August 06, 2021
Surging COVID-19 rates throughout the country and in many parts of the world make our efforts to protect ourselves and others more important than ever. Currently, the Delta variant is driving much of the increase in the US. Vaccinated people are well-protected against severe disease, hospitalizations, and death. But a a
large outbreak in July 2021 shows that everyone — even vaccinated people — may spread infection with this variant if they get it.
Vaccination remains a top priority. Most people who have been hospitalized or died from COVID-19 in recent months were not vaccinated. In places where vaccination rates are low or the number of COVID cases is rising, experts estimate we can save thousands of lives and considerably boost the chances of controlling the pandemic if we all commit to following mask guidelines and other standard preventive measures.
Why do we believe masks work?
Early in the pandemic, experts expressed skepticism that masks would be helpful for the general public, particularly in places with little to no community spread of the virus. In addition, to avoid worsening shortages of medical-grade masks for health workers who needed this protection, masks were not widely recommended.
But a rapidly expanding body of evidence supports the benefits of nonmedical masks and cloth face coverings. Some of the strongest evidence includes these reviews (
here and
here) and observational studies (
here,
here,
here, and
here), which found that mask-wearing leads to lower rates of infection. And this
impressive graphic display from the
New York Times shows how masks help trap larger respiratory droplets and some of the smaller particles known as aerosols.