"The states with mask mandates haven't fared significantly better than the 35 states that didn't impose them during the omicron wave. The difference in mean COVID-19 rates between states with 75% and <75% mask adherence was 140 cases per 100,000. It compares Germany with Sweden, the medias Covid villain for refusing to lock down or mandate masks. 2 minute read. Read on to find out whyand to ensure . We observed some benefit of mask policy on COVID-19 rates, but the findings were unstable. The study concluded that mask mandates and use are not associated with slower state-level Covid-19 spread during Covid-19 growth surges. The medias narrative about masks extended throughout the world. Methodology, New infections have stayed among the lowest in the country, adjusted for population though cases now are rising in New York as they are everywhere. Methodology, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.g001. On the other hand, Hawaii and Connecticut had two of the longest mask mandates and also some of the lowest per capita case counts of all the states. While the downtrend could also have been a result of other countermeasures like social distancing, Kansas' findings mirror observations from other states and countries. Fact check: Masks and vaccines are effective at combating COVID-19 spread. No, Is the Subject Area "Pandemics" applicable to this article? Once you start thinking about acting, it probably is the time to act.. One of the biggest problems in the United States so far has been the lack of a coherent, cohesive national response, said Wafaa El-Sadr, an epidemiologist at Columbia University. R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. Cases were higher in the non-mandate states last summer, when the seasonal surge in the South disproportionately hit Republican states without mandates, but those states went on to have fewer cases during the winter, when the seasonal surge in the North hit more Democratic states with mandates. Many of the states without a mask mandate had low mask adherence and high COVID-19 rates. Its been piecemeal, Dr. El-Sadr said. In contrast, average adherence was 68% in the 15 states with lower COVID-19 rates in October and any mask policy in September. Both mask policy and mask adherence for states and D.C. were cross-tabulated with high case rates in the subsequent month. We abstracted daily percentages of the population who say they always wear a mask in public. She holds a Masters in Psychology concentrating on Behavioral Neuroscience. We infer that mandates likely did not affect COVID-19 case growth, as growth rates were similar on all days between actual or modeled issuance dates and 6 March 2021. Beyond the question of how effective masking is in practice, there is the question of what impact mask mandates have on behavior. The mandate will still require masks where . For policies on physical distancing, we recorded whether a stay-at-home order was issued and, if so, when. No, Is the Subject Area "Public policy" applicable to this article? This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 3.1.2023 11:20 AM, Elizabeth Nolan Brown Investigation, Over a third of states are ending COVID-19 mask mandates. We categorized the existence of a mask policy as None if there was no requirement for face coverings in public spaces, Recommended if required in all public spaces without consequences, and Strict if required in all public spaces with consequences in the form of fine(s) or citation(s). In fact, it doesn't study mask efficacy at all. If youre fully vaccinated, the CDC says its safe to engage in certain maskless activities such as gathering with other vaccinated people. The opposite was true for states with mandates. | After the pandemic, a survey of gains and losses. We thank Dr. Julia Raifman Boston University School of Public Health for developing, maintaining, and providing open access to the COVID-19 US State Policy Database. According to Werler, Arizonas data was unexpected. We abstracted data on whether the state issued a mandate of mask use by all individuals in public spaces, and if so, the dates of implementation and whether the mandate was enforced by fines or criminal charge/citation(s). Nevertheless, it is possible that average mask adherence in a given month does not capture the most effective time period that influences COVID-19 rates. Yes | 3.1.2023 2:50 PM, David McGarry Mask mandates are associated with reductions in COVID-19 case and hospitalization growth rates (6,7), whereas reopening on-premises dining at restaurants, a known risk factor associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection (2), is associated with increased COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly in the absence of mask mandates (8). The book documents how mask mandates were implemented without scientific justification, how they failed around the world, and how public officials and journalists have kept making fools of themselves by pretending otherwise. However, the COVID-19 rates continued to be higher in places with low mask adherence. By contrast, Florida has no statewide restrictions. But as Flam notes, "the benefits of universal masking have been difficult to quantify" in the real world, where cloth models predominate and masks may not be clean, well-fitted, or worn properly. A quarterly magazine of urban affairs, published by the Manhattan Institute, edited by Brian C. Anderson. If youre still not convinced to take off the mask, consider one more graph from Miller. Several cities and large counties, including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Hillsborough (which includes Tampa), had mask requirements, but Gov. 2.18.2022 4:30 PM. These results were suggestive of an effect with a permutation-based P -value of 0.094. Our research