Let's Talk About Masks Again

As divisive as masks were earlier in the summer, at this point it seems like even anti-mask people have resigned themselves to the fact that they're going to need to wear them for the time being, just to be in society without people glaring at them. Besides a quick blip of "masks give you Legionairres' disease" (spoiler: no they don't), most of the theories about negative effects of masks seem to have quieted down.

There are still people saying that masks may not hurt, but don't help either, citing the fact that Europe and other places never really implemented mask wearing, and they're now reopening their economies. While that may be true, the outbreaks in these counties never reached the staggering levels it has in the US. Considering how far gone things are here, we should be taking every possible precaution to prevent further spread of this disease, and masks are a simple and safe way to do that.

Finally, let's talk about people's choices in terms of what mask they wear, and how they wear it. For the most part, the people I have personally seen wearing masks in public are wearing them correctly - not a lot of "chinstraps" or noses hanging out. And of course, I would prefer that all people wear masks and wear them correctly. But, if being able to pop your nose out once in a while is the thing that makes it bearable for you, as opposed to not wearing a mask at all, I'm ok with that. Given the choice, I guess I'd rather have someone's mouth covered than their nose, just because of spitting while talking and such (and assuming they still cover their nose when they sneeze). There have also been many studies about the most effective style and material mask to wear. While some materials are more effective than others, again, I'd rather you just cover your face holes with something, and if a certain type of fabric makes it more bearable for you and makes you more likely to wear a mask, even if less effective, I'm ok with it. However, I did just see this interesting research about the most effective masks that found that neck gaiters are actually worse than not wearing a mask at all! I know a lot of people favor this style, because they can pull it down like a neck scarf when not in use, but I have problems with that as well (all the constant touching of the mask, and holding the outside part so close to your face). So maybe word will get out that these will become a less widespread option.

Either way, everything we're doing in order to be in public or with others - masks, hand washing, distancing, etc. - is not going to 100% prevent you from getting sick. Nobody ever said it would. But it's not pointless. The goal is just to keep the amount of sick people to a reasonable and manageable level. So if you really want to keep from getting sick, you know what you need to do: stay home.