Universal Masking in the United States: The Role of Mandates, Health Education, and the CDC

Authors

Lawrence O. Gostin, Georgetown University - Law Center - O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health LawFollow
I. Glenn Cohen, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, Harvard Law School
Jeffrey P. Koplan, Emory Global Health Institute, Emory University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-10-2020

DOI

10.1001/jama.2020.15271

Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends cloth face coverings in public settings to prevent spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Face coverings decrease the amount of infectious virus exhaled into the environment, reducing the risk an exposed person will become infected.1 Although many states and localities have ordered mask use, considerable variability and inconsistencies exist. Would a national mandate be an effective COVID-19 prevention strategy, and would it be lawful? Given the patchwork of state pandemic responses, should the CDC have enhanced funding and powers to forge a nationally coordinated response to COVID-19 and to future health emergencies?

Publication Citation

Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), published online August 10, 2020, E1-E2.

Scholarly Commons Citation

Gostin, Lawrence O.; Cohen, I. Glenn; and Koplan, Jeffrey P., "Universal Masking in the United States: The Role of Mandates, Health Education, and the CDC" (2020). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2301.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2301