By JOHN RICHARD SCHROCK
On March 8, 2022, the CDC released a highly rigorous comparison study of a set of schools with universal mask requirements versus districts without mask requirements. The results were clear. The districts with mask requirements “...had a 23% lower incidence of COVID-19 among staff members and students compared with districts without mask requirements.”
The study was conducted from August to October of 2021. The omicron surge is now in decline. Almost overnight, the rate of mask-wearing in public areas has dropped dramatically. In some places, the few folks wearing face masks stand out as larger numbers of people believe it is time to “return to normal.”
Discussions on radio and television all center on whether folks can now relax their fear of becoming infected. This singular concern only about self-protection shows widespread misunderstanding of COVID transmission and dangers, as well as our Western obsession with ourselves and disregard for others.
The research on masking has long shown that protection against transmission is greatest when both parties are masked, called "universal masking." But the next best protection is when the infected person is wearing a mask, called “source control.” This keeps most of the aerosol droplets from spreading outward, and those few viruses that might get through a mask diffuse (spread out) to much lower concentrations.
It has always been the case that we wear masks mainly to protect others. This pandemic has been unique in having a significant number of infected persons remaining perfectly normal with no temperature or other telltale symptoms. And if you are vaccinated and even have a booster shot, that likelihood of being infected without symptoms is even higher. Thus I could be infected and spreading this coronavirus while feeling perfectly healthy. If I do not wear a mask in public enclosures, I could cause an elderly or compromised recipient to become sick or die. And I would never know it. This can occur as long as this virus is still in circulation. —And it is. The numbers of deaths are falling, but they are still high.
Some anti-mask proponents express concerns for school children with asthma and other breathing problems, as well as concerns about learning language by viewing the teacher’s lips. Here the arguments fail dramatically. First, for those with serious respiratory problems, they can be without masks if the rest of the population protects them by masking up. But we likewise have additional data showing that masks have brought down the number of cases of flu and greatly lessened seasonal allergies from pollen.
In addition, there is a whole East Asia culture, from Korea to Japan and China down to Singapore and Vietnam who have been masking up in crowded cities for decades. This includes crowded streets every year. They are not doing this out of personal fear for themselves, but in respect to protect others. The school children of East Asia have been attending classes masked and are doing quite well. Indeed, their academics has not suffered the major shortfalls that have occurred in the United States. They stand as living proof and in massive numbers that masking is not harmful to normal children.
The mainly American perspective that governmental agencies do not have a right to tell us what we must wear is strange. I would suggest that such adherents merely strip naked and walk out the door to see how fast we indeed do compel folks to wear clothing through our obscenity laws. When it comes to driving on the right side of the road or obeying speed limits, good government has a responsibility to regulate behavior for the safety of all. The high rate of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, in comparison with the rest of the developed world, has been a disgrace. The U.S. percentage of unvaccinated citizens remains higher than in other developed and more science-literate countries.
We are approaching a million COVID deaths. The U.S. has 2,692 cumulative COVID deaths per million. In East Asia where face mask wearing has long been a winter responsibility, that number of deaths per million is 150 for Japan, 132 for South Korea and only three for China.
Our wearing face masks is a responsible act, for others’ health and safety every winter, even without a pandemic
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John Richard Schrock has trained biology teachers for more than 30 years in Kansas. He also has lectured at 27 universities during 20 trips to China. He holds the distinction of “Faculty Emeritus” at Emporia State University.