Transmission & Prevention (Masking, Lockdowns, etc)

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Countries without face mask mandates experienced significantly higher COVID-19 deaths per million than countries that enacted mask mandates, investigators report in a new study.

We extend previous studies on the impact of masks on COVID-19 outcomes by investigating an unprecedented breadth and depth of health outcomes, geographical resolutions, types of mask mandates, early versus later waves and controlling for other ...

Mask mandates were linked to slower uptick in COVID-19 deaths in a study analyzing data on 44 countries with a combined population of nearly 1 billion

Notes taken whilst preparing a paper on mask efficacy from Nov to Jan 2022. My previous paper on this was written in April 2020 and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

As the masks come off at my daughter’s school — and around the country — I’m worried about COVID’s next move.

‘Herd immunity is an elusive concept and doesn’t apply to coronavirus,’ says Dr. Don Milton at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

Results from EGC affiliate Mushfiq Mobarak and coauthors’ recent paper clearly demonstrate that mask usage reduces Covid-19, highlighting how masks should continue to play a vital role in fighting the pandemic.

Now we have definitive proof that masks really are effective.

Calgary physician organizer Dr. Amy Tan explains how to clean your mask, which kind to choose and why wearing one is absolutely vital.

Background Pre-Delta, vaccination reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission from individuals infected despite vaccination, potentially via reducing viral loads. While vaccination still lowers the risk of infection, similar viral loads in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with Delta question how much vaccination prevents transmission. Methods We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of adult contacts of SARS-CoV-2-infected adult index cases using English contact testing data. We used multivariable Poisson regression to investigate associations between transmission and index case and contact vaccination, and how these vary with Alpha and Delta variants (classified using S-gene detection/calendar trends) and time since second vaccination. Results 54,667/146,243(37.4%) PCR-tested contacts of 108,498 index cases were PCR-positive. Two doses of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 vaccines in Alpha index cases were independently associated with reduced PCR-positivity in contacts (aRR, adjusted rate ratio vs. unvaccinated=0.32[95%CI 0.21-0.48] and 0.48[0.30-0.78] respectively). The Delta variant attenuated vaccine-associated reductions in transmission: two BNT162b2 doses reduced Delta transmission (aRR=0.50[0.39-0.65]), more than ChAdOx1 (aRR=0.76[0.70-0.82]). Variation in Ct values (indicative of viral load) explained 7-23% of vaccine-associated transmission reductions. Transmission reductions declined over time post-second vaccination, for Delta reaching similar levels to unvaccinated individuals by 12 weeks for ChAdOx1 and attenuating substantially for BNT162b2. Protection in contacts also declined in the 3 months post-second vaccination. Conclusions Vaccination reduces transmission of Delta, but by less than the Alpha variant. The impact of vaccination decreased over time. Factors other than PCR Ct values at diagnosis are important in understanding vaccine-associated transmission reductions. Booster vaccinations may help control transmission together with preventing infections. ### Competing Interest Statement DWE declares lecture fees from Gilead outside the submitted work. No other author has a conflict of interest to declare. ### Funding Statement This study was funded by the UK Government's Department of Health and Social Care. This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at Oxford University in partnership with Public Health England (PHE) (NIHR200915), and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the National Institute for Health Research, the Department of Health or Public Health England. DWE is a Robertson Foundation Fellow and an NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Fellow. ASW is an NIHR Senior Investigator. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was performed as public health surveillance and NHS Test and Trace program quality assurance, under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006 with approvals from Public Health England (PHE), the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Test and Trace. PHE's Research Ethics and Governance Group (PHE's Research Ethics Committee) reviewed the study protocol and confirmed compliance with all regulatory requirements. As no regulatory or ethical issues were identified, it was agreed that full ethical review was not needed, and the protocol was approved. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes Applications to use the data in this study can be made to NHS Digital's Data Access Request Service, please see for more details.

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases in vaccinated people may be less likely to spread infection because virus is shed for a shorter period of time as opposed to infections in unvaccinated people.

