ArticlePloS one2021
Association between COVID-19 outcomes and mask mandates, adherence, and attitudes.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
45 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Child mask mandates for COVID-19: a systematic review.Archives of disease in childhood · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality in people with dementia without COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2022Pooled it
- The paradox of neglecting changes in behavior: How standard epidemic models misestimate both transmissibility and final epidemic size.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- The impact of public health and social measures on social contact patterns and transmission of COVID-19 in Hong Kong.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Heterogeneous impact of mask mandates on U.S. masking behavior: an interrupted time series study.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Masking Mandate Policies and Community-Level Factors Associated with COVID-19 Cases Spread in the State of Texas.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Mask Usage in Healthcare Settings: Is It the Right Time for Easing Restrictions? A Narrative Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- Article
- Role of Gut Microbiota in Long COVID: Impact on Immune Function and Organ System Health.Archives of microbiology & immunology · 2025Article
- A modeling study on SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in primary and middle schools in Illinois.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The Effectiveness of Face Mask Mandates on COVID-19 Transmission in Utah.Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) · 2024Article
- Exploring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Twitter in Japan: Qualitative Analysis of Disrupted Plans and Consequences.JMIR infodemiology · 2024Article
- Effects of Face Mask Mandates on COVID-19 Transmission in 51 Countries: Retrospective Event Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Hand Hygiene, Mask Use, and Social Distancing among Public Hospital and Polyclinic Nurses in Barbados during the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Association of social vulnerability index and masking adherence among children enrolled in COVID-19 community research partnership study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment to assess changes in antibiotic use and antibiotic-resistant E. coli carriage in semi-rural Ecuador.Scientific reports · 2023Observational
- The Effects of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Mortality: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.AJPM focus · 2023Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
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 government interventions, mobility testing rate and weather. We show that mask mandates are associated with a statistically significant decrease in new cases (-3.55 per 100K), deaths (-0.13 per 100K), and the proportion of hospital admissions (-2.38 percentage points) up to 40 days after the introduction of mask mandates both at the state and county level. These effects are large, corresponding to 14% of the highest recorded number of cases, 13% of deaths, and 7% of admission proportion. We also find that mask mandates are linked to a 23.4 percentage point increase in mask adherence in four diverse states. Given the recent lifting of mandates, we estimate that the ending of mask mandates in these states is associated with a decrease of -3.19 percentage points in mask adherence and 12 per 100K (13% of the highest recorded number) of daily new cases with no significant effect on hospitalizations and deaths. Lastly, using a large novel survey dataset of 847 thousand responses in 69 countries, we introduce the novel results that community mask adherence and community attitudes towards masks are associated with a reduction in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Our results have policy implications for reinforcing the need to maintain and encourage mask-wearing by the public, especially in light of some states starting to remove their mask mandates.
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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.