Do you think masks will be more commonplace in America when the pandemic is over?

[Calthrina950]

The question is as in the title. The coronavirus pandemic has greatly reduced the prior hostility, in this country and elsewhere, to wearing masks or facial coverings in public, a practice which has been commonplace in Asia for many years. Many jurisdictions and businesses have made them mandatory, and public health experts have said that we could be continuing to wear masks for at least another year, or up to 18 months from the start of the pandemic (March 2020).

However, I'm curious to know whether you (and that means members of this forum) think that masks will become more commonplace than they were before, once the pandemic has ended. That is, will people be wearing them without attracting "glances" or the like from others, and will more people wear them if they are sick or otherwise find them medically necessary?

Vote in the poll and provide your thoughts below.

[Frodo]

Once a vaccine comes out, and the coronavirus becomes little more threatening than the flu or the common cold, I am personally going back to business as usual, with no mask.  I think many other Americans are itching to do the same. 

[Xing]

I mean, considering pretty much no one outside of a hospital wore a mask prior to the pandemic, yes, since I could see a small number of people still doing so even after there’s a vaccine.

[𝕭𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖔𝖑𝖆]

Considering how many people currently do not wear masks, no.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Once a vaccine comes out, and the coronavirus becomes little more threatening than the flu or the common cold, I am personally going back to business as usual, with no mask.  I think many other Americans are itching to do the same. 

You might want to pump the breaks until we know more about the virus. It's possible that a truly effective vaccine will take longer than usual to develop because we've learned that COVID-19 in particular is especially nasty. I'll get the vaccine as soon as it's available, but I may have a brief period of easing back into normality (wearing a mask, distancing) just to be safe.

[jaymichaud]

Nah, people will be sick of the sight of the things.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

No.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

No, but I fully intend on continuing to wear scarf masks around my neck as a fashion diva.

[SnowLabrador]

Hopefully.

[Santander]

Once a vaccine comes out, and the coronavirus becomes little more threatening than the flu or the common cold, I am personally going back to business as usual, with no mask.  I think many other Americans are itching to do the same. 

Don't get your hopes up about a vaccine.

[RI]

Once a vaccine comes out, and the coronavirus becomes little more threatening than the flu or the common cold, I am personally going back to business as usual, with no mask.  I think many other Americans are itching to do the same. 

Don't get your hopes up about a vaccine.

Hard disagree. There are a ton of highly promising vaccine candidates in advanced stages of development.

[Del Tachi]

Only if Donald Trump wins a second term (sane, "literally everything is partisan" answer)

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I hope not, but every argument in favor of masks and social distancing could also logically be applied to the flu or any other contagious disease, so I don't know.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

More common, but not common. Well-fitted stylish masks might even become a fashion accessory among some people.

[HillGoose]

i hope everyone just forgets about all this tbh it's been terrible

[Cokeland Saxton]

No, get rid of those awful things.

[Figueira]

In general no, people won't just put them on as a normal part of their daily routine, but I suspect more people will wear them than before in crowded places, and when they're sick.

[beaver2.0]

Yes, but since it was starting from pretty much nothing, it's hard to imagine any situation in which they don't become more prevalent.

[morgieb]

People are forgetting that surgical masks were a thing in Asia before this and a lot of that was linked to SARS1. So I think some people will start wearing them post-pandemic too even if not a majority of the country.

[Tender Branson]

Probably not.

And hopefully not.

There’s no reason to run around with a mask when there’s no virus around, unless it’s for something very health or job specific or for Halloween.

[Koharu]

I'm not sure, but I hope so.

It does make things more difficult for me sometimes as I definitely have some hearing loss (oh genetics) and rely on lip-reading to verify words sometimes. But I think the exchange for safety is worth it.

[pikachu]

I can definitely see people wearing them more in crowded places during flu season. Doubt there'll be mandates, but it's also a more 'normal' thing to do than it once was.

[RFayette]

I can definitely see people wearing them more in crowded places during flu season. Doubt there'll be mandates, but it's also a more 'normal' thing to do than it once was.

This.  I could also see it being more common in airplane travel as well - I have sometimes seen Asian travelers wearing a mask on a plane prior to the COVID pandemic, so we could see more of this in America going forward. 

[RINO Tom]

Not sure, this has been pretty ***unprecedented***.  Lol.

I will say, however, people who are "COVID hawks" are going to have to either be insufferably annoying or come to terms with how emotionally driven their current views are.  As I have said here many times, my girlfriend is a literal COVID nurse and my dad is a hospital CFO, so I will not entertain any idiots insinuating I "don't get it" or "don't care" or "don't want to save lives" or whatever the hell.  However, the literal HYSTERIA some people are engaging in is turning laughable.  I mean, we all acknowledge that LOGICALLY there is an inevitable, dare I say "logically acceptable," death toll above zero, yes?  Otherwise, we would be taking extreme measures every single year to stop the ONE MILLION people who need to go to the hospital every year from pneumonia and the FIFTY THOUSAND that die each year from it.  If you're one of those people who are judging people for going to restaurant patios and hanging out with their parents right now, then I expect you to have your damn mask on every single winter or get a grip.

(I wear my mask absolutely everywhere inside ... why not?  It can't hurt, it makes people feel better and it might slow the spread just one tiny bit.  However, the ATTITUDES of the most cautious COVID people are just getting so irritating it's unbelievable.)