WHAT'S IN A MASK?
JOLIE SUCHIN
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to persist in the United States without a vaccine readily available, many Americans still refuse to use their most powerful mechanism of defense against the virus: a mask. According to a study by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, if 95% of Americans wear a mask, 100,000 lives could be saved from late October through February. As of September 2020, approximately 49% of Americans “always” wear their mask in public. If less than half of the population continue to not wear a mask in public, the study suggests that the death toll across the United States could reach about 1 million deaths by February 28, 2021 (Howard). Although these statistics are frightening, controversy on wearing masks still persists.
For those who wear masks, this decision seems simple: they want to protect themselves, others, and stop the propagation of the virus. However, the choice to not wear a mask stems from several socio-psychological, cultural, and political influences. Viewing this decision from a psychological standpoint, people are often influenced by social pressure. If you are surrounded by people who choose to not wear a mask, it’s more likely that you’ll conform to those around you (Gorman). As for the coronavirus becoming a partisan matter, many conservatives view the mask as an infringement of their civil rights promised by the first Amendment. This argument may seem illogical and senseless as the pandemic has only worsened and cases are rising globally. Furthermore, the way someone evaluates risk plays an important role in their decision to wear a mask. Perhaps someone feels healthy and they do not know of many people affected by the virus, although this doesn’t rule out infection because COVID-19 can manifest asymptomatically. That individual may underestimate the risk of the virus and decide a mask is unnecessary. Whether one is immunocompromised, healthy, republican, democrat, young or old, the fact is, the virus can attack anyone. In order to keep everyone safe, we must protect one another with what we have at this time. |