University of East Anglia researchers say initially face masks reduced the spread of covid

Medical Watch Digest for May 15
How masks hold up against Covid
Face mask efficacy depended on the Covid variation.
Wearing a face mask did not reduce the risk for infection after the first omicron wave.
University of East Anglia researchers say initially face masks reduced the spread of covid.
But after December 2021, there was a shift. The omicron variant was better able to infect the cells lining the upper respiratory tract than previous variants and so it became more transmissible even in the presence of nose and mouth shields.
The study was funded by the National Institute for Healthcare Research.
WGN 05/15/2024
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