The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) contains research on mask mandates in Arkansas school districts and how the mandates helped to limit COVID-19 at the schools.
Researchers from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health and College of Medicine teamed up with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the project.
“This important and well-conducted study involving Arkansas schools amply demonstrates the efficacy of facemasks during viral surges,” said Mark Williams, PhD, dean of the UAMS College of Public Health.
The team of researchers focused primarily on COVID-19 cases among K–12 students and staff members in Arkansas public school districts with varying mask policies. The investigation began in August 2021 and concluded in mid-October.
ACHI President and CEO Joe Thompson, MD, MPH, explained how this project displays why joint efforts are important when researching a public health crisis.
“Throughout the pandemic, ACHI helped inform local decision makers, including the policymakers, school leaders and parents who enabled this study,” he said. “Future emergency response planning must include data and communication strategies to support these local decision makers.”
The goal of the MMWR is to promote important, fact-based, objective information related to public health issues. The research selected for publishing in the MMWR are typically reports submitted to the CDC from a state health department.
When the coalition first began to gather and research the data, the goal was to get correct information to Arkansans about mask mandates in schools. Additionally, many of Arkansas’ youth were still not eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
During the study, Arkansas’ COVID-19 community transmission levels declined while vaccination coverage increased. Among the 233 school districts included in the study, 30%, 21%, and 48% had full, partial or no mask policies, respectively. Among 26 districts that switched from a no mask policy to either a full or partial policy, COVID-19 cases were higher than community rates during the period with no mask policy. However, when districts implemented a mask policy, the COVID-19 rates among students and staff decreased.