Dr. David Matar, MD responded to a video by an American chiropractor that has been circulating the internet in which the U.S. doctor describes a near-fatal bacterial lung infection that he claims was caused by prolonged face mask wearing, telling Arutz Sheva: "I rely much more on hydroxychloroquine and zinc for every exposure, every even possible exposure, and for any beginning infection, rather than masks."

Dr. Matar served as IDF Enlistment Bureau Medical Committee Chairman for 15 years.

The U.S. video, posted by Dr. Eric Nepute, contained an emphatic indictment of COVID-19 restrictions. In it, Dr. Nepute says: "A four-year-old little boy got rushed to the emergency room last night because he was having shortness of breath, wheezing, and cough. Guess what he has? This 4-year-old has a bacterial infection in his lungs because of prolonged mask use."

Responding to Dr. Nepute's video, Dr. Matar told Arutz Sheva: "It is possible that wearing a mask in a four-year-old, especially if you have a history of asthma or lung obstruction, can predispose to pneumonia, but don't forget that 4-year-olds get pneumonia all the time, without wearing a mask. So nobody can prove that that particular kid got it because of the mask.

"That being said, there is not great science that shows that masks prevent spread or prevent infection. In many situations, many countries where masks have been worn religiously, the spikes in COVID happened anyway."

This is reflected in research published by the New England Journal of Medicine that showed that extreme quarantine plus frequent testing and isolation among military recruits did nothing to stop the virus. Meanwhile, some professionals have outright called mandatory masks for children "child abuse".

Dr. Matar continues: "I rely much more on hydroxychloroquine and zinc for every exposure, every even possible exposure, and for any beginning infection, rather than masks. But I wear a mask, because that's what I need to do at work and in the local minyan. But I agree that relying on masks without therapeutics is a fool's errand."

Dr. Nepute joins other U.S. doctors who have been suppressed for expressing serious misgivings about COVID-19 regime. Nepute received a "warning letter" from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for "unlawfully advertising that certain products or services treat or prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)."

Minnesota Senate Health and Human Services Committee Vice-Chairman State Senator (District 47) Dr. Scott Jensen was notified by the Board of Medical Practice in Minnesota that he is under investigation for "misinformation" and providing "reckless advice" regarding completing death certificates listing COVID-19 as cause of death.

The FTC warning cited Nepute statements about vitamin therapy, including Vitamin D: "For COVID-19, no such study is currently known to exist for the products and services identified above. Thus, any coronavirus-related prevention claims regarding such services are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. You must immediately cease making all such claims."

However, an Israeli study found that low plasma 25(OH) vitamin D level is associated with increased risk of COVID-19 infection.

The collaborative group of scientists from the Leumit Health Services (LHS) and the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University aimed to determine associations of low plasma 25(OH)D with the risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization. Using the real-world data and Israeli cohort of 782 COVID-19 positive patients and 7,025 COVID-19 negative patients, the groups identified that low plasma vitamin D level appears to be an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection and hospitalization.

Nepute continued: "This has got to end. How many more people are going to have to die? How many more kids are going to end up in the hospital? How many more kids are scared to death? I just talked to a 16-year-old kid yesterday who's scared to death that he's going to die from COVID.

"He doesn't have any symptoms whatsoever, but he's scared to death because every time he coughs or sneezes or whatever, he thinks he's going to die, because that's what he's seen on social media. This is stupid, this is ignorant, I just cannot believe that this is happening. This is like the worst dream that's ever been. It's time for us to wake up from this nightmare."