PART 3: MASKS

If you’re one of those people who, for whatever reason, feels the need to deny the reality of COVID, call it a hoax or a conspiracy, and publicly carry on about how it’s no worse than the flu even though you secretly fear the virus, at least you can get the vaccine in private.  That’s what millions of Americans, some of whom still deny the truth about the virus in public, have done.  Many have snuck into neighboring states to get the vaccine, asking that their friends back home not be told, lest it tarnish their anti-vaccine reputation among their hardcore comrades.

I could make an analogy here to rabid anti-abortion extremists who quietly sneak their daughters out of state for an abortion when they get pregnant, but I’ll leave that comparison up to the reader.

But the issue of masks is different.  For many, the issue of wearing a mask has taken on a political meaning far removed from science, evidence, or even reality.  It means you’re weak, it means you’re afraid, it means you’re on the other team.  And if you’re one of those people who denies the reality of COVID, it’s a stark reminder that there are a lot more people out there who disagree with you than agree.

But let’s get something straight from the outset.  Masks aren’t so much to protect you, but to protect us all.  We’ll get to that in a minute.

When COVID first arrived, it was soon known that an N-95 mask was the most effective protection for the wearer.  N-95s started selling like hotcakes.  But I can tell you from personal experience that they’re hot, and no fun to wear.  Unless, of course, you’re in direct contact with a patient who has the disease.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) initially advised that mask wearing was unnecessary, so long as we maintained “social distancing,” that is, stand 6 feet apart.  Later, when they recommended mask wearing, anti-science zealots claimed this was proof that COVID was a hoax, and that the CDC couldn’t be trusted.

Which, of course, is ridiculous.  The reason for the no masks/masks recommendation change was simple.  Early in the pandemic, evidence showed that the virus was carried on droplets, but not on aerosol. 

Why was this important?  Because droplets are relatively heavy, and fall to the ground shortly after coming out of your mouth.  Aerosols are much lighter and float through the air.  So if the droplets fell to the ground, so did the virus.

Here’s the best way to think of it.  You’re facing someone and listening as they speak. Suddenly they sneeze.  That wet stuff from the sneeze that covers your face?  That’s droplets.

But if you’re standing across the room from that person who sneezes, you won’t feel a thing.  Why?  Because those droplets have fallen to the ground before they ever hit your face.  In other words, without realizing it, when it comes to this person’s sneeze, you’re actually protected by social distancing.

But when research revealed that the virus could also travel on aerosol, social distancing wasn’t enough.  Though not perfect, a mask was shown to slow the spread of aerosols, and thus the virus.  That’s when the CDC recommended mask wearing.

Remember, outside of a cell (and our body) the virus is basically dead.  It doesn’t have little arms and legs, and doesn’t swim around on its own.  The only way it can get into your body is to be carried by a droplet or an aerosol.

Masks don’t protect you.  Let me say it again, they don’t protect you.  But by slowing the person-to-person transmission, masks can reduce disease incidence, and buy time to get the vaccine.

When the vaccine arrived, we thought that anyone who was vaccinated couldn’t get the disease, and therefore couldn’t transmit the disease to someone else.  Hence, they didn’t need a mask.

Then along came the Delta variant.  And with a substantial number of unvaccinated people, the variant spread quickly, mutating at every turn.  Cases of the virus rose dramatically. And if you had been vaccinated?  You might still get infected with Delta—and pass it on.

How to prevent such transmission, even among the vaccinated and the unvaccinated?  Going back to masks is about the best approach we have at present.

Such a recommendation, of course, isn’t met with agreement by many.  Instead, it’s “you’re lying to us again!”  “Don’t trust the science!  Don’t trust the scientists!  Don’t trust Fauci!”

Fine.  But what you had better trust is this:  wearing a mask will make it less likely, if you have a mild case of Delta and don’t know it, that you’ll transmit the virus to someone who’s more vulnerable than you, and enable the virus to go on mutating into deadlier forms.

Many people understand this, and choose to wear a mask indoors.  I applaud them.  Many others also understand this, but still refuse to wear a mask because of political, religious, or just a “screw you, you can’t make me do it” attitude.  If you’re one of these people, you need to think long and hard about what you are doing. 

People have come up with all kinds of goofy reasons not to wear a mask.  No, it doesn’t act as a disease magnet, somehow magically pulling a virus out of the sky and infecting you.  No, it doesn’t damage your health by making you rebreathe your own germs (your body actually couldn’t care less).  No, it doesn’t dangerously raise your carbon dioxide levels (I love it when people who smoke say that).

And I understand the political reasons.  Wearing a mask is an outward, visible admission that the virus is not a hoax, contrary to what certain politicians told us.  The fact is, they were wrong—very wrong.  And if we believed them, we were wrong.  Nobody likes to admit they were wrong, or worse yet, voted for someone who was wrong, and for many people, that’s exactly what wearing a mask means.

But it’s probably the religious reasons that baffle me most. Wearing a mask, according to some, separates you from God. 

Really?  A mask?

Others say it contradicts the notion that man was made in God’s image, because wearing a mask is hiding the image of God.  Thus, a mask is blasphemy. 

Hmm.  I don’t recall any biblical reference only to man’s face—just to man in general.  If you are one of those who takes scripture literally, then the rest of the body is in God’s image, too.  Are wearing clothes also blasphemy?

But the strangest is the notion that wearing a mask is a demonstration of a lack of faith, because God wants you to trust him (or her) and not a mask.

To those who would say this, let me remind you again.  A mask doesn’t protect you.  It decreases the spread of the virus, and may save the lives of others.

And if you can honestly say that the lives of others aren’t as important to you as the “right” not to wear a mask, maybe you should ask yourself what your faith is really all about.

Two things are certain.  As this virus pings around the globe and continues to mutate, recommendations regarding mask wearing will continue to evolve.

And second, each time this happens, anti-mask, anti-science zealots will continue to come up with innumerable rationalizations as to why they shouldn’t “have” to wear a mask.

But what happens when people simply refuse to take steps to protect themselves and their fellow citizens through masks, social distancing, vaccinations, and other common-sense measures?  When should the government—state, federal, or local—step in? 

This is the question that, for many people, triggers a response that is far more visceral than thoughtful.  And there are plenty of less-than-honest people out there who are working to manipulate this response to their own personal, political, and financial advantage.  And they’re doing it increasingly often.

More on that next time.