Masks Save Lives, So Do Your Part

The Corona Virus was declared a global pandemic in March 2019. Since then, people have aggressively debated wether a mask can help prevent the spread of the virus. We have had countless of different specialists in the medical field give their opinions as well as the CDC. They all had one common denominator which was for everyone to wear a mask. If government had backed up the recommendation of the CDC and had asked The People to wear a mask, it would have avoided many of the mask wearing issues that have developed to date. Factually speaking there are several reasons why wearing a mask is not only beneficial to the wearer, but as well as their community. For the sake of this essay, I have boiled it down to three of the following:

First, when the mask recommendations slowly turned into mandates, it is no secret that several people were against the decision made by their state leaders. Those who oppose the mandate, commonly referred to as “anti-maskers”, have given several theories and arguments as to why they refuse to wear their masks. None of which have been scientifically proven. What has been been scientifically proven is that the science behind masks are effective. When a person speaks, they produce droplets of saliva that turn into filaments. These filaments can travel up to 20–500 micrometers. However, when an experiment was tested, nearly all of these filaments were blocked by the facial covering. Meaning, if a person unknowingly has COVID and goes out into public, their face covering reduces the chances of a air-borne spread significantly. Now, if you also take the other precautions being taken into consideration such as “social distancing” and the constant cleansing of highly touched objects in public, one’s chances of contracting the Corona Virus are very slim.

Second, It has been statistically proven that since the masks were recommended by the CDC on April 3rd, 2020, there has been an uproar in the US regarding masks. “The global disposable face mask market size exceeded a value of USD 74.90 billion in Q1 of 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53.0% from 2020 to 2027.” (www.thegrandreview.com) In a normal year, pre-pandemic of course, at least one in ten people were diagnosed with the common flu. However, since the mask mandates began to roll out for different states, the US lies in a different standing. Since the pandemic, the United States has had the mildest case on record. It is no surprise that the now normal use of masks has contributed to this statistic. I will admit that the mask wearing has played a tremendous role, but it is worth mentioning that since the pandemic has started the sales in hand sanitizer and chemical cleansing wipes have sky rocketed as well. Which no doubt plays a major role in this number as well. Just three days after the mask mandate in the US was announce, the daily rate decreased by close to 0.10%. So, not only have masks helped lower the numbers of COVID transmissions, but it has also helped lower the number of flu transmissions.

Lastly, I am going to step away from the factual standpoint of my argument. Is it not one’s own civic duty to play their part in society? As a human being, there should be a sense of consideration for others. If at least 80% of the population wore a mask, 33,000 deaths can be prevented by October 1, according to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Essentially this all comes down to every person playing their role. If every person on this planet wore their masks and took all other precautions necessary, we would better the country as a whole. Unfortunately, this country is very divided. And with the current times, politics play a big role in this matter. So, it has become a matter of politics versus science. Stepping away from the science, making sure every person wears a mask is crucial. “On March 13, former president Donald J. Trump declared an emergency for COVID-19 under Section 501(b) of the Stafford Act, pledging $50 billion in unspecified aid in the ongoing COVID-19 response efforts.” (www.ncsl.org) When he declared this emergency, the country also went into quarantine. This lead to panic buying, which later made price gouging a serious issue. Not long into the quarantine, the economy began to crash due to business’ having to close for very long periods of time. The employment rate in the US plummeted. The only way to avoid this happening again is by wearing your mask.

Times have been tough for everybody. People have been affected by COVID-19 in numerous ways. It is of extreme importance that people begin to trust science. Masks save lives. Not just yours, but those you interact with daily. Until everyone begins to wear masks regularly, there is no possible change for us in the future. So do your part, wear your mask.

Works Cited

Opinion: Let Us Now Praise Masks, Scott Simon, NPR The Coronavirus Crisis, May 2021. (www.nrp.org)