School masking and COVID-19 community transmission: a synthetic control study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

K-12 schools play a crucial role not only as educational settings but also as hubs for social interaction among children, making them potential drivers of disease transmission within families and the broader community. Little is known about the impact of mandatory school masking policies on community SARS-CoV-2 infection rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study addressed this gap by evaluating the association between mandatory school masking policies and community infection rates, accounting for temporal and regional variations.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective quasi-experimental study using the synthetic control method. The study focused on the fall 2021 school reopening period in the United States, a time when most U.S. schools returned to fully in-per

SUBMITTER: Luan X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12363737 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature