Vaccinated Era Is Near, but Not Without Continued Virus Safety

While countries like New Zealand present a shining example of how enforcing lockdown can seriously damper the spread of the coronavirus, American culture makes people less likely to trust health officials, Bezruchka said. The U.S. also lacks the “tremendous government support” given to furloughed workers in other countries, to encourage people to stay home, he said.

“In more unequal countries, there is much less trust in the government or authority,” Bezruchka said, noting that “inequality has soared in the last year.” 

Lacking both financial support and a unified understanding about pandemic safety, he said, people are more likely to fill in the gaps with whatever they want to hear. 

“People sense something is wrong, and there’s this tremendous ability to spread misinformation, or disinformation,” Bezruchka said. On the internet, for instance, “you can find people to support any belief you have — and in this country, people are looking for alternative facts.” 

The politicization of masks has left the U.S. more divided over Covid-19 than other major countries, according to Pew survey data.  

Since American health officials began recommending everyone wear a mask outside their home, there has been no shortage of viral videos shared online, showing staunch mask opposers: A Texas man slapped a judge who approached him about a mask mandate. A Florida woman coughed on another shopper in defying mask rules, landing her a 30-day prison sentence.  

With the knowledge that not everyone will readily mask up and stay away from crowds, researchers have been working to understand what motivates people to change their behavior. 

Making the Case for Masks

As long as masking remains optional, public health officials face a challenge in getting people to voluntarily comply with measures to protect health. 

Researchers analyzed who was most likely to wear a mask in the U.S., publishing the results last October in the journal Plos One. They found that “wearing a mask increased significantly in age,” and that women were more likely to mask up. 

The data, from last summer, also showed that people in rural areas were four times less likely to wear a mask than those in urban and suburban areas. 

That may have to do with different risk factors in less densely populated areas, and “obviously there may be some politics playing into that,” said Michael Haischer, a researcher at Marquette University, who led the study. 

Some groups of people, like kids in schools, need less of a reminder. “Masks are pretty normalized for kids now,” Haischer said. He noted that for instance, kids are fans of masked Marvel superheroes. 

“There’s almost a fun aspect to it,” with different designs kids can compare to their friends’ masks, Haischer said. “It’s almost like a new article of clothing — we’ve been in this for so long now.” 

It may be adults that need a reminder, or something stronger, to encourage compliance. Researchers are also working on what that messaging should look like.

Allison Lazard is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism. Her studies with focus groups have demonstrated that positive messaging about protection and safety, rather than punitive, or fear-oriented messaging, is more likely to work for people who are on the fence. 

Compliance with mask-wearing, and social distancing, is motivated by the desire to protect other people, Lazard said, and particularly people in one’s own social network. 

“There’s a real, strong desire to keep loved ones safe — friends, family, those that we know that are vulnerable,” she said.

For the rest of people not willing to comply, it may come down to a simple mandate. 

“If you’re dead-set against this idea that masks are important, then communication’s not really going to get you there,” Lazard said. “But what was effective for these individuals was simple policies.” 

In grocery stores, for instance — indoor areas that, as Haischer pointed, out are laid out the similarly in both rural and densely populated areas — requiring masks seems to be the way to go. 

“By having a simple ‘mask required’ mandate, you’re empowering businesses, employers and members of the community to keep that community safe,” Lazard said. 

Many states, including Texas and Arizona, have done away with their mask mandates, but 27 states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., still require face coverings in public. 

Lazard, who also does tobacco prevention research, said that consistent, clear messaging is key. 

Similar to the classic “no smoking” sign, public places could adopt a universal signal requiring mask compliance, leaving no room for confusion.

“The ‘no smoking’ sign is simple, clear, iconic,” Lazard said, “and when it’s posted, you know what it means.” 

Follow @NinaPullano

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