Face masks help control transmission of COVID-19

Clapham, Hannah E.; Cook, Alex R.

doi:10.1016/s2589-7500(21)00003-0

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…However, such hopes are under current practice not realistic. After state‐wide mask mandates, self‐reported mask wearing did not increase significantly in the US, indicating a disconnect between rules, messaging and actions, and that socio‐behavioural research is needed to reinforce mask wearing (Clapham and Cook, 2021 ). A discrepancy between self‐reported and observed mask wearing was also observed in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Kenya (Abaluck et al ., 2021 ; Jakubowski et al ., 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can a combination of vaccination and face mask wearing contain the COVID‐19 pandemic?

Brüssow

Zuber

2021

Microbial Biotechnology

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Summary The COVID‐19 pandemic is going into its third year with Europe again being the focus of major epidemic activity. The present review tries to answer the question whether one can come to grip with the pandemic by a combination of vaccinations and non‐pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Several COVID‐19 vaccines are of remarkable efficacy and achieve high protection rates against symptomatic disease, especially severe disease, but mathematical models suggest that the current vaccination coverage in many countries is insufficient to achieve pandemic control. NPIs are needed as complementary measures because recent research has also revealed the limits of vaccination alone. Here, we review the evidence for efficacy of face mask wearing in various settings. Overall pooled analysis showed significant reduction in COVID‐19 incidence with mask wearing, although heterogeneity between studies was substantial. Controlled trials of mask wearing are difficult to conduct, separating mask wearing effects in population studies from the impact of other NPIs is challenging and the efficacy of masks depend on mask material and mask fit. The combination of vaccination and mask wearing is potentially synergistic since vaccination protects so far well from disease development (the omicron variant is currently an unknown) but immunity from infection wanes over few months after vaccination. In comparison, masks interfere with the virus transmission process at a level of a physical barrier independent of coronavirus variant. Vaccination and masks are much less costly to apply than other NPI measures which are associated with high economic and social costs, but paradoxically both measures are the target of a vocal opposition by a sizable minority of the society. In parallel with biomedical research, we need more social science research into this opposition to guide political decisions on how to end the pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can a combination of vaccination and face mask wearing contain the COVID‐19 pandemic?

Brüssow

Zuber

2021

Microbial Biotechnology

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“…Social contact in populated areas fosters greater chances of contracting infectious diseases (Yang et al, 2017). Recent research on mask-wearing behavior during COVID-19 has found population density as a positive correlate of virus transmission (Rader et al, 2020) and that faces masks help control transmissions (Clapham and Cook, 2021) with experts calling for mask wearing in population-dense areas (Zhai, 2020). Therefore, we assumed that areas with greater population densities may be more at risk, and people within those regions are more likely to wear masks (Haischer et al, 2020).…”

Section: Population Densitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mask Use Depends on the Individual, Situation, and Location—Even Without COVID-19 Transmission: An Observational Study in Shanghai

English

2021

Front. Psychol.

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COVID-19 has drastically altered people’s mask-wearing behaviors around the world. What is unknown is how long these mask behaviors will last post-COVID-19? To investigate how individual, situational, and locational factors influence mask use in the absence of community spread of COVID-19, we conducted an observational study in public areas in the megacity of Shanghai, China. Researchers coded people’s mask use in various suburban and urban districts and outdoor and indoor locations with and without mask requirements. Firstly, even without any local transmissions in more than 40days, 62% of the sample (N=1,282) still wore masks in public places. The data showed that people in more urban areas wore masks more often and that people wore masks in places where it was mandated. Women also wore masks more than men, and older people complied more with mask enforcement policies. We found that more densely populated districts and areas with more inflow of non-locals also predicted more mask use. We argue that the pandemic has long-lasting effects on human behavior like mask usage and reflects individuals’ continual conformity to new social norms.

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“…The results in this study, reinforce the evidence that in general, wearing masks can be beneficial to the community and that this beneficial effect is derived from the ability of masks to block the exhalation and inhalation of infectious viruses, regardless of the type of mask used, as shown in a review by Brooks and Butler (2021) [24] Data from different studies conducted in several countries have shown that the use of masks together with social distancing can reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection [11,[25][26][27][28]. A study performed by Ma et al (2020), which used an automated system that mimicked human breathing, showed that the virus-blocking rates of surgical and homemade masks were approximately 97% and 95%, respectively [29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of Face Masks in Blocking the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a Preliminary Evaluation of Masks Used by SARS-CoV-2-Infected Individuals

Mello

Eller

Salvio

et al. 2021

Preprint

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In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is trans-mitted via airborne route, caused a new pandemic namely, 'coronavirus disease 2019' (COVID-19). Although it is still debated whether the use of masks can prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, no study has evaluated the virus-blocking efficacy of masks used by patients. We aimed to evaluate this efficacy of masks used by SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Data, masks used, and nasopharyngeal swab samples were obtained from these patients. Forty-five paired samples of nasopharyngeal swabs and masks were obtained and processed; the majority of masks were woven. Viral RNAs were amplified using quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction and detected only on the inner parts of masks. Median cycle threshold (CT) values of swabs and masks were 28.41 and 37.95, respectively. Statistically, there was a difference of ap-proximately 10 CT values between swabs and masks and no significant difference in CT values among different types of masks. There were statistically significant differences in CT values be-tween men and women and symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Our findings suggest the blocking of the transmission of the virus by different types of masks and reinforce the use of masks by both infected and non-infected individuals.

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Face masks help control transmission of COVID-19

Cited by 16 publications

References 9 publications

Can a combination of vaccination and face mask wearing contain the COVID‐19 pandemic?

Can a combination of vaccination and face mask wearing contain the COVID‐19 pandemic?

Mask Use Depends on the Individual, Situation, and Location—Even Without COVID-19 Transmission: An Observational Study in Shanghai

Effectiveness of Face Masks in Blocking the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: a Preliminary Evaluation of Masks Used by SARS-CoV-2-Infected Individuals

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