Do Masks Matter for Vaccinated, Unvaccinated, or Kids During Delta Variant's Spread?
Nick Landekic, Guest MINDSETTER™
Do Masks Matter for Vaccinated, Unvaccinated, or Kids During Delta Variant's Spread?
Some people mistakenly think there is no proof showing masks work. In actuality, there is extensive evidence of their benefits. A number of studies have documented significant reductions in infection risk from wearing masks. Masks can do two things: they can protect you from getting infected, and they reduce the transmission of infected people infecting others.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
The Evidence
A paper published in the Journal of The American Medical Association reviewed 11 separate studies where it was possible to observe the impacts masks had on infection transmission. These studies generally showed a 50%-80% reduction in infection from wearing masks.
Likewise, this paper from the National Academy of Sciences reviewed a number of studies and found mask-wearing reduces the spread of infection by 70%-80%. The transmission of infection is 7.5 times higher in countries that do not use masks compared with those that do.
This study, done by multiple institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital, looked at available data from all 50 states encompassing 77% of the U.S. population, and found that mask mandates significantly reduced new COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Interestingly, the investigators also found that once mask mandates are lifted, people stop wearing them. Apparently, we can’t be trusted to keep doing what is good for us unless we are told to do it.
Another study specifically evaluated the ability of masks to block the virus, and found masks do indeed effectively capture virions.
Some parents have expressed concerns that children wearing masks all day in school might interfere with their ability to breath and get enough oxygen. There is no suggestion of this, and on the contrary, there is evidence showing no negative impact of masks.
The study conducted at the University of Miami School of Medicine along with two hospitals evaluated the issue and found that air exchange is not affected by masks, even in people with severe lung impairment
These and other studies provide overwhelming evidence that masks work to both protect wearers, and reduce the spread of infection in the community. They have been effectively used for over 700 years. In many Asian countries such as Japan, long before the COVID pandemic most people routinely wore masks during flu or cold seasons without any ill effects. They work.
When and Where to Wear Masks?
Masks are needed and will continue to be needed for the foreseeable future, during times of surges and spikes and in places with high rates of infection and community spread. Both of those now apply to essentially the entire country, and especially in Rhode Island where our risk level is “Very High” (and particularly given the poor record of our state in handling the pandemic).
The virus comes from other people. The reservoir where the virus lives and its natural home is in the bodies of people. Masks can protect us whenever and wherever there are other people gathered in indoor spaces and even in crowded outdoor settings. Wherever you might be indoors with unmasked people, a mask can protect you as well as reduce the risk of infecting others.
The Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization both recommend that everyone, vaccinated or not, wear masks indoors at this time of high-risk l and provide a lot of information on how to best use them
You probably want to be especially diligent about wearing masks in the following places.
The CDC and Dr. Anthony Fauci have recommended that all students in schools should wear masks. Governor McKee has recently acknowledged their guidance and issued an executive order for masking in Rhode Island schools.
The Delta variant has completely changed the situation. The pandemic today is very different from what it was last year or even a few months ago. 99% of cases are now the Delta variant.
The Delta variant is now making the pandemic largely an epidemic in children. In Rhode Island, COVID cases in children under age 18 have skyrocketed 15-fold – nearly 1,500% - over the past eight weeks, faster than the increase in adults. Weekly cases in children in RI have soared from 25 at the end of June to 397 last week.
Most teenagers are not yet vaccinated, and children under 12 are not yet eligible to get the vaccine. Masks are the only protection children have right now against the devastating Delta variant. Don’t take it away from them.
2. Supermarkets and Other Stores, Theaters
The Delta variant is more easily spread, as well as causes more severe illness, than the strains that came before.
It is so highly contagious there are reports from Australia of infection being spread in very brief contacts between people after only 5 to 10 seconds. This is different and more dangerous than previous strains of the virus. People have become infected by a stranger walking past them for just a few seconds.
Walking the aisles of a supermarket or other store, brushing past unmasked and potentially infected shoppers, would be a good setting in which to protect yourself with a mask.
Public transport brings people into very close contact with each other, often in settings with limited airflow. Even before the Delta variant, studies showed the risk of infection on airplanes.
Airplane filters have proven to provide to be highly effective, but masks are a critical protection for travelers.
4. Indoors with People You Don’t Live with
It might be hard to remember to wear masks when socializing indoors with friends. However, whenever you share air indoors with someone, you are also experiencing everyone they have also been in contact with. Your ‘bubble’ is probably much bigger than you realize.
The virus can remain suspended in the air for 3 hours. If an infected person was in a room, breathing out viral particles, infection can be spread to others entering even after the infected person has left.
5. Crowded Outdoor Venues
Being outside is generally much safer and with a greatly reduced risk of infection. However, being outside is not always a guarantee of safety. The hyper-transmissibility of the Delta variant can make even some outdoor settings risky.
Simply being outside does not automatically stop viral transmission. Being outside is safer because of ventilation and airflow, diluting the concentration of viral particles before you can inhale enough to infect you. But the more airflow is constrained, or the more people that are crowded close together, the greater the risks.
A “tent” might technically be ‘outdoors’, but the poor ventilation could raise risks of infection.
The risk of a breakthrough infection increases if you attend big, crowded events — even outdoors. Recent examples include the July 4th celebrations in Provincetown MA , the Lollapalooza concert in Chicago IL, and the NBA fan celebrations in Milwaukee WI.
6. Healthcare Settings
A mask should be worn in doctor’s offices, clinics, and other healthcare settings, both to protect you from getting infected by sick people, and to protect them from getting infected by those who may carry the virus https://covid.ri.gov/covid-19-prevention/protect-your-household.
7. At Work
Wearing a mask at work is something you may want to talk about with your employer. However, remember that the CDC recommends that everyone, vaccinated or not, wear masks indoors in places with a substantial or high risk of infection – which is essentially everywhere right now.
Nick Landekic is a retired scientist and biotechnology executive with over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.