By: Mark Glennon*
Friday was the last straw.
Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control, claimed that masks can reduce your chances of getting a COVID-19 infection by 80%.
There’s not a shred of empirical evidence to support anything remotely close to that level of efficacy for masks. Don’t take our word for it. Look at the reaction.
Medical experts immediately slammed Walensky for that reason. “I don’t know how to put this politely, but it is a lie, and a truly unbelievable one at that,” wrote Vinay Prasad, a hematologist-oncologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco. Harvard medical school’s Martin Kuldorff retweeted a note saying “Not a single paper supports this made-up 80% figure.” Walensky’s claim was “preposterous,” wrote Stanford epidemiology Professor Jay Battacharya. “But it’s an improvement since last year when the former CDC director said masks were better than vaccines,” he added. “At this rate, they’ll get it right in 2050 or so.” Samantha Godwin, resident fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and a bioethics specialist, said the CDC director has made “a specific empirical claim for which no data exists.
None of that criticism has gotten mainstream media attention.
A lie that outright may be the extreme for the CDC, but it has a long pattern of deliberate distortion and double talk, which most of the press either doesn’t understand or chooses not to report.
Here’s a recent example of both that most media have ignored: On October 29 the CDC released a study claiming to show that immunity from vaccination is higher than natural immunity acquired by those who were already infected. It was an attempt to counter the growing evidence that natural immunity is at least as powerful as vaccines. Media across the country repeated the CDC’s claim with headlines like “Why COVID-19 vaccines are stronger than natural immunity.”
You didn’t need to be a scientist to take a quick look at the study and know that it was junk. It studied a group of people already hospitalized with COVID-like symptoms, raising myriad problems of sampling bias. And the study listed some fifty supposed authors, betraying the study for what it was – a political statement. The study was immediately criticized by expert critics, including Harvard’s Prof. Kulldorff
It gets worse. On the same day that it released that study, the CDC also posted a piece that has been nearly entirely ignored by the press. It purported to summarize all the studies on the subject, and it contradicts their own study. Buried deep within the report is this:
A systematic review and meta-analysis including data from three vaccine efficacy trials and four observational studies from the US, Israel, and the United Kingdom, found no significant difference in the overall level of protection provided by infection as compared with protection provided by vaccination; this included studies from both prior to and during the period in which Delta was the predominant variant.
So which is it, CDC? Is your heavily criticized study right or are those other studies and your suppressed conclusion right? The CDC seemed to deliberately muddy that conclusion quoted above by mixing it in with its argument that vaccination bolsters protection for those with natural immunity. That may well be true, but that’s a different matter.
None of this kind of thing is new for the CDC or much of the rest of what we have heard from the government on COVID. For example, the CDC hides numbers on breakthrough infections. It squelched its own study’s finding that masks are ineffective for kids in schools. From the start, the entire subject of natural immunity has been deliberately suppressed, as we and many others have written. Also from the start, it falsely painted COVID as a threat to everybody, justifying its one-size-fits-all remedies and society-wide mitigations, when in fact the only significant risk is to the elderly, the obese and those with certain other comorbidities.
It’s not just the CDC. For a good summary of Anthony Faucci’s failings at the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, see this recent Newsweek column.
Illinois uncritically follows CDC guidance. It’s the supposed “science” the Pritzker administration follows. For example, the Illinois Department of Public Health took only a few hours to say it “fully aligns” with masking guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control last month, including universal masking in schools, regardless of vaccination status. Most of the media likewise regard CDC and other federal pronouncements as dogma.
Many other states are smarter. Illinois is one of only 16 states with mask mandates for school kids. Many states prohibit vaccine mandates that Illinois supports. The vast majority of European nations do not mask kids in schools.
Let the debate continue on how to fight COVID as the science evolves, but afford no credibility to the CDC.
*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
This column was updated to correct Samantha Goodwin’s title.
