# Why not wear masks forever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019 "2020-11-08T00:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/42 "2020-11-10T14:50:53Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ve seen some talk that COVID may become endemic. If so the whole world may have to wear masks from now on. In that case, I would agree. However, I’m optimistic that this will pass, and we can return to relative normality. I think we’ll see more people with colds wearing masks, and better hand washing and social distancing in general. As for me, I’ll be among the first to discontinue regular mask use if and when this pandemic subsides. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/43 "2020-11-10T14:57:55Z")
I do not like wearing them at all. They fog my glasses and I find them very uncomfortable to wear as moisture condenses in the mask and drips down my lip and chin but I absolutely wear them when out and about and deal with it. I will be relieved when we do not have to anymore though. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/44 "2020-11-10T16:08:13Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > > > I’ve seen some talk that COVID may become endemic. If so the whole world may have to wear masks from now on. > > In that case, I would agree. However, I’m optimistic that this will pass, and we can return to relative normality. I think we’ll see more people with colds wearing masks, and better hand washing and social distancing in general. As for me, I’ll be among the first to discontinue regular mask use if and when this pandemic subsides. I’m not sure any new disease has ever “passed”. A few have been stamped out before they spread (like SARS1) or contained (like Ebola), but I’m pretty sure we have covid for the foreseeable future. Hopefully we will have a decent vaccine and better masks and it will be easier to manage going forward. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/45 "2020-11-10T16:13:32Z")
It is not so much that the disease never disappears, it is that it mutates (like the flu). That makes it endemic. It continues to mutate and infect people year after year because no sooner do we become immune to it that it transforms and infects us again. We do not know if COVID will do this yet (although I think there is some evidence it already has) but it would suck if it did. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/46 "2020-11-10T16:20:55Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m not sure any new disease has ever “passed”. A few have been stamped out before they spread (like SARS1) or contained (like Ebola), but I’m pretty sure we have covid for the foreseeable future. I hate to sound like a Trumper, but I don’t think any society (especially the US) will be willing to make significant and permanent changes in behavior to avoid COVID if this persists for years. Sure, hand washing, more remote working, and mask wearing when sick could all be adopted. Full time mask wearing in public, and 25% of fans at NFL games, that’s not going to happen. I think people will just throw up their hands and let the virus have its way with us. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/47 "2020-11-10T17:16:47Z")
I could maybe see something like 25% of people in big cities wearing masks on the subway during flu season, becoming a thing long-term. As beneficial as it might be for Americans to go farther that that…have you met us? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/48 "2020-11-10T17:24:15Z")
That’s why there’s so much work on vaccines. Because we might get a large fraction of the population to get vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/49 "2020-11-10T17:29:12Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If your underwear is obscuring your face, you’re doing it wrong. But if it’s somebody else’s, you are probably doing it right! ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/50 "2020-11-10T17:45:30Z")
I just got a lesson in how important it is to have the right mask. I’d been using a cotton cloth mask (with 2 layers) that my son gave me, interspersed with disposables if I forgot it (I keep a box in the car) or it was being washed. Both my cloth mask and the disposables are fine. Yesterday I got two Hawai’i Public Radio masks as my swag for a donation. I happily wore one to my meeting … damn! The mask material seems to be polyester or rayon or some other manmade material. It got damp, hot and unpleasant almost immediately. I had to keep going over to the window and leaning outside to breathe without the mask for a minute or two before re-masking and returning to the meeting. I hadn’t realized how much mask comfort could vary. I won’t be wearing those HPR masks very much, that’s for sure. It’s a little hard to believe that public radio would send out masks that are universally shitty this late in the pandemic, so I assume they are comfortable for at least some people. Anyway, if your mask is very annoying, try a different model. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/51 "2020-11-10T19:45:52Z")
