ArticleMedical care2022
Lifting Statewide Mask Mandates and COVID-19 Cases: A Synthetic Control Study.
Article in Medical care, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mask Usage in Healthcare Settings: Is It the Right Time for Easing Restrictions? A Narrative Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- "Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
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 at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
importanceAs states reopened their economies state and local officials made decisions on policies and restrictions that had an impact on the evolution of the pandemic and the health of the citizens. Some states made the decision to lift mask mandates starting spring 2021. Data-driven methods help evaluate the appropriateness and consequences of such decisions.
objectiveTo investigate the association of lifting the mask mandate with changes in the cumulative coronavirus case rate.
designSynthetic control study design on lifting mask mandate in the state of Iowa implemented on February 7, 2021.
settingDaily state-level data from the COVID-19 Community Profile Report published by the US Department of Health & Human Services, COVIDcast dataset of the Delphi Research Group, and Google Community Mobility Reports. EXPOSURES AND OUTCOME: Mask mandate policy lift at the state level. State-day observations of the cumulative case rate measured as the cumulative number of new cases per 100,000 people in the previous 7 days.
resultsThe cumulative case rate in Iowa increased by 20%-30% within 3 weeks of lifting the mask mandate as compared with a synthetic control unit. This association appeared to be related to people, in fact, reducing their mask-wearing habits.
conclusionsLifting the mask mandate in Iowa was associated with an increase in new COVID-19 cases. Caution should be applied when making this type of policy decision before having achieved a more stable control of the pandemic.
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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.