Other related Wirepoints’ columns:
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Vinay Prasad MD clearly exposes CDC director Walensky for lying about safety of vaccine for children ages 5-11(Dec 10). She stated completely safe, no data to indicate any concerns yet CDC own website showed many VAERS reports and some myocarditis in children 5-11. Check it out.This was reported by Dr. Vinay Prasad,still available on youtube (for now!)
Thank you for pointing to truth. I doubt we can change the heavy pressure to conform based on this factual article, the aim for control is global. Troubled to learn Interstate travel restrictions are not off the table (AP link in article), Illinois Vax Verify with Experion is used as an example in the article. https://thegrayzone.com/2021/10/19/health-wealth-digital-passports-surveillance-capitalism/
This may be of interest to you. Wonder how many side effects these drugs have? The U.S. is the most addicted country on the planet from legal prescription drugs. With all these drugs why isn’t the life expectancy in the U.S. at least 150? Instead the life expectancy is going backwards by a few years now. Maybe Big Pharma needs at least 50 new drugs to reverse the trend.
https://www.citizen.org/article/united-we-spend-big-pharma-us-international-revenue-report/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2112a46d-ccaa-44fb-b392-421cd60ce212
Surprise. Surprise. Does anyone in the Biden Administration not lie to you? They honestly think we are to dumb and can’t handle the truth. Maybe they should try telling us the truth every now and then just for the hell of it and because it’s the right thing to do. Yeah I know, I won’t hold my breath. I don’t think they really want to know that most of us really do know, for example, what a supply chain is. So exactly who can’t handle the truth?
It’s very difficult for people to accept that authorities – people they’ve been trained to believe since kindergarten – are minimally liars and quite likely far worse. It calls too much into question… things they don’t want to deal with. It’s easier to throw some slogan at it and turn away.
This is separating those with moral courage from those without. God help us.
Remember when Dr. Wolensky got on national media emotionally crying because Texas lifted all mask mandates but then a month later she said if you’re vaccinated you can remove your mask even around the unvaccinated? So much flip flopping by the CDC. Science does rapidly change but they seem to cherry pick the data that supports their narrative rather than the common good and at the same time suppress items like immunity from a previous infection.
Every on of these clowns that are supposed to be health ” experts” that are involved in government health agencies have lost ALL credibility,Fauci,Wallenski and all the rest of them do nothing but spread lies,misinformation and bullshit.I would really like to see the stock portfolios of Biden and the rest of these scumbags,bet theyre all getting rich from big pharma stocks!-thats the main reason theyre pushing these vaccines that apparently do very little,and cause numerous other side effects.Show the country your stock portfolio Biden
And none of them told the American public last March/April to exercise and eat right and take your vitamins. Instead it’s lockdown, don’t see family, mask up, and take your damn shot and shut up. It’s embarrassing that most didn’t notice this glaring omission.
These people believe the CDC guidance just like you believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day. I have family members who live, drink, eat and breathe the masks, covid protocols, booster shots. They’re using their own supply so to speak.
https://rescue.substack.com/p/top-doctors-at-summit-today-healthy “It’s beyond belief,” Dr. Kory said. “They’re going to kill kids. The vaccines are so toxic, and it’s unbelievable they’re going after the kids. The adverse event rates are through the roof. The chief one is myocarditis. The chances of being hospitalized with myocarditis caused by the covid vaccine is something like four to seven times higher than the chance of being hospitalized with covid. “The risk benefit analysis shows you expose them to the toxicity of vaccines without any benefit. Our policy is you should not vaccinate healthy children.” A recent study by medpage.com and a group at… Read more »
For myocarditis, wouldn’t it be reasonable to compare the rate of the complication in younger age groups, in those who have had ‘natural’ exposure to Covid versus those who have been vaccinated, before formulating an opinion?
Mark this is a lengthy video you and your team may want to review from a COVID summit in FL over the weekend. It begins with Dr. Robert Malone (pioneer of mRNA tech and vaccine researcher) offering a rather detailed description of what these injections are doing and where they become problematic. Many rebuttals of CDC junk science along the way but it leads to a conclusion about why natural immunity is superior to the injections. A lot of other great sessions from physicians as well about treatments for people who have been injected to counter the impact of the… Read more »
We will. Thank you. And there is a link above to an article on it that looks pretty good: https://rescue.substack.com/p/top-doctors-at-summit-today-healthy
One good consequence of this hullabaloo is that it’ll send the public back to refresh elementary statistics which they may have slumbered through in school. Never too late to brush up on useful subjects.
