Study: COVID-19 Lockdowns And Mandates Had No Effect On Deaths

COVID-19 mandates, like lockdowns and business closures, had no effect on the total number of deaths caused by the pandemic, according to a new study published in The Lancet, a medical journal. 

The study found that mandate propensity, which considered “closures of bars, restaurants, gyms, and schools, mask and vaccine mandates, and stay-at-home orders and gathering restrictions” was “associated with a statistically significant and meaningfully large reduction in the cumulative infection rate, but not the cumulative death rate.”

The study also found that “Increased vaccine coverage and vaccine mandates for state employees were associated with reductions in both fourth-grade mathematics and reading test scores,” and “Increased mask use, more mobility relative to other states, mask mandates, vaccine mandates for school employees, and mandate propensity were also associated with reductions in fourth-grade mathematics scores.”

Notably, many states have witnessed a significant decrease in students’ test scores after the implementation of remote learning during the pandemic. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, issued in October of 2022, only 26 percent of eighth graders were proficient in math, down from 34 percent in 2019. Similarly, 36 percent of fourth graders were proficient in math, down from 41 percent in 2019.