On April 3, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) began recommending people wear face masks, and a few days later I wrote my first article on masks. At the time, it seemed like a strange one-off article – a brief distraction before I could write about Rage Against the Machine concerts again – but we’re coming to a year where masks are essentially the only topic I consistently write about.
As I’ve discussed before, the more people wear masks wrong, the longer I have to write about them. I love doing this, of course, because being able to contribute in this small way during a pandemic has done more to keep me healthy than anything else. But I’m sure you’d rather read an article about Rage Against the Machine concerts at this point. The stakes would certainly be lower.
To be clear, this article is not about the simple stuff. Most of us know that your mask should cover your nose, that masks are no substitute for social detachment, and that masks with vents don’t work. This is about the little things that have caused confusion or made you feel like everything is hopeless. I promise we will end on an edifying note today.
To learn more about the best masks available and how to make the safest decision on how to wear them, see here.
Despite public confusion, the CDC guidelines have not changed
A well-known refrain during this pandemic is that the guidelines of the CDC are constantly changing. NBC reported on it, CNN reported that the CDC was pressured to change guidelines arbitrarily during the Trump administration, and I wrote about every little change or breakthrough that happened here at SFGATE.
No one can be blamed for not knowing how to behave in a pandemic. After all, official advice keeps changing, right?
Not really. The truth is, while there have been constant breakthroughs to understanding how this particular coronavirus works, the guidelines have stayed pretty much the same:
- Wear the best mask you can
- Stay six feet away from everyone
- Don’t touch your face
If you want to get to the bottom of it, you can keep a close eye on which masks were considered best, or start the debate between experts and government officials about whether people outside of healthcare should wear N95 masks, but that’s not the case. strictly necessary. Doing your best is all we can do.
This is not to downplay confusion, or to get the CDC off the hook. Messages need to be improved. But the actual instructions are and always have been quite simple.
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The wrong mask is not ‘worse than no mask at all’
One of the notable pandemic headlines of 2020 was the claim that wearing a neck guard could be worse than no mask at all. I’m linking to the Washington Post, but I don’t want to mention them specifically: everyone has reported this particular fact. I call it a “fact,” because, according to the authors of the reported study on neck hoods, it’s not true.
The truth behind the research is that particularly thin tissues can, in certain situations, increase the transfer of airborne fluids that can carry a virus. But the situation is specific and more of an exception. Phrasing it as a general warning will erode confidence in all mask precautions. And most people only read headlines (according to The Washington Post), so the nuance of the study’s findings is lost. People are not missing the truth because they are stupid or lazy, but because they are busy – probably because we are in the middle of a pandemic.
Wearing a mask and social distancing is certainly not easy
Since mask wearing has become the subject of partisan political controversy, one of the most common strategies to persuade anti-masks is to downplay how difficult it is. The NYTimes published an op-ed that read “This isn’t difficult”, and a hilarious PSA featuring Paul Rudd ended with a rant, “Just wear a mask! This isn’t difficult! I shouldn’t be making this fun!” that only an idiot or coward would have a problem with pandemic precautions.
Except … okay, let’s put aside the bizarre over-the-top comments that are endlessly mocked on YouTube and just admit that this is basically worthless? I don’t think I’m a baby when I admit it has been hard to avoid my friends and wear uncomfortable face masks for a year. It took me a long time to find one that didn’t uncomfortably pull my ears or fog my glasses, and I don’t even have the real feeling that makes people think their masks are suffocating them. And just to be clear, no, masks don’t slow your breathing at all, but it still feels like they do for some people. If you are one of them, a mask frame can help.
None of this is an excuse to stop wearing masks or social distance, and I understand that I am angry with people who oppose or think the rules don’t apply to them, but let’s make the sacrifices we all bring not trivialize.
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There are no perfect answers
Anyone reading this screwed up during this pandemic. They took an unnecessary risk because they were lonely or bored or simply forgotten. No one has been perfectly careful 100% of the time. And even if it did, it can still go wrong if someone in your bubble messes up and doesn’t tell you – or just don’t realize it.
Do you know what else doesn’t work 100% of the time? Face masks. And take social distance. Even the best COVID tests don’t have insignificant rates of false negatives, and when you get vaccinated you’re still looking at just 79% effectiveness. That doesn’t mean that science should be ignored or thrown away, but even the best precautions and drugs aren’t foolproof.
In addition, according to anthropologist Shanti Parikh, pandemics exacerbate inequality and the ability to distance themselves socially, acquire a steady supply of masks and maintain an income varies widely by geography and economic status. The more people you need to have around – whether you want to run errands or keep earning a salary – the more risk you run.
Plus, I can admit I’m not 100% sure which masks everyone should be wearing, and it’s my job to research that. When a Harvard Health professor disagrees with the CDC on whether or not to wear N95s, who am I to decide which side is right? No one knows the best answer, and there is no perfect solution. It’s annoying, but that’s life.
Fortunately, there is a more optimistic downside. While there is no silver bullet to end the pandemic, there is plenty of evidence that any precaution you take will help. If you’ve worn masks, socially distanced yourself, and made some other small or big sacrifices for the past year, then you’ve definitely saved someone’s life. You’ll never know whose life, or how much, but people in your community will wake up a few more times, maybe get a tattoo, or fall in love with a tap dancer, or see Rage Against the Machine. And it is thanks to you, and you can be proud of that.
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