Masks Are a Tool, Not a Symbol

As America reopens, public sentiment about masks will shape what role they play in the country’s pandemic response. Policy makers, business owners, and unions must decide where masks should be recommended or mandatory. Individuals must decide how scrupulously to heed mask rules, as well as whether to wear masks when doing so is optional or even discouraged.

Getting mask use exactly right may be impossible. We lack full information about the efficacy of masks in many settings, and different people have different value judgments about mask mandates.

Still, the evidence is now quite robust that masks are effective in at least some settings. If Americans simply studied the evidence and behaved accordingly, erring on the side of caution, many lives could