Mask mandates save lives()

We quantify the effect of statewide mask mandates in the United States in 2020. Our regression discontinuity design exploits county-level variation in COVID-19 outcomes across the border between states with and without mandates. State mask mandates reduced new weekly COVID-19 cases, hospital admissi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hansen, Niels-Jakob H., Mano, Rui C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: International Monetary fund. Published by Elsevier B.V. 2023
Materias:
Article
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9968482/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36854572
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102721
Descripción
Sumario:We quantify the effect of statewide mask mandates in the United States in 2020. Our regression discontinuity design exploits county-level variation in COVID-19 outcomes across the border between states with and without mandates. State mask mandates reduced new weekly COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths by 55, 11, and 0.7 per 100,000 inhabitants on average. The effect depends on political leaning with larger effects in Democratic-leaning counties. Our results imply that statewide mandates saved 87,000 lives through December 19, 2020, while a nationwide mandate could have saved 57,000 additional lives. This suggests that mask mandates can help counter pandemics, particularly if widely accepted.

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