ArticleMedical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making2021
Effectiveness of Face Masks in Reducing the Spread of COVID-19: A Model-Based Analysis.
Article in Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Assessing the generation and dispersal of respiratory particles using upper respiratory commensal bacteria as index organisms for respiratory pathogens.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Epidemic modelling suggests that in specific circumstances masks may become more effective when fewer contacts wear them.Communications medicine · 2024Article
- "They Protect us as if they were our Mom" Masking Attitudes from Freelist Survey Data and Qualitative Interviews in San Diego School Communities.Journal of community health · 2024Article
- Prevention and control of infectious disease transmission in subways: an improved susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered model.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Compulsory vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in health care professionals in Italy: Bioethical-legal issues.Medicine, science, and the law · 2023Article
- Pediatric emergency care in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and reopening periods.The American journal of emergency medicine · 2022Article
- Changes in Behavior After Vaccination and Opinions Toward Mask Wearing: Thoracic Oncology Patient-Reported Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Clinical Medicine Insights. Oncology · 2022Article
- Risk factors for COVID-19 infection and disease severity in Nigeria: a case-control study.The Pan African medical journal · 2022Article
- Face mask uptake in the absence of mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study with Swiss residents.BMC public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe World Health Organization and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that both infected and susceptible people wear face masks to protect against COVID-19.
methodsWe develop a dynamic disease model to assess the effectiveness of face masks in reducing the spread of COVID-19, during an initial outbreak and a later resurgence, as a function of mask effectiveness, coverage, intervention timing, and time horizon. We instantiate the model for the COVID-19 outbreak in New York, with sensitivity analyses on key natural history parameters.
resultsDuring the initial epidemic outbreak, with no social distancing, only 100% coverage of masks with high effectiveness can reduce the effective reproductive number LIMITATIONS: Data regarding COVID-19 transmission are uncertain, and empirical evidence on mask effectiveness is limited. Our analyses assume homogeneous mixing, providing an upper bound on mask effectiveness.
conclusionsEven moderately effective face masks can play a role in reducing the spread of COVID-19, particularly with full coverage, but should be combined with social distancing measures to reduce
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.