Experts Agree That Widespread Mask Wearing Is Effective Tool In Fighting Virus
Proposal Might Have Slowed Spread, Saved Lives
As the CDC shifted its guidance early in the pandemic to promote the use of face coverings to slow the spread of coronavirus, the Trump administration blocked a plan that would have activated the United States Postal Service to deliver five face coverings to every household in the country.
Masks are a vital tool in slowing the spread of the virus, but President Trump has spent the pandemic both mocking masks and challenging their effectiveness. The revelation that the White House interfered with plans to distribute masks across the country is just another example of President Trump failing Americans and putting them at unnecessary risk.
ICYMI: The White House Scrapped Plans to Deliver Face Masks Across the United States
- The United States Postal Service Was Prepared To Help Deliver 650 Million Face Coverings Across The Country, Until The White House Nixed The Plan. “At one point in April, USPS leaders drafted a news release announcing plans to distribute 650 million masks nationwide, enough to offer five face coverings to every American household… The idea originated out of the Department of Health and Human Services, which suggested a pack of five reusable masks be sent to every residential address in the country, with the first shipments going to the hardest-hit areas…Before the news release was sent, however, the White House nixed the plan.” [Washington Post, 9/17/20]
- The White House Scrapped The Plan To Provide Protection To Americans To Avoid Creating A “Panic.” “At the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been working on coronavirus guidance that recommended face coverings, a reversal of its previous position, in the face of mounting evidence that people could spread the coronavirus without experiencing symptoms…but ‘there was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,’ one administration official said in response to the scrapped mask plan.” [Washington Post, 9/17/20]
Experts Agree Masks Are Essential Tool in Combating the Spread of the Virus
- CDC Director Robert Redfield Argued That Mask Wearing May Be More Effective Protection Against The Coronavirus Than A Vaccine. “[Redfield] called masks ‘the most important, powerful public health tool we have’ in fighting the pandemic, adding that universal use of face coverings could bring the pandemic under control in months. ‘I might even go so far as to say that this face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against Covid than when I take a Covid vaccine,’ Dr. Redfield said. Vaccines are not 100 percent effective, whereas masks, worn properly, do what they are designed to do.” [New York Times, 9/16/20]
- Redfield: “If We Could Get Everybody To Wear A Mask Right Now, I Really Do Think Over the Next Four, Six, Eight Weeks, We Could Bring This Epidemic Under Control.” “‘The time is now,’ Redfield said during an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association that was streamed live Tuesday. ‘If we could get everybody to wear a mask right now, I really do think over the next four, six, eight weeks, we could bring this epidemic under control.’” [Forbes, 7/14/20]
- Dr. Anthony Fauci: “The Message Should Be, Wear A Mask, Period.” “The longtime head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on Tuesday said he was ‘strongly in favor’ of mandating mask use amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in Alabama and around the nation. Speaking on a Facebook event with U.S. Sen. Doug Jones on Tuesday morning, Fauci said ordinances requiring mask use — like one instituted by Montgomery last month — sent a clear message about its importance in containing the outbreak. ‘If you say ‘it doesn’t matter whether you put it on or take it off,’ you’re giving a wrong, mixed signal,’ he said. ‘The message should be, Wear a mask, period.’” [Montgomery Advertiser, 7/7/20]
- National Institute Of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins Declared That It Was A Scientific Fact That Masks Save Lives. “Reminding others that ‘masks save lives’ isn’t just sound advice. It’s a scientific fact that wearing one in public can help to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.” [NIH Director’s Blog, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, 8/25/20]
- Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden: “Masks Reduce Covid-19 Spread And Save Lives.” “There’s plenty of room for disagreement and debate in our society. But one thing has become clear: Masks reduce COVID-19 spread and save lives. If we all wear a mask when we’re around others, particularly indoors, we’ll all be safer and we’ll get more of our economy back sooner… If we had been wearing masks all along, there could have been a hundred thousand fewer deaths, millions fewer lost jobs and businesses, and a faster economic recovery. Masks are one of the least expensive and most effective ways of getting more of our lives back, faster.” [Fox News Opinion, Dr. Tom Frieden, 9/1/20]