examines mask wearing policy and adherence in association with COVID-19 case rates. Massachusetts. As indicated on the graph, surveys during the pandemic showed that fewer than 10 percent of Swedes bothered to wear masks. Mean COVID-19 rates for states with at least 75% mask adherence in the preceding month was 109.26 per 100,000 compared to 249.99 per 100,000 for those with less adherence. We were not able to measure statistical interactions between mask policy and adherence due to instability arising from small numbers. We divided the monthly number by 2.2 to obtain the number in a two-week period (43,088). For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891.t001. Verywell Health's content is for informational and educational purposes only. here. Its Legacy Is Disastrous. Visualization, The claim that a CDC study found face masks to have a negligible effect on the spread of COVID-19 is FALSE. States with stronger policy responses over the long run are seeing comparatively smaller outbreaks. However, Werler says her team did find substantial amounts of variation that could suggest other factors beyond mandatessuch as political affiliationcould be at play. (Though todays ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, declaring the Biden administrations mask mandate for public transportation unlawful, comes as welcome news.) Costs vs. benefits of COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates revealed in new research Thu, 01/12/2023 LAWRENCE Beginning in 2020, most state governors ordered lockdowns and mask mandates to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data on population distributions from the COVID-19 US State Policy Database [13] came from the US Census. CNBC called the nations early Covid response a master class in science communication, and last fall it was praised for tightening its mask mandate in an Atlantic article, Four Measures That Are Helping Germany Beat Covid. Its stricter mandate early last year banished cloth masks, requiring surgical masks instead, and the states of Berlin and Bavaria went still further, requiring masks of N95 quality. Jocelyn Solis-Moreira is a journalist specializing in health and science news. Over the course of the pandemic, both Iowa and Florida have done better than the national average in measures of Covid mortality as well as overall excess mortality (the number of deaths more than normal from all causes). Jha thinks vaccination rates areanother important factor: While "only 59% of eligible Florida seniors have gotten boosted," he notes, the rate for California is 70 percent. Yes Copyright: 2021 Fischer et al. Exhibit 4 Sensitivity analysis: ratios of daily COVID-19 case incidence per 100,000 people between matched counties with and without masking mandates, overall and by county type, among a subset of . Individuals mask wearing behaviors are not only influenced by recommendations and mandates issued by state leaders, but also by print, televised, and social media [9]. The graph tracks the results of a natural experiment that occurred nationwide during the pandemic. Mask wearing has been advocated by public health officials as a way to reduce the spread of COVID-19. By Lauren Leatherby and Rich HarrisNov. While it controlled for other policies that have been used to try to mitigate new infections from the coronavirus including bar closures, stay-at-home orders and bans on gatherings of 10 or more people it did not account for some others, such as physical distancing recommendations and other types of business closures. Over the course of the pandemic, the scientific evidence and our understanding of masks have grown. Our analyses took into consideration the delayed effect of mask wearing and policies on COVID-19 health outcomes. Vaccinated persons can carry and spread the virus.". Visualization, We show that mask mandates are associated with a statistically significant decrease in new cases (-3.55 per 100K), deaths (-0.13 per 100K), and the proportion of hospital admissions (-2.38 percentage points) up to 40 days after the introduction of mask mandates both at the state and county level. For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click New York. Nedghie Adrien, Roles But as Miller shows in his book, the policies made no discernible difference. We examined the impact of state-based mask wearing policy and adherence on COVID-19 case rates during the summer and early fall of 2020 in order to quantify this effect. States are issuing a new wave of mask mandates and social restrictions as record numbers of Covid-19 hospitalizations and soaring daily cases strain US medical systems. For now, relaxing some mask guidelines while staying vigilant is the government's compromise. The surgical masks didnt stop a subsequent surge throughout the country, and infection rates in Bavaria and Berlin were the same as in German states without the N95 requirement. When Can I Go Out in Public Again After Being Fully Vaccinated? Because high COVID rates were reported by only eight states in May and four states in June, we did not examine mask adherence or policy in the preceding April or May. No, Is the Subject Area "Conservation science" applicable to this article? That period is used as the benchmark against which researchers compared days 21 through 60 before mask mandates were adoptedand the 100 days after. The Kentucky senator presses on with his fight against the federal governments Covid response. