By Dr. Lucky Tran, University of Cambridge, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Some have given up on masking as they think there’s no point if masks can’t singlehandedly eradicate a virus (a right wing talking point). What they’re missing is that higher risk people can’t even get healthcare due to a lack of masking. Masks make essential spaces accessible.
SARS‑CoV‑2 is highly transmissible and we don’t have a sterilizing vaccine. People can’t mask 24/7, so it’s unfair to expect masks alone to contain that spread everywhere. But masks can help contain spread in specific spaces like healthcare settings. That makes masks worth it.
Every space where a majority of people mask makes that space more accessible to everyone, especially higher risk people. Everyone has the right to access essential spaces like healthcare and public transport safely, even if COVID is spreading elsewhere.

While wearing a high quality mask like an N95 helps give people protection at an individual level, masks are far more effective when everyone wears one, because no tool is perfect, and viral load matters: the less of the virus that’s in the air, the more safe it is for everyone.
We need to stop the all-or-nothing approach to public health. Wearing a mask sometimes is better than never wearing a mask. Some people wearing a mask is better than no one wearing a mask. Wearing any kind of mask is better than not wearing a mask at all. Every bit matters.
TLDR; Wearing a mask won’t alone eradicate COVID but the more you do it, the more spaces you help make accessible to everyone, especially higher risk people. We can’t accept excluding people from society indefinitely. Even if you only do it sometimes, wearing a mask is worth it.