A History Of Masks
A disease that not many know about. Experts disagreeing about the best way to prevent a large outbreak. Masks being highly recommended by some, and condemned by others. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s how the world was operating in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic. A newspaper in Muncie, Indiana during this time cited three different doctors, who all had varying ideas on the effectiveness of masks. Two were in favor, and one vehemently denied their ability to help prevent the spread of this flu. Masks were a divisive topic even a century ago, but the flow of information was not as rapid as it is today, meaning that differing information did not spread as rapidly as it does today, and the prevailing opinions on public health were not as challenged as they are today.
Another pandemic, the H1N1 virus pandemic of 2009, brought about many of the situations we see today with the COVID-19 pandemic. The viruses are both transmitted from person to person, have symptoms similar to the seasonal flu, and are most deadly to the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions. During the 2009 pandemic the question “why should I be so worried about this when hundreds of thousands die every year from seasonal epidemics?” arose, another trend we see today with COVID-19.
The most urgent and pressing issue of dealing with a pandemic is figuring out how to stop the spread to keep people alive and healthy. This is the reason why many state governments have issued state-wide mask mandates. However, as people continue to ignore these orders, the virus only continues to spread. The World Health Organization recently put out a report stating that they believe COVID-19 has infected 10% of the global population, or about 760 million people. While that is a huge number of people that have been infected by this virus, it still leaves plenty of room for the virus to continue to spread to the other 90% of the population. That’s why following the governments orders about masks and other public safety measures is crucial right now.
There have been many arguments over whether wearing a mask is effective in stopping the spread of the virus or not. Some of these include the assumed fact that cloth masks have big enough spaces in them to make them ineffective. Cloth masks are not just one layer of cloth and are instead multiple layers, sometimes with a filter in between the layers. At the microscopic level, the thread of a cloth mask has depth so the gap between the threads is more of a tunnel than a window and with momentum, the particles emitted when we breathe, talk, eat, cough, or sneeze then run into the fiber and diverted to hit the cloth as opposed to be released into the air around. Masks are essential in stopping the spread of the virus because without those barriers, the particles would be all around in the air all of us breathe. There are still some particles that are able to penetrate the cloth but several are blocked by the cloth and that is the main goal of wearing them.
As shown in the map above, initially in the United States, cases did not start off incredibly high. However, shortly after this map came out is when cases began to spike and if you look at a map from even a month later, the cases had spiked drastically. Not long after, mask mandates were starting to be put into effect, and you can see the growth slow. More recently, the growth has begun to spike yet again because people are becoming more lax on the mandates and on the public gatherings which is letting us see a huge spike in case numbers yet again.
References
What is the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus? (2010, February 24). Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/about_disease/en/.
Smith-Schoenwalder, C. (2020, October 5). WHO Estimates Coronavirus Has Infected 10% of Global Population. US News & World Report.
Clase Physician, C., Fu MD/PhD Candidate in Clinical Epidemiology, E., & Carrero Professor of Epidemiology, J. (2020, October 12). COVID-19 masks FAQs: How can cloth stop a tiny virus? What’s the best fabric? Do they protect the wearer? Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://theconversation.com/covid-19-masks-faqs-how-can-cloth-stop-a-tiny-virus-whats-the-best-fabric-do-they-protect-the-wearer-146822
Ugarte, R. (2020, August 13). Flu Masks in Indiana during the 1918 Epidemic. Retrieved October 13, 2020, from https://items.ssrc.org/covid-19-and-the-social-sciences/mediated-crisis/flu-masks-in-indiana-during-the-1918-epidemic/
COVID-19 United States Cases by County. (2020). Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/us-map
First of all, this post is really well written.
Secondly, regarding the first paragraph, you say: “but the flow of information was not as rapid as it is today, meaning that differing information did not spread as rapidly as it does today, and the prevailing opinions on public health were not as challenged as they are today.” Do you think this is a good thing, bad thing, or perhaps neutral? I think it’s an interesting topic. It’s easy to demonize technology sometimes, but in other ways, it’s been extremely helpful. I think the coronavirus and its coverage on major media sources has been a good example of how messy technology can make things.
