Thread by @MicahLBerman

Brief 🧵 on mask mandates.

This is a good article, but irks me that people keep saying “mask mandates are free.”

Mask mandates ARE a super low-cost & effective intervention, esp compared to the health care costs & personal devastation they prevent. 1/

theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

Iowa & everywhere else should have one. But doing a mask mandate *well* is not free.

First, need extensive amounts of retailer education & constant public communication. Much easier to get compliance – & to encourage others to comply - if everyone keeps getting reminders. 2/

Second, need enforcement. Enforcement should be civil, not criminal & should be directed at businesses, not individuals; ideally linked to licensing requirements. Then need to follow through with actually doing inspections & enforcement. 3/

Currently, though, most local #publichealth depts are hollowed out & don’t have capacity to do inspections & enforcement. Need a (sustained) surge in funding for staffing & training.

Also, need to be providing masks to businesses, so masks are always easily accessible. 4/

Lesson from #smokefree laws is that if there’s a major focus on communication & enforcement at the outset, then compliance will be high, social norms change & costs will drop over time. But if you don’t do these things from the start, mandates will be far less effective. 5/

We’ve see too many states & localities doing mask mandates poorly – just announcing one with zero follow through.

Doing #publichealth right costs $, but it pays off over time. Doing it poorly costs lives and erodes trust in government. 6/6