This is what you need to know:
“However, the study does add to evidence that mandating mask use may have made little difference. “Case growth was not significantly different between mandate and non-mandate states at low or high transmission rates,” they found.
The research has not yet been peer-reviewed, and may still prove to be flawed. But it does line up with some other data points on mask mandates. For instance, Texas saw no case spike when it lifted its mandate in early March. And an April 2021 analysis saw states with stricter rules about face coverings and indoor dining faring worse than states that did not.” From Reason magazineStanford did a survey of 67 masks studies—all came out the same way, masks did little or nothing to prevent the spread of COVID. In fact it was a politicians way to make believe they were doing doing—though worthless. To me the mask is more evidence of government abuse of the citizens. What do you think? As a printed mask says, “This mask is as worthless as Joe Biden”.
Mask mandate and use efficacy in state-level COVID-19 containment
View ORCID ProfileDamian D. Guerra, Daniel J. Guerra, MedRXiv
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.18.21257385
Abstract
Background Containment of the COVID-19 pandemic requires evidence-based strategies to reduce transmission. Because COVID-19 can spread via respired droplets, many states have mandated mask use in public settings. Randomized control trials have not clearly demonstrated mask efficacy against respiratory viruses, and observational studies conflict on whether mask use predicts lower infection rates. We hypothesized that statewide mask mandates and mask use are associated with lower COVID-19 case growth rates in the United States.
Methods We calculated total COVID-19 case growth and mask use for the continental United States with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. We estimated post-mask mandate case growth in non-mandate states using median issuance dates of neighboring states with mandates.
Results Case growth was not significantly different between mandate and non-mandate states at low or high transmission rates, and surges were equivocal. Mask use predicted lower case growth at low, but not high transmission rates. Growth rates were comparable between states in the first and last mask use quintiles adjusted for normalized total cases early in the pandemic and unadjusted after peak Fall-Winter infections. Mask use did not predict Summer 2020 case growth for non-Northeast states or Fall-Winter 2020 growth for all continental states.
Conclusions Mask mandates and use are not associated with slower state-level COVID-19 spread during COVID-19 growth surges. Containment requires future research and implementation of existing efficacious strategies.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Funding Statement
Start-up funds from the University of Louisville College of Arts and Sciences supported this project. No external funding supported this work.
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
No IRB approval was sought because the research did not concern human subjects or identifiable patient data. All source data were publicly available from either the CDC or the IHME.
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