We noted two papers of special interest in an upcoming CDC Emerging Infectious Disease journal; one which casts doubt about the value of personal protective and environmental measures and he second which supports the value of social distancing measures.
The first, by Xiao et. al. finds that “Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect” on a pandemic.
The second, by Fong et.al. “found some evidence from observational and simulation studies to support the effectiveness of social distancing measures during influenza pandemics. Timely implementation and high compliance in the community would be useful factors for the success of these interventions.”
Both are work a careful read.