Can Masks Function as a Crude Vaccine?
A new theory suggests masks lead to less severe infections that still offer immunity
There is mounting evidence to suggest that masks are effective at protecting people from Covid-19 both by limiting the chance someone comes into contact with the virus and by reducing the severity of the disease if they do get infected. A new opinion paper published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine takes the power of masks one step further, suggesting they could serve as a sort of crude vaccine — historically known as “variolation” — for the novel coronavirus. The idea is that masks expose people to just enough virus to cause them to develop an immune response to it but not enough to get sick.
The Medium Coronavirus Blog spoke with one of the paper’s authors, Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, about the benefits and drawbacks of the idea, which types of masks are best, and why the U.S. doesn’t have a mask mandate. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Medium: I’m fascinated by this idea of masks as a sort of variolation, or a stop-gap for a vaccine. I’d love to hear how you came up with this theory.
