The latest example of why people shouldn't blindly follow 'the science...as decreed by bureaucrats', arrived Friday, when Bloomberg reported that a study undertaken by the British government to justify forcing children to wear masks in schools has forced them to admit that the evidence for the efficacy of face masks stopping the spread of COVID-19 in schools is "not conclusive."
Data from the Department of Education stated that whilst not conclusive, there are now a number of scientific studies which consider the association between COVID-19 and the use of face coverings specifically in education.
The study cited by the department didn’t provide proof of a statistically significant decline in absences.
The research compared 123 U.K. schools that used masks with about 1,200 others that didn’t during the Covid wave fueled by the delta variant.
Schools with face-covering rules in October 2021 saw their absence rate drop by 2.3 percentage points, to 3%, two to three weeks later.
In schools that didn’t use masks, absences fell by 1.7 percentage points, to 3.6%.
As BBC reports, the study concluded that this difference was not statistically significant and the greater reduction in schools where masks were worn could be down to chance.
One epidemiologist quoted by Bloomberg said the government's data didn't provide strong enough evidence to justify requiring face coverings in schools.
"The study and research outlined in this report does not provide strong justification for introducing this policy in schools," said Sarah Lewis, professor of molecular epidemiology at the University of Bristol.
And they should, because forcing children to wear masks all day...