Survey reveals that wearing masks effectively prevents COVID-19 infections in schools
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks has become a widespread practice worldwide as a preventative measure. However, as the pandemic has dragged on, mask mandates have gradually been lifted, and many areas overseas have even lifted mask requirements in schools. Meanwhile, in Boston, two school districts have continued to require masks in schools even after mask mandates were lifted. This allowed us to conduct a comparative study to examine the impact of mask wearing on the spread of COVID-19 in schools compared with not wearing masks. This study revealed that requiring mask wearing effectively prevents the spread of COVID-19 in schools.
Lifting Universal Masking in Schools — Covid-19 Incidence among Students and Staff | NEJM
Masks Cut Covid Spread in Schools, Study Finds - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/health/covid-schools-masks.html
A research paper was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts College of Physicians and Surgeons, comparing two Boston school districts that lifted their mask mandate in the spring of 2022: one that stopped requiring masks and one that continued to require masks.
The study found that requiring masks significantly reduced the number of COVID-19 cases in schools. Specifically, masked students attending older schools with poor ventilation systems and overcrowded classrooms had lower COVID-19 infection rates than unmasked students attending relatively new schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Boston Public Health Commission, helps dispel misinformation about the effectiveness of mandatory mask-wearing in schools to prevent virus transmission, said Julia Laughman, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health and one of the study's authors.
'This summer, people have been saying, 'Oh, COVID-19 doesn't spread in schools,' and they mistakenly thought that children couldn't get COVID-19. However, this study shows that COVID-19 is spreading in schools, at home, and among teachers,' the researchers wrote.
The study didn't look at the type of masks children wore in school, but Rahman said, 'The research shows that when people wear masks as a group, it reduces infections across the population and reduces absenteeism among students and teachers.' He added that any type of mask can be expected to have some effect in preventing the spread of infection.
The study compared 72 school districts, including two in Boston and Chelsea that required masks for 15 weeks, with 70 other districts that lifted mask mandates at different times. The researchers concluded that the mask-removed group experienced 44.9 more COVID-19 cases per 1,000 students and staff compared with the mask-wearing group, resulting in an estimated 11,901 cases over the 15-week period.
'We found that schools that lifted mask mandates experienced a consistent and sustained increase in COVID-19 incidence,' said Tori Cougar, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health and one of the study's authors. Cougar also found that 'statistically significant increases in COVID-19 incidence were observed' in 12 of the 15 weeks of the study.
The study also found that one-third of COVID-19 cases in schools where mask mandates had been lifted were attributable to the lifting of the mandate, and among school staff, four in 10 COVID-19 cases were attributable to the lifting of the mandate, Cougar said.
On the other hand, epidemiologist Tracy Beth Hogue, who is critical of wearing masks in schools, argues that the published study is an observational study, not
He also pointed out that wearing masks can cause communication problems for children and delay speech development, saying, 'For children with language learning difficulties, wearing a mask can make it difficult for them to understand what their teacher and other students are saying.' He explained that there are other reasons for opposing mask wearing in schools besides the risk of contracting COVID-19.
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