. study estimated that implementing mandatory face masks for employees could have reduced cumulative cases by 21% and deaths by 34% by the end of May 2020.
Adherence to public policies would probably be proportional to the mortality rate.
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An alternative view:
A couple of years later than the study you posted.
The California results vs the Florida results adjusted for the demographics is informative.
When there is a claim that death were reduced in May 2020, that is not very current for a pandemic that lasted much longer. There is no doubt that severe isolation and other draconian measures delays the spread of a disease, albeit at a high cost. Delays may not be reductions after a few months or a couple of years.