Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 07/03/2022
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has no data to suggest that it is more difficult to recover from viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold and the flu, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Virologists have found that wearing face masks has a negative effect on the strength of our immune system. This is why some now find it harder to recover even from common colds,” claimed an article on the news website Žurnal24.si on 14 February.
In making this claim, the article referenced statements made by microbiologist Irena Tabain, Head of the Department for Virological Diagnostics at the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ). They were taken from an article in the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list, which, however, merely summarized her claims. The first to publish them was the Rijeka-based newspaper Novi list on 13 February.
Tabain spoke to Novi list about international cooperation of the HZJZ in monitoring, analysing and sharing data on influenza viruses and in devising responses to epidemics of different virus strains.
Both Croatian newspapers reported that, according to virologists, two years of wearing protective masks could affect the strength of people’s immune systems. “This could make it more difficult for people to recover from colds in the future,” the Novi List journalist suggested.
As Tabain explained to Novi list, colds could be more difficult to recover from in the future because we “don’t stimulate our immune systems” when wearing protective masks. Viral infections that usually cause a runny nose or a slight fever can now resultantly cause more severe symptoms, she warned.
Statements by the virologist taken out of context
When asked to clarify her statements and identify the source, Tabain replied that they were “taken out of context and so any resulting questions are also taken out of context.” She did not reply to the follow-up question in what context she had made the statements to Novi list and what exactly she had said.
She did call attention to the importance of wearing protective masks in limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in her first reply. She sent us an article by a group of Spanish virologists on the impact of measures such as social distancing, lockdowns and the use of protective masks among the general public on the epidemiology of respiratory viruses. The article was published last June in the peer-reviewed journal Vaccines.
The authors noted in the article that, in addition to limiting the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, these measures had almost completely prevented the circulation of some other viruses, for example the flu. In their assessment, this could lead to reduced herd immunity against these viruses and to more severe epidemics of the flu and other respiratory viruses than usual.
They concluded that non-pharmaceutical public health measures, including wearing of protective masks, are highly effective in preventing the spread of viruses, and that more research should be carried out in the future on their impact on herd immunity against other viruses.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has no data to suggest that it is more difficult to recover from viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold and the flu, during the COVID-19 pandemic: “There is no evidence that wearing a face mask has any effect on the immune system.”
We also asked the Slovenian National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) and the Jožef Stefan Institute for information on the incidence of severe cases of the common cold and the flu during the pandemic and possible impact of face masks, but they have no such data or research.
We likewise asked more than ten experts for clarification and possible data on the impact of face masks on immunity, but the majority had not responded by the time this article was published.
In response to our findings, the editor-in-chief of the news website Žurnal24.si Matej Košir explained that the journalist had made a mistake in citing his source. He did quote public statements by the Croatian virologist, however he should have additionally checked the information elsewhere, “so he will correct and update the article.”
The claim that wearing face masks has a negative effect on the strength of our immune system is unfounded.