ArticlePediatrics2022
School Masking Policies and Secondary SARS-CoV-2 Transmission.
Article in Pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence of Face Masks and Masking Policies for the Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and COVID-19 in Real-World Settings: A Systematic Literature Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Measures implemented in the school setting to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- At-Home Versus Onsite COVID-19 School-based Testing: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial.Pediatrics · 2023Trial
- Age-specific life expectancies across school districts in the United States: Applying a population weighted geographic crosswalk to aggregate census tract indicators.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- School masking and COVID-19 community transmission: a synthetic control study.Health affairs scholar · 2025Article
- Article
- A Cloud-Based Platform for Harmonized COVID-19 Data: Design and Implementation of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Data Hub.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Back to school: The effect of school visits during COVID-19 on COVID-19 outcomes.Journal of health economics · 2025Article
- A modeling study on SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in primary and middle schools in Illinois.BMC public health · 2024Article
- School mask policies and SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among school-age children-United States, September to December 2021.Microbiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Limited impact of lifting universal masks on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in schools: The crucial role of outcome measurements.PNAS nexus · 2024Article
- Well-Being of Children and Families in COVID-19 Hotspots in Chicago.The Journal of school health · 2024Article
- Overview of COVID-19 Infection, Treatment, and Prevention in Children.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Effect of Face Masking on Transmission of SARS-CoV-2.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Article
- Masking for COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections: implications of the available evidence.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2024Article
- Does equipoise exist for masking children for COVID-19?Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Habitual Mask Wearing as Part of COVID-19 Control in Japan: An Assessment Using the Self-Report Habit Index.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Leveraging the Expertise of the CTSA Program to Increase the Impact and Efficiency of Clinical Trials.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for School-Associated Transmission of SARS-CoV-2.JAMA health forum · 2023Article
- Reflections From School Communities in Underserved Populations on Childhood COVID-19 Vaccination.Pediatrics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
22 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, masking has been a widely used mitigation practice in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) school districts to limit within-school transmission. Prior studies attempting to quantify the impact of masking have assessed total cases within schools; however, the metric that more optimally defines effectiveness of mitigation practices is within-school transmission, or secondary cases. We estimated the impact of various masking practices on secondary transmission in a cohort of K-12 schools.
methodsWe performed a multistate, prospective, observational, open cohort study from July 26, 2021 to December 13, 2021. Districts reported mitigation practices and weekly infection data. Districts that were able to perform contact tracing and adjudicate primary and secondary infections were eligible for inclusion. To estimate the impact of masking on secondary transmission, we used a quasi-Poisson regression model.
resultsA total of 1 112 899 students and 157 069 staff attended 61 K-12 districts across 9 states that met inclusion criteria. The districts reported 40 601 primary and 3085 secondary infections. Six districts had optional masking policies, 9 had partial masking policies, and 46 had universal masking. In unadjusted analysis, districts that optionally masked throughout the study period had 3.6 times the rate of secondary transmission as universally masked districts; and for every 100 community-acquired cases, universally masked districts had 7.3 predicted secondary infections, whereas optionally masked districts had 26.4.
conclusionsSecondary transmission across the cohort was modest (<10% of total infections) and universal masking was associated with reduced secondary transmission compared with optional masking.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.