Effectiveness of Face Mask or Respirator Use in Indoor Public Settings for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection — California, February–December 2021

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Andrejko, Kristin L. ; Pry, Jake M. ; Myers, Jennifer F. ; Fukui, Nozomi ; DeGuzman, Jennifer L. ; Openshaw, John ; Watt, James P. ; Lewnard, Joseph A. ; Jain, Seema ; Abdulrahim, Yasmine ; Barbaduomo, Camilla M. ; Bermejo, Miriam I. ; Cheunkarndee, Julia ; Cornejo, Adrian F. ; Corredor, Savannah ; Dabbagh, Najla ; Dong, Zheng N. ; Dyke, Ashly ; Fang, Anna T. ; Felipe, Diana ; Frost, Paulina M. ; Ho, Timothy ; Javadi, Mahsa H. ; Kaur, Amandeep ; Lam, Amanda ; Li, Sophia S. ; Miller, Monique ; Ni, Jessica ; Park, Hyemin ; Poindexter, Diana J. ; Samani, Helia ; Saretha, Shrey ; Spencer, Maya ; Spinosa, Michelle M. ; Tran, Vivian H. ; Walas, Nikolina ; Wan, Christine ; Xavier, Erin
• Corporate Authors:
  California COVID-19 Case-Control Study Team
• Description:
  The use of face masks or respirators (N95/KN95) is recommended to reduce Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that causes COVID-19 (1). Well-fitting face masks and respirators effectively filter Virus-sized particles in laboratory conditions (2,3), though few studies have assessed their real-world effectiveness in preventing acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 infection (4). A test-negative design case-control study enrolled randomly selected California residents who had received a test result for SARS-CoV-2 during February 18-December 1, 2021. Face mask or respirator use was assessed among 652 case-participants (residents who had received positive test results for SARS-CoV-2) and 1,176 matched control-participants (residents who had received negative test results for SARS-CoV-2) who self-reported being in indoor public settings during the 2 weeks preceding tTesting and who reported no known contact with anyone with confirmed or suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection during this time. Always using a face mask or respirator in indoor public settings was associated with lower adjusted odds of a positive test result compared with never wearing a face mask or respirator in these settings (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.44; 95% CI = 0.24-0.82). Among 534 participants who specified the type of face covering they typically used, wearing N95/KN95 respirators (aOR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.05-0.64) or surgical masks (aOR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.13-0.90) was associated with significantly lower adjusted odds of a positive test result compared with not wearing any face mask or respirator. These findings reinforce that in addition to being up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, consistently wearing a face mask or respirator in indoor public settings reduces the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection. Using a respirator offers the highest level of personal protection against acquiring infection, although it is most important to wear a mask or respirator that is comfortable and can be used consistently.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Case-Control Studies Child Child, Preschool Communicable Disease Control COVID-19 COVID-19 Testing Female Humans Infant Male Masks Middle Aged N95 Respirators SARS-CoV-2 Young Adult

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• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 71(6):212-216
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/MMWRmm7106e1
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  35143470
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC8830622
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  71
• Issue:
  6
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a5cf1b52f3e01cafb80af72b6556c8f3b6442f90662fd4c1457d24342c5ec4a9ac09d713084356910428d22c8728ab2120645cea31da69f40903ac8adf727e88
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/115062/cdc_115062_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 116.98 KB ]