Wearing a mask is 'the most effective way' of curbing spread of Covid, study claims as data shows a QUARTER of under-30s have given up on coverings
- First-of-its-kind international study finds wearing masks in public cuts Covid transmission rates by 53%
- Researchers found following social distancing and handwashing also cut public's chance of catching virus
- Study comes as Office of National Statistics data shows only 29% of under 30s in UK wore a mask last week
- The data shows mask adherence rises with age, with 96% of the over 70s, donning one when they went out
Mask wearing is the single best public health measure to stop the spread of Covid other than vaccination, a study has found — despite scientists still being split over their effectiveness at a population level.
A review of six real-world studies on coverings, involving nearly 400,000 total participants, by Monash University researchers in Australia and the University of Edinburgh, concluded that widespread use can cut Covid rates by up to 53 per cent.
But the academics admit that there is significant variation in the studies depending on the methodology used and also identified the risk of bias in the results.
There has been fierce scientific debate about how well masks work at reducing transmission, despite nearly every country in the world mandating or encouraging their use.
Lab tests and observational studies have shown masks can block infected people from exhaling up to 80 per cent of the virus into the air and also protect wearers from inhaling up to 50 per cent of the particles.
But real-world studies, which involve more scientific rigour, have produced mixed results, with some showing they have a huge impact on infection rates and others showing virtually none.
Any protection offered can also depend on the type of mask worn, with medical-grade coverings much better than cloth or surgical masks, as well as if someone wears them correctly.
It comes as data suggests three in 10 under-30s across the UK have abandoned mask-wearing in public, despite the coverings being a legal requirement in Scotland and Wales.
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In the new study, published in the BMJ, researchers examined a total of 35 studies, the majority from Asia. One was a randomised controlled trial and others were observational.
Of the research trials, 26 assessed measures such as social distancing and lockdowns and 12 analysed personal protective measures like mask wearing.
After examining all the data for each social and personal protective measure the researchers then determined if they could calculate an overall figure in risk reduction
The researchers also found handwashing and social distancing helped curb the spread of virus between members of the public.
Handwashing, similar to masks, was found to reduce Covid transmission by 53 per cent, but the authors said this finding was not statistically significant due to the low number of studies examining the measure.
Social distancing was found to reduce Covid cases by 25 per cent.
They added the use of interventions like masks, social distancing and handwashing would help protect the public if a Covid variant emerged that was different enough to not be impacted by the vaccines.
The researchers did not explore the impact of combing such measures.
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Other public health measures, such as full or partial lockdowns or working from home, were not possible to assess due to the variation in the studies examining these initiatives.
Academics argued while vaccines were safe, effective, and saved lives, they did not offer 100 per cent protection, making it critical that people do what they could to reduce transmission rates.
Vaccines have been proven to massively reduce a person's chance of catching Covid, but this protection drops to 40 per cent for the AstraZeneca and 60 per cent for the Pfizer and Moderna after six months.
The findings come as fresh data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 29 per cent of Britons under-30-years-of-age didn't wear a mask when they went outside their home in the last week.
The ONS gathered data on mask usage which shows adherence to wearing masks rises as people get older.
In comparison, only 18 per cent of 30-and-49-years-olds didn't wear a mask outside, falling to 10 per cent in the over 50s and 4 per cent in the over 70s.
In total 85 per cent of adults reported wearing a mask during the last week, this compares to 97 per cent who reported doing the same at the same time last year.
When you need to wear a mask in the UK is currently dependent both of what you are doing and where in the country you live.
In England compulsory mask wearing was ditched in July as part of the so-called 'Freedom Day' removal of pandemic restrictions though people are still required to use them in health and care settings.
Masks are also still recommended to be used in spaces where social distancing is impossible.
In Scotland. Wales and Northern Ireland masks are legally required on public transport and in most indoor venues, with the notable exception of pubs and restaurants.
Exceptions to compulsory mask wearing apply in all countries for people such as young children and for people whose physical and mental disabilities mean they cannot wear a mask easily or safely.
The evidence of using masks to stop the spread of Covid has fluctuated over the course of the pandemic.
Some individual studies, like the new research by the international team, have come out in favour of masks like one from the ONS in September, which found people who did not wear them were up to twice as more likely to catch the virus.
Other studies have found the protection offered differs widely based on what kind of mask is used, with one study finding commonly used blue surgical masks only offered 10 per cent more protection than going bare-face.
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