My business is in the City. My home is in the suburbs. I will commute to the City, and when I arrive it’s Bizarro World. I walk down the sidewalks and I’ll see people masked up–outside–walking by themselves. One guy I saw last week, had his cloth mask (with a Burberry-looking plaid pattern) on, but it was under his nose. He was walking outside, by himself. He was probably about 25 to 30 years old, and looked to be fit and in good health. I see little kids in strollers with masks. I’m not kidding you on that one. I… Read more »
Totally. Just go to Indy or Des Moines or wherever (even downstate) and it’s darn near completely normal. People here need to wake up.
Here is a sad story about someone who committed suicide because of long Covid and probably did not need to if properly cared for. https://www.yahoo.com/news/she-died-long-covid-her-124951698.html My question is how many of her hot shot doctors checked her for nutrient depletion caused both by medications and the bodies need for proper nourishment so it can fight off Covid or any disease. The body may have used up the stores of minerals and vitamins to fight covid AND the depletion of those nutrients by whatever meds they used to treat her. My best guess she was extremely low in vitamin D(very very… Read more »
Thank you WP! The government thinks people don’t know about alternative drugs so they can push for more shots despite a 99% recovery rate. Do they think IL parents don’t know other states don’t have to wear masks in school either – whether or not they are vaccinated? They just saw the result in Virginia – time for Dems to go in IL too – they have done irreparable damage to its citizens and have not been held accountable. It is only impossible to oust them if you believe what the Dems tell you.
43 states don’t have indoor mask mandates. But they’re all wrong and JB is right?
I was in Florida 3 weeks ago, in the Villages, where the average age is 70 years old and I went inside grocery stores, gas stations and home improvement stores, noone is wearing a mask there and they are the most vulnerable population. The bars were packed. I was in Kansas this past weekend, noone is wearing a mask there either, not even the workers or cooks at bars and restaurants, it was so nice to see. I live in Southern IL and I don’t wear a mask anywhere and I am seeing more and more people not wearing them… Read more »
Completely irresponsible reporting. You are spreading disinformation
“Everything I disagree with is Disinformation”
John, put up or shut up. Send your wisdom to the experts I cited, and provide any evidence you think supports Walensky’s claim.
John Clark probably still wears 2 masks while driving his Prius by himself and windows up!-lol
Love the comment, I laughed out loud on this one
you never know when you might drive thru a swarm of ” covids”!!
And in the bedroom….
Care to identify some specific disinformation? No? Ok then “make like a tree and get outta here!”
Congratulations Mark. One of the best articles you have ever written!
Somehow I’ve come to believe that COVID has been politicized. Imagine that!
Walensky is nothing but a talking head with nothing much to back it. 80%? Bah!
Masks are like screen doors on submarines.
They don’t call it the Center for Deception and Control for nothin’
Shut up and obey!
From what I see daily going about my life, the vast vast majority of folks have stopped wearing masks and businesses have stopped bothering to pester people. Sure they have the mask signs on the doors, but its totally there for show now. Many businesses have no sign anymore. This mask thing is dying a slow but sure death, the CDC is trying to resurrect it anyway they can. First by mandate, now by touting trumped up benefits. I’m speaking for Lockport, I can’t really speak for the more wokey suburbs.
Here in Kendall County most people still wear masks in grocery stores, while the entire county had only 48 cases last week. They are afraid of their friends catching them without a mask and the social media repercussions, not of COVID.
80% of the time it works every time.
Anchorman!
Thanks, great article…
As I stated earlier…
The more these alleged medical *experts* pontificate…
The more evident it becomes that they have nothing but distain & contempt for anyone that has the gall to think & decide for themselves…
They believe we don’t have the capacity to understand such complex data & analysis…
I would argue, neither do they…