Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

October 23, 2020

Withdrawn: Decrease in Hospitalizations for COVID-19 after Mask Mandates in 1083 U.S. Counties

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Withdrawn notice ( https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.21.20208728v2 )

  • [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An analysis of the impact of face mask mandates instituted over the spring and summer in the US indicated that mask mandates across 1,083 counties in the U.S decreased hospitalization rates from COVID-19 even when controlling for other factors that could affect disease severity. Using a staggered difference-in-difference design, the study found a statistically significant drop in hospitalization rates due to COVID-19 of 7 percentage points up to 12 weeks following county mask mandates, after controlling for age categories by county, testing access, numbers of cases, and population mobility (as a proxy for other non-pharmaceutical interventions like sheltering-in-place).

Adjodah et al. (Oct 23, 2020). Decrease in Hospitalizations for COVID-19 after Mask Mandates in 1083 U.S. Counties. Pre-print downloaded Oct 23 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.21.20208728