JAMA’s retraction of paper finding masks harm children was ‘political,’ lead author says

Contact Your Elected Officials
Just The News

Study authors challenge critics to “produce better and different results.”

he lead author of a study that foundย dangerously high levels of inhaled carbon dioxideย in German masked schoolchildren is crying foul after the prestigious journal that published the study retracted it.

Harald Walach told Just the News that editors at the Journal of the American Medical Association and JAMA Pediatrics did not tell him how he failed to provide, in the words of theย retraction notice,ย “sufficiently convincing evidence” in response to criticism of the study.

“I would actually also like to see how those conclusions were reached, but I am afraid that there was no solid conclusion,” he wrote in an email. The “key phrase” in the retraction notice was “potential public health implications,” which suggests “the retraction was political, because some people did not like our data,” Walach said.

The notice cited “numerous scientific issues” that were raised after the publication of the research letter, aย shorter formatย JAMA accepts for “concise, focused reports of original research.” They are limited to 600 words โ€” a condition cited by Walach in responses to criticism.

Editors Dimitri Christakis and Phil Fontanarosa faulted the study methodology, particularly the measurement device the authors used to assess CO2 levels, questioning whether it correctly measured inhaled air only. The “validity of the study conclusions” โ€” that policymakers should reconsider universal child masking โ€” is also in doubt, they argued.

The notice also said the journal performed an “editorial evaluation” and commissioned “additional scientific review,” but did not elaborate. Walach told Just the News the editors did not provide a “rebuttal of our points” or the “fourth scientific review that was hinted at” in the notice.

It’s the second retraction for Walach, a psychologist at Germany’s University of Witten/Herdecke, in two weeks.

He was also lead author on a study in Vaccines that estimated two deaths were “inflicted by” COVID-19 vaccines for every three lives they saved. The journal claimed the study conflated correlation with causation, promptingย Walach and coauthors to accuse Vaccinesย of accepting a much lower evidentiary burden for COVID-linked deaths.

Walachย lost his affiliationย with Poland’s Poznan University of Medical Sciences in response to the Vaccines paper. He toldย Retraction Watchย the university didn’t tell him before tweeting his removal.

Byย Greg Piper

Read Full Article on JustTheNews.com


Original Documents

“Experimental Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Content in Inhaled Air With or Without Face Masks in Healthy Children”

Retraction notice

Just The News
Just The Newshttps://justthenews.com/
JusttheNews.com tries to stand out by returning to the bedrock promise of getting news first, but first getting it right. We try to deliver news you can trust.

Why the Trump Administration is Sitting on the Epstein Files

President Trump, AG Bondi, and FBI Dir. Patel have the advantage over us in that they see the big overall picture when it comes to the Epstein List.

Trumpโ€™s โ€œMajor Statementโ€ On Russia Is A Clumsy Attempt To Thread The Needle

The โ€œmajor statementโ€ on Russia Trump hyped up turned out to be an attempt to thread the needle between escalating US involvement in Ukrainian and walking away from it.

AI Takes Customer Service from Doublespeak to Triplespeak

Corporations are replacing customer service agents with AI agents. Here's a real-life example of attempting to use AI to have my internet restored.

The Left’s Descent into Extremismย ย 

The political left, from mainstream Dems to radical Antifa, have embraced extremism, alienating swaths of the public and undermining their own influence.

Roger Stone Speaks About Trump at Turning Point USA

Longtime Donald Trump friend, Roger Stone, gave a speech at the 2025 TPUSA convention offering his take on the recent Epstein List controversy.

Border Czar Says Physical Appearance โ€˜Canโ€™t Be the Sole Reasonโ€™ to Detain Someone

Border czar Homan said comments were โ€œtaken out of contextโ€ and federal immigration enforcement agents can't detain people based on physical appearances alone.

Capacity of US Coal-Fired Power Plants to Fall Over 15 Percent by 2028

Total operating capacity of coal-fired power plants in US is set to drop to 145 GW by end of 2028, a 15% decline from the 172 GW in operation as of May.

Violence Against ICE Escalates Across America

ICE officers face increased confrontation on the street, which crosses the line between free speech and physical violence.

International Buyers Purchased $56 Billion Worth of US Homes in 1 Year

Foreign buyers purchased $56 billion worth of existing homes in the US between April 2024 and March 2025, up by 33.2% from the previous 12 months.

CMS Eyes 3.8 Percent Pay Hike for Doctors, Medicare Cost Cuts, and Chronic Care Expansion

Trump admin plan will save billions on wasteful spending, boost rates for doctors, and modernizing Medicare services, said HHS Sec. RFK, Jr.

DOGE Announces Billions of Dollars in Federal Contracts Terminated

In post on X on July 12, DOGE, stated that โ€œover the last week, agencies terminated 230 wasteful contracts,โ€ resulting in savings of $407 million.

Trump to Announce $70 Billion Energy and Innovation Investment in Pittsburgh

President Trump is meeting with business leaders to discuss how best to meet the energy and computing needs of the future.

Attorney General Pam Bondi Dismisses Justice Departmentโ€™s Top Ethics Lawyer

AG Pam Bondi terminated the head of the DOJโ€™s ethics division, according to a letter posted to social media by the fired official.
spot_img

Related Articles