Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The wearing of non-medical face masks in public to lessen the transmission of COVID-19 in the United States was first recommended by the CDC on April 3, 2020, as supplemental to hygiene and appropriate social distancing. Throughout the pandemic, various states, counties, and municipalities have issued health orders requiring the wearing of non-medical face coverings — such as cloth masks — in spaces and businesses accessible to the public, especially when physical distancing is not possible.
Federal officials initially discouraged the general public from wearing masks for protecting themselves from COVID-19.[1] In early April, federal officials reversed their guidance, saying that the general public should wear masks to lessen transmission by themselves, particularly from asymptomatic carriers.[2] Public health experts such as Larry Gostin stated that federal officials should have recommended mask-wearing sooner;[2] others noted that US government guidance lagged significantly behind mask recommendations in East Asian countries and likely exacerbated the scale of the pandemic in the United States.[3]
President Donald Trump largely resisted wearing masks in public media appearances,[4][5][6] and did not mandate their use at his campaign events during the 2020 presidential election.[7][8] After briefly encouraging their use in mid-July,[9][10] Trump continued to hold campaign events (such as the 2020 Republican National Convention) where masks were not widely used,[11][12][13] and publicly mocked Joe Biden for wearing face masks in public appearances.[14][15][11] After Biden was sworn in as president in January 2021, his first executive orders included mandating the wearing of masks on public transport systems and more vigorous enforcement of COVID-19-related health and safety protocols, including masks on federal properties.
In April and May 2021, as the country's vaccination program increased in pace, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued successive guidelines stating that fully vaccinated individuals did not need to wear masks or physically distance when in public. The announcement faced a mixed reception, with critics arguing that this guidance primarily relied on an honor system, and may have been premature given the country's progress on vaccination at the time. In July, due to rising cases mainly caused by the more transmissible Delta variant, the CDC issued a recommendation that face masks be worn by anyone in an indoor public space if "substantial and high transmission" exists locally.[16] The CDC mask mandate for public transport was further extended into 2022, due to the similar threat of the Omicron variant. By late-February 2022, the CDC had adjusted its metrics for "substantial and high transmission" to account for mitigating factors, stating that masks were not necessarily needed in roughly 70% of the country. By April 2022, nearly all state-level mask mandates had been lifted, and the CDC's mask mandate for airplanes and public transport was struck down as unlawful.
Mask mandates have been divisive with attitudes generally varying along the political spectrum.[17] Republican-led states were, initially, less likely to impose health orders requiring the wearing of masks than Democratic-led states. Several states, including Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, took actions to block localized health orders requiring masks, but later softened their stances to help control local spikes.[18]
Federal policy[edit]
Calls for federal policies[edit]
The United States Department of Health and Human Services organized a program known as "Project: America Strong", to fund the distribution of reusable masks to "critical infrastructure sectors, companies, healthcare facilities, and faith-based and community organizations."[38]
There were calls for a mask mandate to be implemented nationwide at the federal level: the Retail Industry Leaders Association criticized the patchwork of differing regulations (or lack thereof) between regions, and argued that "despite compliance from the majority of Americans, retailers are alarmed with the instances of hostility and violence front-line employees are experiencing by a vocal minority of customers who are under the misguided impression that wearing a mask is a violation of their civil liberties."[125] Goldman Sachs projected that such a mandate "could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP."[126] The Public Health Service Act grants the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services authority to implement regulations to "prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases" into U.S. states or possessions, but it is unclear whether this could be used to implement a general mask mandate.[127]
On June 28, House Speaker Pelosi stated that such a mandate was "long overdue", but that the CDC did not issue one as to not "offend the president."[54] On July 1, Trump questioned the appropriateness of a national mandate since they would apply in "places in the country where people stay very long distance."[33][55] On July 5, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows stated that a national mandate was "not in order", arguing that masks were "[used] on a location basis when you can't have social distancing".[56] On July 12, Surgeon General Adams similarly argued that "if we are going to have a mask mandate we need to understand that works best at the local and state level along with education", and questioned if a national order could be reasonably enforced without "having a situation where you're giving people one more reason to arrest a black man."[128]
On July 12, Surgeon General Adams stated that health officials were trying to "correct" their previous messaging, explaining that it was based on an earlier presumption that those who were asymptomatic were less likely to transmit COVID-19. He explained that Americans needed "to understand we follow the science and when we learn more our recommendations change, but it is hard when people are continuing to talk about things from three, four months ago";[128] a clip of the aforementioned 60 Minutes interview with Fauci (where he was quoted as saying "There's no reason to be walking around with a mask") had often been presented on social media by opponents of face masks as misinformation in support of their arguments. Fauci's statements were consistent with the CDC's guidance at the time, but did not align with current guidance.[23]
On July 14, the House Committee on Appropriations adopted an amendment to its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies funding bill for fiscal year 2021, which would include a mandate for passengers and employees of air travel, Amtrak, and "large transit agencies" to wear masks. The bill was scheduled to be voted on by the House of Representatives later in the month.[129][130] The same day, the CDC published a study indicating that the use of masks by two employees of a Missouri hair salon who showed COVID-19 symptoms and later tested positive, as well as the 139 clients they served before their positive tests, "was likely a contributing factor" in preventing their clients from contracting COVID-19 from the employees.[131][132] The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) also published an interview with CDC Director Redfield, where he estimated that the epidemic in the U.S. could be brought under control within four to eight weeks "if we could get everybody to wear a mask right now".[133][134]
On July 15, Senator Dianne Feinstein proposed that economic stimulus funding be withheld from states that do not adopt a health order requiring the wearing of masks in public.[135] In a July 19 interview with Fox News Sunday, President Trump stated that he did not intend to enact a federal mask mandate, citing the preservation of personal freedoms.[9]
On July 30, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative of California Ro Khanna introduced the Masks for All Act, a proposed bill that would invoke the Defense Production Act to produce "high-quality", reusable face masks for nationwide distribution at no charge (via mail distribution and public pickup locations), with a goal to give three masks each to every individual in the country, and a particular focus on serving the homeless and people who live in communal environments. The total cost of the bill was estimated to be $5 billion, with Khanna noting that "If we can afford a $740 billion defense budget, we can afford to send every American a face mask, and if we're asking folks to wear a mask, which is absolutely essential, it's on us to provide one."[136] On July 31, Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen introduced the Healthy Flights Act, which would authorize the FAA to mandate the wearing of face masks at airports and while on flights.[137]
During an August 2020 campaign appearance, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden proposed a national mask mandate of at least three months as part of his platform, explaining that it could "save over 40,000 lives [...] if people act responsibly", and that "it's not about your rights, it's about your responsibilities as an American."[138] On September 16, Biden stated that he believed the president had the legal authority to mandate masks nationwide via an executive order.[139] However, during a CNN town hall the next day, Biden stated that he could not mandate masks nationwide, but could do so for federal property, and that he would urge governors to follow suit at the state level.[140][141]
On September 16, Redfield testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee that masks were the country's "most powerful public health tool", as they had "clear scientific evidence" that they worked. He explained that "This face mask is more guaranteed to protect me against COVID than when I take a COVID vaccine, because the immunogenicity may be 70%, and if I don't get an immune response, the vaccine's not going to protect me. This face mask will."[22]