October 12, 2020

Global Projections of Potential Lives Saved from COVID-19 through Universal Mask Use

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Keywords (Tags): candidate, IHME, masks, non-pharm interventions, report, summarize

• [Pre-print, not peer reviewed] An IHME analysis found that universal mask use could lead to a reduction of 815,600 (95% UI 430,600 – 1,491,000) deaths from COVID-19 globally between August 26th 2020 and January 1st 2021. The analysis used meta-regression of 40 studies measuring the impact of mask use on respiratory viral infections, as well as a transmission dynamics model together with data from online surveys about the proportion of people reporting always wearing a mask outside their home. An estimated 59% of people globally used masks on August 18th, and the potential effects of universal mask use were greatest in countries such as India (158,832 fewer deaths), the United States of America (93,495 fewer deaths), and Russia (68,531 fewer deaths).

Gakidou et al. (Oct 11, 2020). Global Projections of Potential Lives Saved from COVID-19 through Universal Mask Use. Pre-print downloaded Oct 12 https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.08.20209510