Differential effectiveness of COVID-19 health behaviors: The role of mental health conditions in mask-wearing, social distancing, and hygiene practice.

Mask-wearing is robustly effective in the prevention of COVID-19 among individuals. However, social distancing and hygiene practice provide less significant protection among individuals with certain mental health conditions, suggesting the importance of prioritizing these individuals for additional preventive measures (e.g., vaccines targeting variants) and mitigation strategies (e.g., financial assistance, targeted mental health care, health education).