COVID-19: Near-Universal Masking / Confined Students' Mental Health / Vaccine Trials Resume

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

Check out some of the latest COVID-19 developments:

Near-universal masking: Near-universal masking in public could save over 100,000 U.S. lives by February 2021, according to a modeling study in Nature Medicine. Using data on the trajectory of the pandemic between February and September 2020, researchers modeled COVID-19's future course in the U.S. under three different scenarios. In the first, in which states continue to ease their social distancing mandates at their current pace, over one million cumulative COVID-19–related deaths could occur by the end of February 2021. In the second scenario, in which states begin tightening restrictions as mortality rates increase — considered the "plausible reference" scenario — over 500,000 cumulative deaths could occur by the end of February. And in the third scenario — in which 95% of the population wears masks in public in addition to states tightening restrictions — the cumulative death toll by the end of February would be roughly 382,000. The researchers write, "The implementation of [social distancing mandates] as soon as individual states reach a threshold of 8 daily deaths per million could dramatically ameliorate the effects of the disease; achieving near-universal mask use could delay, or in many states, possibly prevent, this threshold from being reached and has the potential to save the most lives while minimizing damage to the economy."

Confined students' mental health: Over 40% of university students living in France during the country's COVID-19 quarantine reported at least one negative mental health outcome, according to a JAMA Network Open study. Nearly 70,000 students completed a mental health questionnaire between April and May 2020. Among the other findings: Some 11% reported suicidal thoughts; 22%, severe distress; 25%, stress; 16%, depression; and 28%, anxiety. Female or nonbinary gender, being a foreign student, and living in areas with the highest infection rates were independently associated with negative mental health outcomes. Other factors that predicted increased risk included loss of income, poor-quality housing, low levels of physical activity, and prior psychiatric care. The researchers write, "Protecting the mental health of students is a public health issue that appears even more critical in the context of a pandemic."

Vaccine trials resume: AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have resumed their U.S.-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials after stating that serious side effects in three participants did not seem to be related to the vaccines, the New York Times reports. AstraZeneca's trial had been paused for 6 weeks, while Johnson & Johnson's had been on hold for 11 days.