Thanks for your comment! I would honestly say that in this one specific case, technology is hindering how we could progress through this pandemic. I can get on Twitter right now and find many different dissenting opinions on masks and the coronavirus in general. Technology and social media really make it easy for people to get isolated in their own groupthink and not break out of it, even if that groupthink goes against science and public health mandates.
It is really interesting how with so much more information, some of the same debates are still happening around masks. There were anti-maskers during the Spanish Flu, just like there are today. Does the mean that the increased flow of information is even helpful?
I think in most cases the increased flow of information is helpful. It lets us know how the disease is spreading, we can see information on how masks help the stop the spread, and other useful information. But also, the spread of information means that anti-maskers can form their own groups on Facebook and Twitter and wherever else, and be locked into that groupthink where they are all right and everyone else is wrong.
I believe the increased flow of information is more helpful in the way that we can provide evidence to people who do not believe masks work. In 1918 if someone told someone else they must where a mask because it would help then to them it might just sound like rumors or not take it seriously. There will always be people who have an opposing opinion but at least nowadays people have the access to educate themselves and others.
I enjoyed reading your informative blog! I didn’t know that the Spanish Flu was also a pandemic that required masks! It might sound silly but I thought COVID was the only time in U.S. History where masks were recommended. I also thought it was interesting how three doctors in Muncie, Indiana disagreed about the masks being helpful. Personally, I feel like the masks won’t prevent COVID from spreading. It seems like nothing will prevent someone from getting it because it can be contagious by other ways. Instead, I feel like masks are affecting individual’s health because it can’t be healthy for people to be covered up and not have enough air to breath. From your personal view, do you think COVID affected/was as affecting as the Spanish Flu?
I also didn’t know that masks were ever recommended during a pandemic before. Before reading up on it, I didn’t even realize just how bad the 1918 pandemic was. But it is quite interesting that doctors were dissenting on the importance of masks even 100 years ago. Now though, we have the science to show their effectiveness, and I haven’t seen any evidence to show that they could be potentially harmful. COVID has been proven to be a whole lot worse than the Spanish Flu and that’s even with the government mandates towards public health.
I really liked reading this blog because it was so informative! I knew of the spanish flu, but I didn’t realize how much it affected America so early on. I feel as if the purpose of masks are essential. They are apart of stopping the spread because when someone coughs or sneezes the spit or mucus can honestly go pretty far. The masks are used to shield your mouth from breathing the stuff in. I think masks are a huge role in protecting us do you?
There is still lots of debate going on about masks. I think most of the people that say they don’t wanna wear them or don’t need to have not fully done the research about why it’s important to wear them. I was like that in the beginning, I never wanted to wear one. I educated myself more about it and now I see why it’s so important to wear them. I think getting people more educated about why we need to wear them, will make more people wanna wear it.
I agree with you that getting educated on masks makes you realize just how important they really are. Just in researching for this blog, I’ve seen the light on just how impactful they truly are. It really makes you wonder how different today would be if mask mandates had been put into place even earlier than they were.
I really like how you included multiple examples of historical examples and context. It was really informative and helped me better see the similarities between then and our current crisis. It was also thought-provoking. It made me wonder what state our nation would be in today if the medical experts would all agree on whether or not masks are effective. Would the virus be gone from the states by now? Or would it still be running rampant? What if a mask mandate had been put into effect sooner? It really makes me wonder!
I don’t know that it would be gone or if it ever will be. I think we will see flare ups yearly just like we do with the flu. But earlier and more well respected mask mandates would’ve definitely helped stop the spread, and potentially could have not spread our health resources so thin, which could have expedited the vaccine and helped get us back to normal earlier!
The post was well written and I think the map is interesting. It’s interesting to see how the U.S. had very low cases and then it spiked rapidly. Do you guys think masks and social distancing are both necessary all of the time, or one or the other?