Researchers surveyed more than 1,500 adults in Brazil about their personalities and how well they adhered to Covid-19 prevention measures. Their findings point to a few psychological reasons why some people don't wear face masks, maintain social distance and practice hand hygiene.

The World Health Organization has walked back a top official’s claim that asymptomatic people rarely spread the coronavirus to others. The WHO’s confused messaging on the topic drew criticism from public health officials. The Harvard Global Health Institute said, “In fact, some evidence suggests that people may be most infectious in the days before they become symptomatic — that is, in the presymptomatic phase when they feel well, have no symptoms, but may be shedding substantial amounts of virus.” Meanwhile, two new papers published in the journal Nature find coronavirus lockdowns saved millions of lives and averted tens of millions of infections worldwide. UC Berkeley researcher Solomon Hsiang co-authored one of the reports. Solomon Hsiang: “Never in human history have so many people around the world come together, coordinated their actions and worked to save so many lives in such a short period of time.”

A manifesto urging reliance on “herd immunity” without lockdowns was warmly received by administration officials. But the strategy cannot stem the pandemic, many experts say.

January 7, 2021 Introduction: In recent months, there has been a great deal of discussion about herd immunity.  This became a hot topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the notion of…

This attempt to discredit a central piece of protective gear used around the globe fails to account for several fundamental scientific principles.

Linktree. Make your link do more.

A critical look at the Great Barrington Declaration, exposing the risks of herd immunity strategies and the spread of harmful COVID-19 misinformation.

Five years later, the greatest basic science failure in generations caused the pandemic harms highlighted by people across the political spectrum, and broke our social cohesion.

Q: How do people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 pose a risk to people who have been vaccinated? A: An unvaccinated person who is infected with COVID-19 poses a much greater risk to others who are also unvaccinated. But vaccines are not 100% effective, so there is a chance that an unvaccinated person could infect a vaccinated person — particularly the vulnerable, such as elderly and immunocompromised individuals.

Could masks create a comeback as we move beyond COVID-19? Here are the latest insights into their impact and effectiveness on public health.

With no standard approved long COVID therapies, research turns to a proven COVID drug and other "low-risk, high-reward" help.

Stricter Covid mask rules could’ve saved hundreds of thousands of lives, new study finds - Restrictions in Northeastern states likely ‘saved many lives’ say researchers

Objective To evaluate the personal protective effects of wearing versus not wearing surgical face masks in public spaces on self-reported respiratory symptoms over a 14 day period. Design Pragmatic randomised superiority trial. Setting Norway. Participants 4647 adults aged ≥18 years: 2371 were assigned to the intervention arm and 2276 to the control arm. Interventions Participants in the intervention arm were assigned to wear a surgical face mask in public spaces (eg, shopping centres, streets, public transport) over a 14 day period (mask wearing at home or work was not mentioned). Participants in the control arm were assigned to not wear a surgical face mask in public places. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was self-reported respiratory symptoms consistent with a respiratory infection. Secondary outcomes included self-reported and registered covid-19 infection. Results Between 10 February 2023 and 27 April 2023, 4647 participants were randomised of whom 4575 (2788 women (60.9%); mean age 51.0 (standard deviation 15.0) years) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis: 2313 (50.6%) in the intervention arm and 2262 (49.4%) in the control arm. 163 events (8.9%) of self-reported symptoms consistent with respiratory infection were reported in the intervention arm and 239 (12.2%) in the control arm. The marginal odds ratio was 0.71 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58 to 0.87; P=0.001) favouring the face mask intervention. The absolute risk difference was −3.2% (95% CI −5.2% to −1.3%; P

The Cochrane Library, a trusted source of health information, misled the public by prioritizing rigor over reality

Researchers found that people with acute respiratory infections who tested negative for COVID-19 could still experience long-term symptoms including coughing, stomach pain and diarrhea.

Royal Society review looks at non-pharmaceutical interventions when applied in packages of several measures