As the COVID-19 Delta variant spreads faster in the United States, my new state, Missouri, has been hit hard and as of today is heading towards a new peak in new cases and hospitalizations, largely because the state’s vaccination rate (~50%) is among the lowest in the country. This, along with the CDC’s new guidance to wear a mask indoors if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission, has led both St. Louis City and St. Louis County (oddly the city is not a part of the county) to reintroduce an inside mask mandate, despite the fact that vaccine availability has meant anyone over 12 has been eligible for vaccines for months.
In short, because there is no vaccine mandate, masks are now mandatory. Although this is a matter, of course, of some dispute. Obviously, a federal vaccine mandate is unfeasible, and probably not a good idea in the long run anyway even if it was feasible. However, as many folks have observed, a mask mandate is much the same. My guess is that the people who are willing to wear masks are largely the same as the people willing to get vaccinated (and already have), although at this point plenty of vaccinated people are awfully frustrated that we’ve reached this point again. To be fair, the “my body my choice crowd” (here in reference to mask-wearing and vaccinations, not abortion) is equally angry that they are being asked to mask up inside.
What is to be done? Unfortunately, the pandemic has become deeply politicized in just about every capacity. Any dreams of Americans coming together to fight a common energy are long forgotten, instead replaced by partisan strife and the spread of anti-mask and anti-vaccine sentiment through mainstream media sources and politicians, as well as alternative and social media sources. I’m as tired of wearing a mask as anyone, but despite being vaccinated I am okay to make the small sacrifice of wearing a mask indoors as part of a common effort to reduce stress on the hospital system and reduce spread. But I’m also not the audience for a mask mandate.
So what does a mask mandate do? It gives cover to businesses, schools, and other institutions with masses of people gathering in-person to ask all employees and customers to mask up. Potentially it reduces spread, but anyone who has eaten indoors or gone out for a drink lately knows that restaurants are still likely spaces where transmission happens, and just because people are being asked to mask doesn’t mean they will.
Unfortunately, it seems ever more likely that we’re heading for a future where COVID-19 is endemic, and after this next spike in cases and deaths, mandates will be reduced, and hopefully, enough people are personally impacted to the extent that they make the choice to get vaccinated before another new variant begins to cycle. It’s not a great solution and it means a continued strain on the health system, as well as more serious illness and loss of life. But unfortunately, government and public health authorities no longer have enough public trust to significantly impact social behavior. If we’re lucky, this will lead to the development of new ideas and processes for building trust. If we’re not lucky, we are certainly not heading in a productive direction as a country.