Masking laws linked with reduction of COVID-19 deaths: Study

A study of the impact of national face mask laws on COVID19 mortality in 44 countries with a combined population of nearly one billion people found that over time the increase in COVID19 related deaths was significantly slower in countries that imposed mask laws compared to countries that did notThe study that appeared in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published by Elsevier shows that masks provide a supplementary layer of protection that could prevent unnecessary COVID19 deathsWhile several studies before this have looked at the impact of masks on COVID19 cases fewer studies were focused on whether maskwearing may reduce COVID19 deaths and no study had looked at the data across multiple countries said lead investigator Sahar Motallebi MD MPH from Malmo Sweden The large sample of culturally diverse countries in this retrospective study covers a large population giving us more evidence towards the lifesaving potential of masks during the COVID19 pandemicThe top 50 countries according to the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index which measures life expectancy education and standard of living were targeted because of comparability and reduced chance of selection biasFour countries in the Southern Hemisphere New Zealand Australia Chile and Argentina were excluded to avoid potential seasonality characteristics The United States and Canada were excluded because public health policies are made at the stateprovince level and a unified national policy does not exist Data from the remaining 44 countries were used to model COVID19 mortalityTwentyseven countries with face mask policies and 17 countries without face mask policies covering a combined population of nearly one billion people were included in the studyInvestigators looked at COVID19 deaths between February 15 2020 the date of the first confirmed death in the targeted countries to May 31 2020 when many countries began to lift gathering and movement restrictions Ten relevant demographic social clinical and timedependent factors were examined Potential confounders between face mask policy and mortality reduction such as nonpharmaceutical interventions were identifiedThe 44 countries studied reported 2167664 confirmed deaths 1253757 in countries without face mask mandates and 913907 in countries with face mask mandates The average COVID19 mortality per million population was 4840 in countries with face mask policies and 28854 in countries without face mask policies and this was significantly greater compared to countries with mask mandatesFace mask countries had a significantly lower average daily increase in deaths compared to no face mask countriesSurprisingly the countries with no mask mandate started with a lower COVID19 daily mortality However the death rate accelerated so fast in those countries that they not only caught up with the death rate in mask law countries but significantly surpassed them over timeTo reach its full potential of saving lives public health research should be practical and pragmatic Dr Motallebi stressed Our primary objective was to assess lessons learned from the pandemic in order to better prepare for future potential epidemics of airborne diseases before pharmaceutical interventions are availableAs delays in vaccination continue to challenge health systems across the globe the study adds to evidence that before and even after full vaccination of the population face masks continue to be a preventive measure against COVID19Across variants vaccines may reduce mortality but not necessarily morbidity and face masks continue to protect against both So we dont have to choose between these two good policies of vaccination and face masks or substitute one for the other when we can and must do both in parallel Dr Motallebi concluded ANI