Japanese study shows that wearing masks didn't help prevent people getting colds

 There is a lot of mask shaming going on; even by Joe Biden who takes off his mask to cough.

As a scientist I tend to think that masks must help somewhat but as a scientist I believe in actual data not opinions.

Therefore a study from 2008 that showed that masks didn't protect against the common cold is significant.

While it's true that the common cold virus and the China virus aren't the same viral contagion mechanisms tend to be similar even if their infection modes are different.

Hence it's not unfair to question the actual utility of masks especially since most people who catch COVID19 wear masks.

I still think wearing masks is a good thing to do since it may help but the lack of actual data showing that wearing masks significantly reduces the spread of the virus means that viciously attacking people who don't think masks are necessary is inappropriate.

It's especially inappropriate when the mask shamers are ok with massive protests and riots where people don't wear masks or follow social distancing rules.

Finally I wear a mask because I know that some people, rightly or wrongly, will be very upset if they see someone not wearing a mask. Hence I wear one out of consideration for others even if I can't show that wearing masks is actually very useful.