Over Thanksgiving holiday week, I was glad to see more people wearing masks in public than ever before. This compliance was consistent with a growing body of population research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and elsewhere revealing that masks and mask mandates (in Kansas, Nebraska, Thailand and throughout over 200 countries) are associated with decreased spread of COVID-19. The public messaging on behalf of masks has grown stronger and more persuasive and pervasive than ever before.
But there are limits to the science. Here’s what a population study can’t possibly show you: Is it the masking or the distancing that is preventing spread? And how appropriately are people doing either one?
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