A massive study finds that masks work to limit the spread of the COVID-19 community

A large-scale randomized study led by researchers at Stanford and Yale found what we already knew: masks work.

The results of the study were published this week, where researchers said they found that wearing a surgical mask on the mouth and nose is an effective way to reduce the occurrence of COVID-19 in community settings.

On the massive masking study

The researchers enrolled about 350,000 people from 600 villages in rural Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a densely populated country in South Asia. It was chosen as the venue for the trial for several reasons: One, the promotion of masks is considered vital in countries where physical distancing can be difficult; two, Innovations for Poverty Action Bangladesh had already established a research framework in the country; and three, many local partners were eager to support a randomized, controlled masking trial.

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These were people living in villages randomly assigned to a series of interventions to promote the use of surgical masks. 11% less likely than those living in controlled villages to develop COVID-19, caused by an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, during the eight-week study period.

The protective effect increased to almost 35% in people over 60 years of age.

Providing free masks, informing people about the importance of covering their mouths and noses, reminding people in person when they were masked in public, and role modeling by community leaders tripled use regular use of masks compared to control peoples who did not receive interventions. found researchers.

In the intervention villages, they also observed a slight increase in physical distancing in public spaces, such as markets. This finding indicates that the use of masks does not give a false sense of security that leads to risky behaviors, a concern cited by the World Health Organization during the early days of the pandemic when its officials were considering whether to recommend the ‘universal masking.

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“Our study is the first randomized controlled trial to explore whether facial masking prevents the transmission of COVID-19 at the community level,” said Ashley Styczynski, MD, MPH, a member of Stanford Infectious Diseases. “It is noteworthy that although less than 50% of people in the intervention villages wore masks in public places, we still saw a significant reduction in the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 in these communities, especially in older and more vulnerable people. “.

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The researchers also reported that people with surgical masks, unlike cloth masks, had fewer cases of COVID-19, but said cloth masks still reduced the overall likelihood of contracting the virus.

The researchers helped people distribute free masks to people to control the spread difference before and after.

Overall, baseline intervention induced 29 out of 100 people to wear masks, increased physical distancing, and reduced the number of people with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections by 9 percent.

In the villages that received the intervention, the use of masks increased by 29 percentage points (from 13% in comparison villages to 42% in treatment villages). The use of masks increased more in mosques (37 percentage points).

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“Unfortunately, much of the conversation about masking in the United States is not based on evidence,” said Stephen Luby, MD, a professor of medicine at Stanford. “Our study provides solid evidence that wearing masks can disrupt the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. It also suggests that filtration efficiency is important. This includes adjusting the mask and the materials it is made of. A fabric mask is definitely better than nothing. But now may be a good time to consider upgrading to a surgical mask. ”

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Check out the full study here at Poverty Action.

Currently, almost all Michigan residents are advised to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Vaccination against COVID-19 significantly decreases the risk of serious illness.

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