Over 270,000 people have died due to COVID-19 and 14 million people have been infected in the United States according to the CDC, yet people still refuse to wear masks. This is due to the fact that some people don’t enjoy wearing masks. Masks are a hassle to keep track of and, while being considered the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 by the CDC and many other major health organizations, aren’t even 100% effective at stopping the spread of Covid.

 Some argue that being required to wear a mask is unconstitutional because they infringe on one’s freedom of speech, while others don’t see Covid as a big deal due to its low mortality rate. This misconception of masks being unnecessary isn’t helped when massive figures in America, such as our own president Donald Trump downplay the importance of wearing a mask.

These anti-maskers are selfish. Americans have been making sacrifices for the good of the country for hundreds of years. American service members put their lives on the line for the good of our country, people pay taxes to help fund public services such as the police for the good of their community, and people take time out of their lives away from their families to serve on juries so they can give people a fair trial by jury, but when asked to wear a small piece of cloth on their face that’s where some people draw the line. It’s disgusting. 

Wearing a mask protects the wearer and those around them, but masks only slow down the spread of Covid if everyone wears them. According to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at UW, if 95% of people wore a mask around 11,000 deaths due to Coronavirus over 3 months could be prevented and if 80% of people wore a mask then wearing a mask would reduce the spread of Coronavirus more than a full lockdown. As of November 2nd there have been about 24,600 deaths a month in the U.S. according to the CDC. Wearing a mask works because, according to the CDC, Covid is mainly spread through tiny water droplets formed when a person talks or breathes. When a person wears a mask, the mask helps block most of the droplets from spreading to others around them, slowing down the spread of Covid. Wearing a mask is also important because it protects those who may not be able to wear a mask. While we wait on a Covid vaccine, reducing the spread of Covid can help protect those who can’t wear a mask or are at high risk from Covid because of medical conditions or age.

State mandates requiring masks have been highly disputed in America, but it shouldn’t matter whether wearing a mask is required by law or not. It’s just common sense. Someone’s own feeling of discomfort should never be put before the life of a fellow human being.