With the rapid progress of the pandemic and its painfully long staying power, a range of changes have been introduced into the social setting. Among the key requirements reinforced by healthcare services, wearing masks has become by far the most difficult standard to reinforce, mostly due to the negative responses among the U.S. population (Howard et al., 2020). Although having masks mandated as a part of the state regulations might seem slightly drastic and is unlikely to change people’s perceptions, yet it will lead to a shift in behaviors, which is a doubtlessly positive outcome.
A range of measures has been produced to shield people from the pandemic. However, to date, the use of masks remains one of the core strategies for controlling the coronavirus, as the study by Howard et al. (2020) proves. Specifically, the study insists that wearing masks will serve as the means of containing the disease and preventing its spreading to other people, therefore, becoming both the shield for the healthy demographic and the barrier for those who carry the coronavirus. Therefore, there are sufficient reasons to mandate wearing masks.
However, the suggested changes in the state policies are likely to cause discontent in some of the most ardent proponents of rejecting masks. Therefore, to avoid further confrontations between the general public and the state authorities, an active health literacy campaign must be performed. Namely, community members will be provided with the statistical data from trustworthy health organizations regarding the success of fighting the pandemic and controlling its spreading due to wearing masks (Howard et al., 2020). Specifically, the information about the effects that masks have, particularly, their functions as barriers, will have to be provided to convince the target demographic.
It also seems that some groups tend to lean a particular way in regard to the issue of wearing masks. However, it is worth noting that the people that refuse warming masks do not represent a monolithic population, which makes it quite difficult to persuade them to change their behaviors. Specifically, since wearing masks has gradually become not only a health concern but also a political issue, the people that do not support left-leaning populations are likely to refuse to use masks (Taylor & Asmundson, 2021). Likewise, different age groups show a difference in attitudes toward wearing masks, older people being more reluctant to accept them (Howard et al., 2020). Therefore, removing the political component from the issue and providing a mass health literacy campaign will be required to convince the reluctant demographic to use masks.
While some countries seem to have progressed from denying the significance of wearing masks to accepting it, the U.S. is unlikely to undergo the same change naturally. Due to the introduction of the political issue into the discussion, the issue has become inevitably polarized (Taylor & Asmundson, 2021). As a result, an awareness campaign should be seen as an impetus strong enough to launch a series of changes in people’s attitudes and behaviors.
Even though making the requirement of wearing masks a state policy implying repercussions for a failure to comply could be seen as a slight infringement upon the freedoms of the public, making masks mandatory is likely to lead to more people using them. As a result, the extent and rate of the pandemic within the target area will be contained and, possibly, reduced. However, the described change is unlikely to happen to the U.S. in the future without additional interventions. With a policy that will introduce repercussions for failing to wear a mask as the protection against the coronavirus and the means of keeping others safe, the chances for the pandemic to continue will be minimized.
References
Howard, J., Huang, A., Li, Z., Tufekci, Z., Zdimal, V., Westhuizeng, M., van der, Delft, A. von, Price, A., Friedman, L., Tang, L. H., Tanbg, V., Watson, G. L., Bax, C. E., Shalikh, R., Questler, F., Hernandez, D., Chu, L. F., Ramirez, C. M., & Rimoin, L. W. (2021). An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(4), 1-12.
Taylor, S., & Asmundson, G. J. (2021). Negative attitudes about facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic: The dual importance of perceived ineffectiveness and psychological reactance.PloS ONE, 16(2), 1-15.