Transmission & Prevention (Masking, Lockdowns, etc)

The public-health emergency expired May 11. But the U.S. remains awash in tragedies linked to doctors who prescribed dubious treatments.

New mask studies relying on a medical paradigm do not erase decades of engineering and occupational science that show they work

Research into the disease has focused on plaques in the brain. But some scientists think viruses and bacteria play a role – and their work is gaining ground

Randomized controlled trials are considered the gold standard when assessing the effectiveness of an intervention. However, this type of study can vary greatly in quality, particularly in complex interventions such as face masks, affecting the reliability of the results. In this context, many scientists consider that randomized controlled trials should…

“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this

A Greatly Anticipated Randomized Trial on Community Mask Use Illustrates Why Some People Are Confused About the Effect of Mask Mandates

The ability to disinfect indoor spaces remains a critical public health endeavor. Ultraviolet technology is an important tool that has been employed for more than a century. The report reviews the current issues behind air disinfection and the history of ultraviolet disinfection.

Fungi such as Aspergillus are so common in our surroundings that we breathe in hundreds to thousands of spores every day.

XBB.1.5, a subvariant of omicron, is gaining ground in the US, but deaths can still be avoided.

As children’s hospitals across Canada struggle with influenza, RSV, and COVID-19, why aren’t people masking?

We’ve let the data slip away.

Omicron, the 13th named variant of the coronavirus, seems to have a remarkable capacity to evolve new tricks.

I will be direct: schools that have officially departed from masking are stating an ongoing commitment to purposeful exclusion.

With some campuses dropping mask mandates, immunocompromised students and staff weigh the risks of showing up.

Background In February 2022, following the rescinding of a Massachusetts statewide school masking mandate, only two cities (Boston and neighboring Chelsea) out of 79 school districts in the greater-Boston area, maintained masking requirements in K-12 schools. This provided an opportunity to examine the impact of removing masking on COVID-19 case rates among students and staff in the public-school setting. Methods We used difference-in-differences for staggered policy adoption to compare incidence of COVID-19 cases among students and staff in greater-Boston area school districts that lifted masking requirements to those that had not yet lifted masking requirements during the 2021-2022 school year. Results Before the statewide school masking policy was lifted, there was no statistically significant difference in case rate trajectories between school districts. However, weekly and cumulative case rates were significantly higher in students and staff in school districts that removed masking requirements, compared to districts that had not yet lifted requirements. We estimate that lifting of school masking requirements was associated with an additional 44.9 (95% CI: 32.6, 57.1) COVID-19 cases per 1,000 students and staff over the 15 weeks since the lifting of the statewide school masking requirement, representing nearly 30% of all cases observed in schools during that time. School districts that sustained masking requirements for longer periods tended to have older school buildings in poorer condition, more crowded classrooms, higher proportion of low income and English learning students and students with disabilities, and a higher proportion of Black and Latinx students and staff. Conclusions Masking is a relatively low-cost but effective intervention that can protect students and staff from substantial illness and loss of in-person days in school. Despite compelling evidence that masking significantly reduces the spread of SARS-CoV-2, political will and public adherence to masking has waned. Our study confirms that universal masking requirements can benefit all students and staff, and therefore represents an important strategy to mitigate the impacts of structural racism, ensure health equity, and to avoid potential deepening of educational inequities. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any external funding. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes 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 All data utilized in this study are publicly available through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/positive-cases/default.html#weekly-report); Massachusetts Department of Public Health (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting); and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (https://www.massschoolbuildings.org/programs/school_survey)

The lack of masks in my classroom jeopardizes my health—and possibly my ability to finish my degree.

An overview of the current evidence regarding the effectiveness of face masks.

With all the talk of masks, here's what the data really says.

All pandemic long, scientists brawled over how the virus spreads. Droplets! No, aerosols! At the heart of the fight was a teensy error with huge consequences.

Specific mutations hide the COVID-causing variant from the immune system and give it a new route into more cells

The virus is now embedded in our world. But there are steps we can take to keep it at bay while we continue to live our lives, says Edinburgh University’s Prof Devi Sridhar

Doctors used to swear by the slow recovery period known as convalescence. Some experts say embracing it again could offer benefits for an array of long-term illnesses and injuries.

The SARS-CoV-2 Assessment of Viral Evolution (SAVE) programme provides a real-time risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 variants with the potential to affect transmission, virulence and resistance to infection- and vaccine-induced immunity.

There are already 127 confirmed cases across almost half of the U.S. of a new Covid subvariant that's even more contagious than omicron.

Global infections fall for the 3rd consecutive week, dropping 21%; WHO estimates 99% of all cases are Omicron variant; number of deaths also fall for first time since January

Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton said Covid is entering an endemic phase in the Northern Hemisphere.