Countless numbers of people were publicly shamed and couldn't visit loved ones or enter stores or attend school due to the mask mandate. Apologies from the so-called health authorities and government agencies are in order.
-NW

Twitter divided after New York Times column concedes ‘mask mandates did nothing’
By Jeffrey Clark | Fox News

[snip]

Pro and anti-mask advocates battled on Twitter after New York Times columnist Bret Stephens covered a recent study that concluded masking made "no difference" on the spread of COVID.

The op-ed, headlined, "The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?" examined whether masks made a real difference in preventing transmission of the virus.

Oxford epidemiologist Tom Jefferson concluded the science was clear.

FACE MASKS MADE ‘LITTLE TO NO DIFFERENCE’ IN PREVENTING SPREAD OF COVID, SCIENTIFIC REVIEW FINDS

"Natural immunity is as good as vaccinated immunity. Now, masks are ‘worthless.’ I'm old enough to remember when I was smeared as spreading 'misinformation' for saying the same things years ago," podcast host Kyle Becker tweeted in response to Stephens’ op-ed.

Author David Zweig pointed out that the study on masking, published in collaboration with prestigious nonprofit Cochrane, was only allowed oxygen in the op-ed section of The Times.

"The remarkable thing here is that the only way the most prestigious data review on community masks - which found no clear evidence of benefit - made it into the paper of record was in an opinion piece The NYT Science desk did not deem it newsworthy."

https://twitter.com/SethDillon/status/1628378362358931458

While it’s nice to see the NY Times finally admit masks are worthless, it’s false to say the mandates “did nothing.” They harmed kids, eroded public trust, and psychologically damaged millions of people to the point where they’re still afraid to breathe in public. pic.twitter.com/k57e2cG1Km

— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) February 22, 2023