being done at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. I did my Masters in Public Health at UCLA in the mid-70's, so it's embarrassing to see someone--albeit from the Medical School-- NOT the School of Public Health--be hired in a position to undermine the work of the School of Public Health.
Research published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that near-universal adoption of nonmedical masks in public, combined with complementary public health measures, could reduce spread to essentially zero.
“This research makes clear that even as vaccines are developed and new variants, like B.1.7.7, are being discovered, the power to protect ourselves remains in our hands, as individuals,” said co-author Anne Rimoin, UCLA Fielding School professor of epidemiology. “Wearing a mask is one of the simplest, most effective, and cheapest ways to do exactly that – and it’s been proven by the history of epidemiology over the past century, going back to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic and even before.”
https://ph.ucla.edu/news/press-release/2021/jan/ucla-fielding-school-public-health-researchers-say-mask-mandates-could
And UCLA policy
a new L.A. County Department of Public Health order (PDF) has been issued and will go into effect on Saturday, July 17 at 11:59 p.m. that requires everyone — regardless of vaccination status — to wear a face mask when in all public indoor settings and businesses.
At UCLA, this means that all individuals, whether fully vaccinated or not, will be required to wear face masks in all public indoor spaces. Additional guidance is as follows:
Personal indoor spaces
• Face masks are being recommended while in personal living environments and closed-door offices when in the presence of people from outside of one’s household.
Eating indoors
• When eating indoors, masks may be removed just prior to eating and must be worn again as soon as individuals are finished eating.
Outdoor spaces
• Although this new mandate does not include an outdoor masking requirement, it is still recommended, especially for unvaccinated individuals, to wear a mask when outside in large groups.
Summer youth camps
• Face masks are also required for those working and participating in summer youth camp activities — both indoors and outdoors — except when eating, in which case masks may be removed as long as physical distancing is maintained.
In tandem with this new mandate, starting Monday, July 26, UCLA will be resuming mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing for all UCLA students, faculty and staff members who are coming to campus and other UCLA properties, regardless of vaccination status, which includes those who were previously approved to opt out of testing. We strongly encourage resumption of testing before the 26th to become familiar with the new testing method.
https://covid-19.ucla.edu/indoor-masking-to-resume-at-ucla/
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