Colleen Huber, NMD
First published as pre-print July 6, 2020
Peer review completed November 19, 2020
In 2020 there is a surge in use of facemasks in public places, including for extended periods of me, in
the United States as well as in other countries. The public has been instructed by media and their
governments that one’s use of masks, even if not sick, may prevent others from being infected with
SARS-CoV-2, the infecous agent of COVID-19.
A review of the peer-reviewed medical literature examines impacts of masks on human health, both
immunological, as well as physiological. The purpose of this paper is to examine data regarding the
eecveness of facemasks, as well as safety data. The reason that both are examined in one paper is
that for the general public as a whole, as well as for each individual, a risk-benet analysis is necessary
to guide decisions on if and when to wear a mask
Neither effective nor safe