Newly obtained text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci's device indicate that he and other leading health officials privately held concerns about the efficacy of cloth masks in preventing COVID-19 transmission, according to reporting by OutKick, citing documents released by Sen. Ron Johnson.
One text message, sent in August 2021 by Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), to individuals identified as "Jeff," "Vivek," "Tony" (likely Fauci), and "Rochelle" (likely then-CDC director Rochelle Walensky), suggested efforts to avoid public record.
"I'm sending this via text messaging to avoid any FOIA issues," Osterholm wrote, as reported by OutKick. He stated that a reporter had mischaracterized his comments on face coverings. Osterholm reiterated his long-held view that there was "no evidence to support cloth masking to stop the spread of the virus" and that cloth face coverings offer "limited benefit in reducing risk."
Osterholm's message referenced a finding by a national industrial hygienists expert group that cloth face coverings had "virtually no protective benefit as opposed to wearing nothing." He noted that N-95 respirators are necessary for effectiveness against aerosol transmission, linking to a fact sheet from the ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists).
He also stated that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had reviewed studies used by the CDC to support its position on cloth face coverings and found that "none of the studies that CDC uses to support its statement as to the significant protection of face cloth coverings stand up to scientific scrutiny."
According to the OutKick report, Osterholm also noted that the CDC was "very late to the game recognizing that aerosols play a significant role in the transmission picture," suggesting this was a primary driver of COVID-19 spread.
Osterholm concluded the text by stating his certainty that a key takeaway from the pandemic would be the "constant USG emphasis on masking while at the same time providing minimal guidance to the public what effective masking means." The reporting suggests this was a tacit admission that official guidance on masks was insufficient and potentially misleading.
The report further cited a comparison of COVID case rates in German states, suggesting that mandates for N95-grade masks did not result in lower case rates compared to states with mandates for lower-quality masks, implying that even higher-grade masks did not universally prove effective. The texts indicate that these officials were aware of the scientific limitations of cloth masks, even as they were promoted to the public.