Impact of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medically Attended Acute Respiratory Infection: The U.S. Naval Academy Experience.

Introduction: Medically attended acute respiratory infections (MAARI) at the U.S. Naval Academy increase during Plebe Summer, a training program for incoming freshmen. Because of COVID-19, extensive nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPI) were implemented during 2020 Plebe Summer.
Methods: We reviewed MAARI counts in weeks 22-45 from 2012 to 2020 and compared counts in pandemic (2020) vs. pre-pandemic (2012-2019) periods.
Results: From 2012 to 2019, an average of 1,642 MAARI cases occurred annually. In 2020, 443 MAARI cases occurred. NPI use was associated with a 77% reduction in MAARI.
Conclusions: During a high-risk military training period, routine NPI use was associated with a major reduction in MAARI.
(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)