🗣 With the emergence of the omicron variant and the delta variant fueling hospitalizations across the country (and likely more variants to come), it continues to be important to mask indoors along with getting your booster shot when able to. Several studies released over the last year reaffirm the importance of masking:

😷 A retrospective case-control study out of Thailand showed a 70% reduction in risk of infection during high risk exposures in those who reported having always worn a mask compared with those who did not wear masks. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7588529/

😷 A randomized study including 340,000 people in Bangladesh revealed that symptomatic infections were reduced by 9% in villages randomized to masking and in villages given specifically surgical masks, it was reduced by 11%. The study also emphasizes the importance of distributing masks, role modeling and promoting them which tripled mask use. https://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/impact-mask-distribution-and-promotion-mask-uptake-and-covid-19-bangladesh

😷 We also know that masking in schools is an effective strategy for reducing spread. In counties where school mask mandates were enforced, children under 18 contracted covid at a rate less than half of the rates of counties without mask mandates. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8486393/ A report out of Arizona revealed schools without mask mandates in two of the most populous counties in the state were 3.5 times more likely to have covid outbreaks than those with mask mandates. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7039e1.htm

😷 With regard to flying, another report indicates that masking prevents transmission on planes. Infected passengers on flights 10 hours or longer did not appear to infect other passengers or crew members in the 14 days after the flight. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7543400/

These studies and more can be found at cdc.gov #maskup #letsgetvaccinated #covid19 #covid #vaccinessavelives #covidbooster #deltavariant #omicronvariant #defeatcovid19 #sciencewins #schoolmasking #maskmandates