What greater good? COVID is unmasking America’s collective action problem

Over the pandemic-filled last four months, one thing’s become clear: Face masks can slow the spread of coronavirus and help to flatten the curve. The only issue? Mask-wearing is starting to look like a giant collective action problem — and many Americans are refusing to cooperate.

For months, scientists and doctors waffled about the usefulness of masks. The Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, repeatedly told Americans not to buy or wear them if they had no COVID-19 symptoms; in March, Anthony Fauci, one of the top White House advisors on the pandemic, told 60 Minutes that “there’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

But that messaging began to change as new research emerged on masks’ efficacy, and as countries with widespread mask use — like Japan and South Korea — appeared to squash the outbreak more quickly. In early April, the CDC reversed their recommendation, encouraging “cloth face coverings” as a voluntary health measure. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization did the same, advising the general public to wear “non-medical masks” wherever there is widespread transmission of the virus.