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. No, PLOS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, #C2354500, based in San Francisco, California, US, Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#new-hospital-admissions, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/masking-science-sars-cov2.html, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/these-are-the-states-with-mask-mandates, https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/masking-lack-of-evidence-with-politics/, https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/CovidEconomics43.pdf, https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america?view=mask-use&tab=trend, https://doi.org/10.18148/srm/2020.v14i2.7761, https://data.cdc.gov/Case-Surveillance/United-States-COVID-19-Cases-and-Deaths-by-State-o/9mfq-cb36/data, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/county-level-data-sets/download-data/, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/indicators.html#thresholds, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fneed-extra-precautions%2Fpeople-at-increased-risk.html. Although Hawaiis governor did not issue a mask wearing policy until after October 2020, we considered that state to have a policy because mayors of the four populous counties had mandated mask wearing earlier in the pandemic. Eric Boehm We combined the Recommended and Strict groups into Any policy. Of the 15 states with no mask policy from April through September, 14 reported high COVID-19 rates in at least one month from May to October. The question is and Im sure thats the conversation now happening in the halls of power what do we do next? Coronavirus cases are rising in almost every U.S. state. Louisiana. Laboratory studies indicate that masks, especially N95 respirators, can help reduce virus transmission. Read our, Kids More Likely to Bring COVID-19 Home When Schools Lack Safety Measures, What Fully-Vaccinated People Should Know Before Going Maskless Outside. Effectiveness of Mask Wearing to Control Community Spread of SARS-CoV-2. Weak recent containment measures and many cases. Investigation, "Large indoor gatherings without masking among a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons is a recipe for trouble.". Instead, it analyzed the connection between mask mandate policies and the rate of new county-level coronavirus cases and deaths. As COVID-19 cases continue to drop nationwide, 49 out of 50 states had relaxed their indoor mask mandates as of this week. Odds ratios indicating protection against high COVID-19 rates remained for all months and policy subgroups, ranging from 0.82 to 0.93 for states with any policy and from 0.60 to 0.95 for states with no policy. While mandates required shoppers to don masks before entering supermarkets, for example, the risk of transmission in such settings is low, given the amount of time customers usually spend in them, the size of the air space, and typically wide distances between patrons. Wearing masks is a CDC-recommended* approach to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by reducing the spread of respiratory droplets into the air when a person coughs, sneezes, or talks and by reducing the inhalation of these droplets by the wearer. "Its that simple.. The study also found a statistically significant increase in the rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths starting 40 days after indoor or outdoor dining at restaurants was allowed. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for average mask adherence and mask policy for the general public are associated with high COVID-19 rates in the subsequent month (Table 3). In their pre-Covid planning strategies for a pandemic, neither the Centers for Disease Control nor the World Health Organization had recommended masking the publicfor good reason. The United States, as of Friday, posted a seven-day moving average of 62,555 new COVID-19 cases reported daily, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The last time . But since people were allowed to remove their masks while eating and drinking, requiring them to cover their faces upon entry was more a symbolic gesture than a serious safeguard. Investigation, Nationwide, according to theNew York Times database, the seven-day average of daily new cases rose sharply from mid-December to January 17 and has fallen just as sharply since then, which is consistent with the experience in other countries after omicron emerged. The resurgence was blamed on people disobeying the mandates, never mind the surveys showing widespread compliance. Based on data from various countries and U.S. states from May to September 2020, a preprint study published last June found that general mask wearing was associated with a reduction in virus transmission. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 5, ", U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nov. 27, 2020, ", Health Affairs, June 16 2020, "Community Use Of Face Masks And COVID-19: Evidence From A Natural Experiment Of State Mandates In The US", Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, Dec. 3, 2020, ", U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Feb. 12, ", CDC: Face masks dont prevent COVID-19, study finds masks have negligible impact on coronavirus numbers., Association of State-Issued Mask Mandates and Allowing On-Premises Restaurant Dining with County-Level COVID-19 Case and Death Growth Rates United States, March 1December 31, 2020, Trends in County-Level COVID-19 Incidence in Counties With and Without a Mask Mandate Kansas, June 1August 23, 2020, Governor Laura Kelly Announces Masks Must be Worn Statewide, Differences in rapid increases in county-level COVID-19 incidence by implementation of statewide closures and mask mandates United States, June 1September 30, 2020, Germany to oblige mandatory face masks from Monday, Face masks considerably reduce COVID-19 cases in Germany, Decline in COVID-19 Hospitalization Growth Rates Associated with Statewide Mask Mandates 10 States, MarchOctober 2020, subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 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