What's Really Behind the Mask?

The world has changed, have you noticed? I'm not just talking about the virus, I'm talking about what is happening in our society. For the first time in recent memory, everyone has been impacted by these changes without exception. When the pandemic started, there was tremendous energy to rise up and meet the moment that was felt across the country. Businesses quickly changed their focus to provide things like hand sanitizer, face shields and yes, masks. But 3 months in, that notion of service has faded, as has the commitment to uniting behind the collective desire to beat back an unseen enemy. Rather than the focus on keeping people out of harm's way, we are now seeing a politicization of measures as an infringement upon one's individual liberties. Rather than staying united to ensure the health and safety of those essential workers that have sacrificed so much, as well as society at large, we find ourselves at an inflection point. A divided country finds itself divided even further when it comes to facing down COVID-19. So, let's be clear. Wearing a mask is not an infringement on anyone's liberties or freedoms. I'd argue that wearing masks is the path to freedom for all societies.

We all know why masks are worn. It's not to protect you from COVID 19. It's to protect others around you in the event that you are infected and don't know it. Refusal to wear a mask simply means that exercising that person's liberties are more important that than the collective safety of those around them. Is that an exercise in liberty, or just a narcissistic self-centered perspective of someone who feels that their personal expressions are so profound that the health and safety of others are a commensurate risk? The intent is not to insult anyone, rather than put priorities in their proper place. Is wearing a mask so that we can resume a normal, functioning society really that big a price to pay coming out of 3 months of quarantine? It doesn't seem like that big of an imposition.

So what is the real reason behind the refusals to wear masks? Is it just politics? More than likely, it's a big part of it. Is it really an expression of repressed freedoms? Coming out of a mandatory lockdown, one can possibly understand the connection. Being shut-in for months does bring on some cabin fever and the feeling of being trapped. Is it na?veté that masks don't matter for oneself or others? Probably not, unless you have somehow avoided all science-based media during quarantine. And while conspiracy theories abound, the science is undeniable that people are dying. So, what's really behind the mask?

The pandemic isn't over. In fact, COVID-19 is so poorly understood, we don't have visibility into the long term effects. Anecdotes from around the world suggest that the virus has a wide ranging health implications - from presentations similar to Kawasaki's syndrome in children to "COVID strokes" in young adults. Could there be long term implications too? There's precedence for that. The varicella-zoster virus, more commonly known as chicken pox can lay dormant for years before returning as shingles. Human papilloma virus is another example of a virus that can have long lasting implications. The only thing that will shed light on what COVID-19 will do is time.

The pandemic's impact on the world economy will be felt for years. There is a definite need to move forward and reopen businesses. Our society and the future we leave our children require moving forward. But to do so safely, we need to unify behind the idea that we don't know what we don't know. The fact that the coronavirus mortality rate may be somewhere around 2% is just for this phase of the infection. If we pursue the economic recovery while eschewing the necessary safety measures, the future, the very thing we are saving by opening society, may very well be threatened after all. This brings us back to the original assertion above - masks are not an infringement on our liberties, they are the best way to guarantee our liberty in the future. It gives us time to slow the spread and better understand the sequelae that will come out of this virus. Mayor Kevin Faulconer of San Diego said it best in his letter to Governor Gavin Newsom; "This isn't about returning to normal. It is about letting us get started with the new normal."

I pride myself on being an advocate. I am a patient advocate in the professional sense in that I help steer families through the complexities of our healthcare system. I advocate for funding for research and legislation to overcome Alzheimer's disease. I have been a licensed healthcare professional for more than 27 years and have dedicated my career to serving others, specifically in healthcare. So if you've read this far, please know my agenda is simply one thing - keeping people healthy and safe so we can resume living in an open and free society. To that end, this is not 'fake news' but rather my perspective as someone who believes in science. My purpose is simply this - respect others as much as yourself and wear the mask so we can all be free.