Wearing a Mask, a Universal Solution Against COVID-19 or an Additional Health Risk?

Abstract

Letter to the editor. Wearing a mask is now attracting a lot of attention as a means of prevention against COVID-19 and many works have been published on this subject. Insofar as policy pressure or pressure from the media can lead to circumstance studies, it is also useful to examine the issue through work carried out before the current crisis. The image of the mask/respirator and its usefulness then takes on a rather different colour. It would appear that abstaining will often be more effective than wearing any “mask” without discernment. The principles of justification, optimization and limitation fully apply in this case.

Keywords: Public health, Prevention, Face masks, Health behavior, COVID-19

JEL Classification: I18