I am Health Exempt From Wearing a Mask

Any medical intervention must be shown to be safe (i.e., does not cause harm) and effective for FDA approval. Masks​ have not been proven to be safe to wear or effective​ in preventing the spread of viral diseases.

While many states and local communities have put in place mask mandates, there is a lack of understanding of the risks​ and unintended consequences​of the mask​ requirement.​

Wearing a mask is a choice. Why would I choose to not wear a mask?

• It may negatively impact my health​ by causing poor oxygenation levels that can lead to hypoxemia. Wearing a cloth mask may even increase the risk of infecting myself and others.^a​
• Masks have not been proven to be effective​ in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Due to the particle size of the virus and the pore size of mask materials, wearing a mask is unlikely to protect me or protect others.^b​
• The ​risk of an asymptomatic individual (i.e., a healthy person) infecting others appears to be very low. I​ am aware that both the infection and complication rate of COVID-19 are no higher than the common flu.^c​
• Masks mandates are unconstitutional, ​​and​ I maintain the freedom to choose how to protect my health in non-medical settings.^d​

As mandating face masks cannot be legally enforced, I have chosen to review the available evidence and trust my intuition, ultimately concluding that the potential medical and psychological harms of wearing a mask in public settings does not outweigh these risks.

Further details and references that support my rationale for declining to wear a mask:

a. Wearing a mask negatively impacts my health

1. May cause ​hypoxemia ​(blood oxygen levels at or below 95%) or ​hypoxia ​(insufficient tissue oxygen levels) as well as ​hypercapnia ​(elevation of blood carbon dioxide levels)

a. Symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath, lack of energy, headache, sweating, irritability, rapid heartbeat, and chest pain

b. A randomized clinical trial showed that in medical staff members aged 20-50, wearing N95 masks resulted in hypoxemia and hypercapnia​, reducing work efficiency and the ability to make correct decisions and causing headache, dizziness, and shortness of breath⁴​

c. The brain is the most susceptible organ to hypoxia, and cognitive and visual function can be impaired when oxygen levels reach 85% or below

d. Continued low oxygen levels may lead to cyanosis (blue discoloration of nail beds, skin, and lips), ​which is considered an emergency because it can lead to life-threatening respiratory failure or cardiac arrest

e. Even if not life threatening, sustained low blood oxygenation levels and high carbon dioxide levels can deteriorate short term memory, damage eyesight, weaken my heart muscle, and damage neuronal connections ²​^​,³​

f. Supporting the idea that hypoxia is a medical condition,​​ Medicare will pay for oxygen therapy and oxygen equipment if blood oxygenation levels are below 88%¹​

g. Referenced are ​several other peer-reviewed studies ​that have found evidence of masks causing hypoxia and/or hypercapnia⁵​^​,⁶​^​,⁷​

2. May facilitate entry of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and other viruses to my brain⁸​

a. The most likely way for a virus to enter the brain is via the olfactory nerves in your nostrils⁹​^​; as such, wearing a mask traps exhaled viruses, potentially allowing them to enter my olfactory nerves and travel to my brain ¹⁰​^​,¹¹​

3. Homemade cloth masks, which are rarely washed after every use, may actually increase the transmission of COVID-19 and other bacterial and viral infections ​by trapping moisture or prompting behaviors like increased face and eye touching. In fact, the January 2020 WHO guidance stated that "Cloth (e.g. cotton or gauze) masks are not recommended under any circumstance."¹²​

a. The most compelling evidence of increased disease transmission comes from a randomized controlled trial in which 1600 healthcare workers were divided into 3 groups (medical masks, cloth masks, or a control group), and the rates of clinical respiratory illness and influenza-like illness (ILI) were compared after 4 weeks. The rates of all infections were highest in the cloth mask arm​- yes, higher than the control arm. This study also concluded that 97% of particles penetrate cloth masks, whereas 44% penetrate medical masks.¹³​

b. There is no proof that wearing a mask protects me or protects others from becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2

i. Numerous randomized controlled trials have been conducted to determine if masks or respirators prevent respiratory influenza-like illnesses, ​ultimately concluding that they do not work.¹⁴​^​, ¹⁵​^​,¹⁶​^​,¹⁷​^​,¹⁸​

ii. In the June 5, 2020 guidance from the WHO,¹⁹ ​^​researchers compiled the filtration efficiency metrics of several types of non-medical (i.e. homemade) cloth masks and found that none provided significant filtration.

1. For example, filtration efficiency of cotton (from a T-shirt) ranged from 5-26%

      a. Filtration efficiency of cotton from a handkerchief was 1.1%

iii. There is no evidence that asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers can infect others with the disease. ​A May 2020 study tested 455 contacts of an asymptomatic patient, finding that ​zero contacts contracted COVID-19 from the patient who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2​.²⁰​

c. The CDC, WHO, federal government, local governments, and various health agencies have provided conflicting and ever-changing guidance on the utility of healthy people wearing masks in non-medical settings. Most recent guidance from the WHO (June 5, 2020)²¹​^​ outlines the potential benefits and harms of wearing masks

i. Benefits include: reduced potential exposure risk from infected persons before they develop symptoms, reduced potential stigmatization of individuals wearing masks, making people feel that they can play a role in contributing to stopping spread of virus, and providing a source of income

1. Harms/disadvantages include: ​potential increased risk of self-contamination due to the manipulation of a face mask and subsequently touching eyes with contaminated hands, potential headache and/or breathing difficulties, potential development of facial skin lesions, irritant dermatitis or worsening acne

ii. On March 2, the US Surgeon General called for people to stop buying masks as they could increase a person's risk of contracting COVID-19,²²​^​ a recommendation that he reversed on April 3²³​

d. Mandating masks is unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable

i. On April 16, 2020, the White House released "Guidelines for Opening Up America Again," in which individuals were advised to "strongly consider using face coverings while in public"²⁴​

1. Executive orders issued by state, county, or town governments that "require" the wearing of face masks are in direct conflict with federal guidance

ii. As such, a Texas judge announced that Galveston County will not be mandating its citizens to wear face coverings in public, calling such decrees "unconstitutional"²⁵​

iii. County, state, or town agencies lack the legal authority to create a mandate for citizens to wear masks and therefore shall be enjoined from enforcing such measures

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