How Effective Is Mask Wearing? Here’s What The Science Suggests.

Since the pandemic first hit the U.S., debate has been raging over how effective wearing a face mask is in protecting against spread of the coronavirus, the question rapidly becoming politicized while official entities, particularly the CDC, initially gave Americans mixed messages. The result has been widespread skepticism about the efficacy of masks. But what does the evidence say? Six months into the crisis, here is the most recent data on the potential protective impact of face masks.

Based on all available data, medical masks offer a significant level of protection against coronavirus. The wearing of homemade cloth face masks, while not as effective as the resources available to medical professionals, could help decrease the spread and infection rate of coronavirus. According to one model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluations, universal mask wearing could save 66,739 lives by Dec. 1, compared to current projections. An Australian study by CR MacIntyre et al, found that adherence to mask use significantly reduced the infection risk for influenza-like illness, and that, during a severe pandemic, transmission within households could be reduced by widespread mask wearing.