It doesn’t really work that well or consistently, and it’s a pain in the ass to look at your phone while having a face to face convo with someone. It’s better than nothing but it still sucks. I look forward to not having to wear masks everywhere again mainly for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/52 "2020-11-11T01:19:32Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > That’s why there’s so much work on vaccines. Because we might get a large fraction of the population to get vaccinated. I wouldn’t be too sure about that: > If a Covid-19 vaccine were widely available at a low cost, 51% of respondents in the survey said they would try to get vaccinated, 45% said they would not try and 4% had no opinion, according to poll findings released on Monday. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/health/covid-19-vaccine-willingness-cnn-poll-wellness/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/05/health/covid-19-vaccine-willingness-cnn-poll-wellness/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/53 "2020-11-11T01:23:23Z")
My phone had a face-unlock feature. The front-facing camera would scan your face and decide if you were you then unlocked the phone. Needless to say that shit went out the window fast with a mask on so I was constantly having to type my code in. I just ditched that phone 95% for that reason alone. Fingerprint scanner works so much better and more reliably. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/54 "2020-11-11T01:56:18Z")
I’ve been a big proponent of wearing masks and will continue to be until we have a widely-available vaccine. After that, hell no. I hate having the lower two-thirds of mine or other people’s faces obscured. It interferes with communication via facial expression and exacerbates our increasingly isolated society. That’s a big NOPE from me. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/55 "2020-11-11T11:52:23Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Fingerprint scanner works so much better and more reliably. Unless you’re wearing gloves, your hand are wet, etc. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/56 "2020-11-11T15:56:04Z")
Fingerprint scanners seem to vary. The one on my phone reliably works, every single time, unless my hands are wet, in which case it never works. The one on my laptop is really flakey, and usually fails and makes me enter my PIN. On the other had, trying it 3 times and then entering my PIN takes about the same amount of time as it took my prior laptop to recognize my face, maybe less. It was weird and tedious to watch it think about whether my face matched. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/57 "2020-11-11T15:59:48Z")
I rarely have wet hands when trying to operate my phone and if they are wet a quick swipe on my shirt to dry my finger suffices. My Pixel phone the fingerprint scanner is nearly instant and it will accept different parts of the fingertip as sufficient (within some reason). Gloves are the only thing that causes a problem but I am rarely operating my phone in conditions where I am wearing gloves and the few times I am I just poke in my code (assuming my gloves can do that…many can’t). Of course, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/58 "2020-11-11T16:02:34Z")
I’ll wear masks as long as science says it’s necessary to control pandemic spread, even if I’m immune or vaccinated. I will not do it one second longer than that. If you try to persuade me that we should wear them when we’re sick, then I will persuade you even harder that sick people have no businesses being around others and should stay at home. That’s what I do. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/59 "2020-11-11T16:04:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If you try to persuade me that we should wear them when we’re sick, then I will persuade you even harder that sick people have no businesses being around others and should stay at home. That’s what I do. I generally agree with you but it is not always possible for sick people to stay at home: > **[Covid-Positive Nurses Allowed To Keep Working In North Dakota Amid Staffing...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/11/10/covid-positive-nurses-allowed-to-keep-working-in-north-dakota-amid-staffing-crisis/?sh=70ac284060fd)** > > But the state won’t put a mask mandate in place. > **[Nurses and Doctors Sick With COVID Feel Pressured to Get Back to Work - KFF...](https://kffhealthnews.org/news/nurses-and-doctors-sick-with-covid-feel-pressured-to-get-back-to-work/)** > > Hospital employees say they must choose between their paychecks and their health or that of their families. Returning to work with symptoms also risks infection among the patients they are meant to heal. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/60 "2020-11-11T16:06:21Z")
Sick people sometimes need to stop by the drugstore to pick up something to treat their being sick. I agree that sick people ought to try to isolate, but people who are only a little sick often have legitimate reasons to be out, at least a little bit. And while some of us have the ability to work from home when we are a little sick, some people don’t, and US workers tend to have crappy sick leave, and I would prefer it if the cashier who is feeling a little under-the-weather, but doesn’t have obvious symptoms and doesn’t want to burn a sick day, wears a mask. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019/61 "2020-11-11T16:08:29Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I generally agree with you but it is not always possible for sick people to stay at home: As I said in my post, my comments addressed what should be done after the pandemic emergency, not during the emergency. Things are different in emergencies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-wear-masks-forever/925019.md?page=4)