Low-quality evidence in favour of masks was all over the media, but the one decent randomised controlled trial (RCT) into mask-wearing was barely reported. It found a statistically insignificant difference in infection between mask-wearers and non-mask wearers.19 I interviewed one of the study’s authors for Chapter 13, ‘The climate of fear’. Hospital admissions made headlines, but not discharges. Deaths were reported with grim daily dedication, but not recoveries. Is it any wonder that the UK was one of the most frightened countries in the world?
