To use face masks or not after Covid-19 vaccination? An impact analysis using mathematical modeling
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Abstract
The question of whether to drop or to continue wearing face masks especially after being
vaccinated among the public is controversial. This is sourced from the efficacy levels
of COVID-19 vaccines developed, approved, and in use. We develop a deterministic
mathematical model that factors in a combination of the COVID-19 vaccination program
and the wearing of face masks as intervention strategies to curb the spread of the
COVID-19 epidemic. We use the model specifically to assess the potential impact
of wearing face masks, especially by the vaccinated individuals in combating further
contraction of COVID-19 infections. Validation of the model is achieved by performing its
goodness of fit to the Republic of South Africa’s reported COVID-19 positive cases data
using the Maximum Likelihood Estimation algorithm implemented in the fitR package.
We first consider a scenario where the uptake of the vaccines and wearing of the face
masks, especially by the vaccinated individuals is extremely low.
Description
Keywords
Covid-19, Face mask, Public health, Covid-19 vaccination, Mathematical modeling, South Africa
Citation
Kinyili, M. et al. (2022). To use face masks or not after Covid-19 vaccination? An impact analysis using mathematical modeling. Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, 8, 872284. 10.3389/fams.2022.872284