In outdoor settings where social distancing is possible, I would say masks are not necessary but until we get to a point where we have a better handle on the disease, I personally will be wearing my mask everywhere. Masks have certainly helped slow the spread, and I believe they should be continually used.
I have always wondered what the argument for not wearing the mask has to stand on! That one doctor that opposed the masks, what were some of his points on why you shouldn’t? I wear the mask because a it is mandated but also it just make sense to me. I would only argue that maybe we are inhaling to much CO2. Maybe the doctor could back me up lol. It is very important to look at the past pandemics so that history does not repeat itself.
This is a very interesting topic. I find it interesting how there are so many people who use the argument that more people are dyeing from the flue. You would think that people would want to help keep people alive rather than justifying their decisions by saying that the number of covid deaths dont compare with flu related deaths. dont we want to keep as many people alive and healthy as we can?
Your post had a lot of great information! I see the reason why masks are important in stopping the spread of the virus, but I wonder what will happen when we take the masks off. Obviously with the Spanish Flu they did not keep their masks on forever. So I wonder that happened when they took the masks off. Do you think the cases spiked again when the masks came? Do you think cases will increase once we take our masks off for good?
From what I can see, there wasn’t that big of a spike when the mask mandate ended back then. But masks in the 1900’s were often made of gauze or other very porous materials that didn’t do much in the way of stopping the disease. But there is research to show that communities that followed the health mandates more closely weren’t affected as bad. So, I believe that once a vaccine gets made and widely distributed, we might see flare ups once masks come off, but it should be a lot more manageable than it is now.
I think it is interesting how the problem becomes even more difficult because of the reason you mention in your article. Because most people in the beginning were following all of the orders to wear masks or to do all they could to stop the spread it worked and we saw a drop. I think that then because of the drop we figured this was a return to normal and stopped doing as much and then saw a spike again. It is a hard for us as humans I think to understand how to grapple with the issue because the spread of the virus isn’t linear where one person gets it then one more gets it then another etc. It is exponential instead where one person gets it then gives that to maybe 5 people then they give it to 5 more each and then with just 2 vertices of contact you now have 31 people with it. A lot of things in nature we see in nature or on a daily basis are linear, so I feel that it is natural for us to feel that we can be more laxed on the issue when it seems that it is declining. Even though it may feel natural, that doesn’t at all mean we should stop wearing masks and cleaning surfaces. Also with the fact that the rate of spread is exponential it doesn’t help when in the beginning no one was sure if they worked or not because this wasn’t something most people alive today had experienced. So because of confusion more people might have become infected which then caused more people to die or get sick then seeding more doubt when people wore masks that they didn’t work. The way I visualize it is like a boat moving through a lake the wake causes waves that are very big at first, but with lagging smaller ripples and that seems to be what is happening is that there is a combination of misinformation, misunderstanding, truth then lagging of that information getting out to people, along with then ripples of that then causing doubt and fear in respective amounts. Do you agree or at least see what I trying to get at? (Sorry it is so long couldn’t exactly figure out how to say what I wanted in a smaller amount of text 🙂 )
That’s a very smart way to look at it, and honestly a very good analogy! The spread is exponential and there’s no good way to track if everyone who comes into contact with those who have it, get it. But one thing that science agrees on is that if both people are wearing masks, the risk of spread is drastically lowered which shows that masks work! Masks help stop the waves from spreading across the water so to speak. And with the rampant misinformation and politicization of masks makes it even harder to convince the public at large to wear them.
I love that you guys went into close detail on how cloth masks help prevent the disease from spreading because it like putting the process under a microscope so we can really understand how it works. Besides that, we all know that history repeats itself, so it’s not surprising that issues we have today with the covid pandemic are some of the exact same ones we’ve had with past pandemics.
This was a very well written and informative blog post. I have heard about the Spanish flu and how much it affected people. Although there are still debates about masks they are essential and do help the stop of the disease.
I think this post was really well written and has a lot of good information to know! I was one of those people who think masks are not effective, but this made me realize that they are important to stop the spread of the virus.