President Trump Has Ridiculed Masks and Challenged Their Effectiveness
- On September 13, Trump Held An Indoor Campaign Rally In Henderson, Nevada Where Attendees Were Not Required To Wear Masks Or Practice Social Distancing. “Thousands of Mr. Trump’s supporters crowded into a manufacturing hall in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, most of them forgoing face masks and not socially distanced, violating Nevada’s pandemic rules limiting social gatherings to 50 people or fewer. Mr. Trump’s supporters were crammed together on white folding chairs on the floor of the Xtreme Manufacturing plant for his first indoor rally since June 20 in Tulsa.” [Washington Post, 9/15/20]
- Few Attendees Were Wearing Masks And There Was No Social Distancing During Trump’s Republican National Convention Speech At The White House. “Trump spoke to a crowd of about 1,500 people as he accepted his party’s nomination during the Republican National Convention in an ethics-defying political event at the White House. ‘Forget the Hatch Act violations,’ Tapper said, referring to ethics rules against political use of government property. ‘We’re getting into a matter of life and death here.’ The seats were spaced close together, with no social distancing measures in place, and few masks were seen among the attendees ― most of whom were not tested before entering the event.” [HuffPost, 8/28/20]
- On July 21, Trump Baselessly Told Reporters: “In Theory, You Don’t Need The Mask.” “Despite his insistence during his prepared remarks that American embrace widespread mask usage, during reporter questions, the president took a softer stance on them, saying without evidence: ‘In theory, you don’t need the mask,’ but acknowledging that he was growing more comfortable with wearing them.” [NPR, 7/21/20]
- On June 20, Trump Flouted CDC Guidelines And Did Not Require Mask Wearing During His Indoor Rally In Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Inside, virtually none of those assembled in front of the stage wore masks, and few throughout the rest of the arena had face covers. The few who did were vastly outnumbered by those who did not. ‘What we are seeing at this rally is a very overt denial’ that coronavirus still poses a health danger, Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, said on MSNBC. ‘How bizarre has this gotten?’” [NBC News, 6/20/20]
- On June 19, Trump Claimed Americans Were Wearing Facemasks Only To Signal Disapproval Of Him. “Mr. Trump said testing for Covid-19 was overrated and allowed for the possibility that some Americans wore facial coverings not as a preventive measure but as a way to signal disapproval of him. Many public-health experts say testing followed by quarantining sick individuals and their close contacts is crucial to contain the spread of the virus.” [Wall Street Journal, 7/19/20]
- Trump Baselessly Claimed That Mask Wearing Was Contributing To Increased Infections Because People Touch Their Faces While Wearing Them. “The president said his bigger problem with masks was that many people fidget with the coverings, which he said made them more likely to be infected. The federal-government guidelines stipulate that wearing cloth face coverings helps slow the spread of Covid-19 and recommends washing hands before putting on the mask. ‘They put their finger on the mask, and they take them off, and then they start touching their eyes and touching their nose and their mouth,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘And then they don’t know how they caught it?’” [Wall Street Journal, 7/19/20]
- Trump Accused A Reporter On May 26 Of Only Wearing A Mask At The White House Because He Wanted To Be “Politically Correct.”“President Donald Trump suggested to a news reporter they were being ‘politically correct’ for wearing a face mask during a press conference at the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday afternoon. Trump, who was speaking about federal assistance for senior citizens with diabetes, was answering two questions from Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason. The president was asked about his remarks about former Vice President Joe Biden’s decision to wear a mask outside in public on Memorial Day weekend, and about Trump fueling a debunked conspiracy theory in recent days.” [Business Insider, 5/26/20]
- On May 26, President Trump Even Mocked Vice President Joe Biden For Wearing A Mask In Public. “President Donald Trump on Monday shared a tweet mocking his presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential challenger, Joe Biden, for wearing a face mask during a public appearance for Memorial Day. ‘This might help explain why Trump doesn’t like to wear a mask in public. Biden today,’ said the message by Brit Hume, a Fox News political commentator, alongside a message of Biden wearing a black mask and sunglasses.” [Business Insider, 5/26/20]