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In the ongoing debate over the effectiveness of coronavirus masks, a new study published this week suggests that the widespread use of face masks may help prevent large outbreaks of COVID-19.
The study, published Tuesday in The Lancet Digital Health, asked more than 300,000 Americans aged 13 or older about their mask-wearing habits. Participants were asked questions such as the likelihood that they wore a face mask when in public places, such as when shopping or visiting family and friends who do not live in their household. .
Of those who responded, about 85% said they were “very likely” to wear a mask when shopping, and about 40% said the same about visiting family and friends. Overall, people 65 or older were more likely to report wearing a mask, as were black and Hispanic Americans and those who reported living in a large urban area.
In the end, a logistic model “controlling physical distance, population demographics, and other variables found that a 10% increase in self-reported mask wearing was associated with an increased chance of transmission control.” , the researchers, of Boston Children’s Hospital, wrote.
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In other words, the researchers found that a just 10% increase in face mask wearing by people within a certain zip code tripled the chances that the community could keep control of the virus transmission, or tripled. the community’s chances of keeping the coronavirus breeding number (R0) below one.
An R0 is a mathematical term related to the degree of infection of a disease or the average number of people who will contract the disease from a single infected person. An R0 below one indicates that a disease “will decline and eventually go away,” according to Healthline.
Although the study authors identified some limitations – they ignored contact tracing and testing, for example, and participants were asked to self-report their mask-wearing habits – they did. ultimately concluded that “communities where wearing masks the distance had the highest predicted probability of transmission control.”
“The widespread use of face masks combined with physical distancing increases the chances of controlling the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.” Self-reported mask wearing has increased regardless of government mask mandates, suggesting that additional public health interventions are needed to maximize adoption and help stem the ongoing epidemic. ”
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“The evidence is clear: masks work,” said Dr Hannah Clapham of the National University of Singapore in an article accompanying the study.
However, she noted, “their use is an untargeted control measure, in which the entire population is involved, rather than just known or suspected cases.”
Or, in other words, “buy-in from society as a whole is, therefore, necessary for the success of the intervention,” she wrote.
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