Peer Review of “Mask Use to Curtail Influenza in a Post–COVID-19 World: Modeling Study”

This is a peer-review report submitted for the paper “Mask Use to Curtail Influenza in a Post–COVID-19 World: Modeling Study.”

Round 1 Review

General Comments

The manuscript [1] entitled “Masks in Post COVID-19 World: Better Alternative to Curtailing Influenza?” undertakes the question as to whether the use of masks should continue after the COVID-19 pandemic for influenza. The authors use a susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered model to evaluate mask parameters.

Specific Comments

The variety of combinations of mask prevalence and mask efficacy are very helpful and give strength to the paper.

Major Comments

1. An additional introductory paragraph on the susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered model would strengthen the manuscript and open it up to a wider audience, as this topic is of interest to many.

2. An additional 1 to 3 paragraphs in the Discussion are needed, comparing this study to similar studies.

3. I suggest the authors use color-blind–friendly colors for the figures.

Minor Comments

4. This statement needs rewording: “vaccines of course only have to be administered once while face masks need to be worn continuously.” I suggest separating this away from the rest of the sentence and making it a cleaner statement.

5. The last sentence of the Discussion is a run-on sentence. Please fix.