IRISH HEALTH MINISTER, STEPHEN DONNELLY: "I mean there's oodles of data."

"Can you name a study?": Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly pressed on the effectiveness of face masks, as he floats the idea of reintroducing them this winter.  https://t.co/MWPibuFRaN pic.twitter.com/lfF3wr9RTm

— gript (@griptmedia) October 18, 2022

Well, I don't live in Ireland, but I do live in the U.S. where I've seen schoolyards of children wearing masks, not because of any condition they have or any condition they might threaten their classmates with, but because of remote, unaccountable, invisible authority: the county health officer.  

But I do love the language that these official tools give to reporters.  

You may mandate COVID masks this winter, but according to a major report by Ofsted in the UK earlier this year.  There's evidence that face masks could have stunted many children in social and language development.  So I'd like to ask with these known risks, what real-world evidence do you have that masks significantly reduce COVID-19 not based on models but actual real-world examples.   

00:25  So first of all, there is no expectation we will be moving to mask mandates.  Obviously, Ireland does what every other country will have contingency plans in place should there be a variants of concern that out competes Omicron that is a high ratio in terms of severe illness and that escapes the vaccines.  

My comments:  So this was something.  He's admitting that Ireland's response will be just like every other country's response.  Like China's?  Like Austria?  How about Australia?  There's no greater admission or concession that says we defer to a higher central authority than our own nation.  We defer to the International Communist WEF, Davos, and the EU.  These are our gods.  

00:45  The public health advice I have is unambiguous [meaning he'll change his advice next week] on the use of masks.  Masks are important.  We have public health advice in place right now.  They do work.  They do save lives.  And they have been an incredibly important part of our response to the . . . to the pandemic.

01:00  What real-world examples do you have of that other than just saying that they work? 

01:07  I mean there's oodles of data.  There's data all over the world.  There's no serious argument being had in terms of whether face masks . . . there's no serious argument being had in the medical community as to whether face masks are an important public health measure.  Are there trade-offs, are there trade-offs in children wearing masks?  Yes, there are, and those things are taken very seriously, and they are counted for in terms of public health advice.  But in terms of living through a pandemic, there is no serious debate as to whether face masks are an important public health measure . . . .

01:48  Could you name a real-world public health study that shows that . . . ? 

01:51  I will ask the Chief Medical Officer to send you any number of studies to that effect.  Yep, no problem at all.