A mask does far more, comparatively, used by high-exposure or critical-service workers: medical staff and responders, retail workers. Those highly exposed and hard to replace.
For the average person, a mask likely is an individual benefit. But in a world with insufficient masks and asymmetric risks, social benefit, literally the health of the public, benefits most by limited and targeted use.
Distinguishing between personal and communal risk is critical here. That message has been poorly conveyed, even by ordinarily excellent communicators -- Zynep Tufekci comes to mind.
Yes, but fundamentally that's still just bargaining with the problem. If spread is supercritical, the hospitals fill up regardless of how protected healthcare workers are.
My comment was in the context of "what can time fix", which would mean supplying healthcare workers and everybody else with masks before letting up. Retail workers wearing masks would go a long way to creating some peer pressure to act differently.
For the average person, a mask likely is an individual benefit. But in a world with insufficient masks and asymmetric risks, social benefit, literally the health of the public, benefits most by limited and targeted use.
Distinguishing between personal and communal risk is critical here. That message has been poorly conveyed, even by ordinarily excellent communicators -- Zynep Tufekci comes to mind.