Face masks for the public during the covid-19 crisis

Greenhalgh, Trisha, Schmid, Manuel B., Czypionka, Thomas, Bassler, Dirk and Gruer, Laurence (2020) Face masks for the public during the covid-19 crisis. The BMJ, 369. ISSN 0959-8146

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Abstract

The precautionary principle is, according to Wikipedia, “a strategy for approaching issues of potential harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking.” The evidence base on the efficacy and acceptability of the different types of face mask in preventing respiratory infections during epidemics is sparse and contested.12 But covid-19 is a serious illness that currently has no known treatment or vaccine and is spreading in an immune naive population. Deaths are rising steeply, and health systems are under strain. This raises an ethical question: should policy makers apply the precautionary principle now and encourage people to wear face masks on the grounds that we have little to lose and potentially something to gain from this measure? We believe they should.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.bmj.com/
Additional Information:	© 2020 British Medical Journal Publishing Group
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
Date Deposited:	04 May 2020 11:30
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:08
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/104230

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