Researchers supported vaccines and agreed they have proven to be safe and effective and can save lives. However, most vaccines do not give people 100 percent protection, and it’s not known how vaccines will prevent future spread of COVID-19, given the growing trend of variants like delta.

One experiment across 200 countries showed 45.7 percent fewer COVID-19 related deaths in countries where mask wearing was mandatory, according to the study. In the U.S., one study reported a 29 percent reduction in COVID-19 transmission in states where mask wearing was required.

Social distancing has also proven to be effective, with researchers finding that an analysis of five different studies indicated a 25 percent reduction in incidence of COVID-19.

Hand-washing was found to be another crucial preventative measure, with researchers finding that there was an estimated 53 percent reduction in COVID-19 incidence. Though researchers said this was substantial, their final analysis found it to be not statistically significant.

Researchers also found that lockdowns and closures of businesses and schools have largely been effective in containing COVID-19, but they depended on early implementation when rates of COVID-19 were still low.