“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe [Covid-19 infection] rates are rising” said Brad Colburn, a Huntington Beach resident (Sheridan 2). Across the United States of America, people just like Brad are disregarding mask ordinances like the one put in place in California, despite the danger that is facing the entire country due to Covid-19. The question that must be asked is why people like Brad resist public health measures and distrust the government when it comes to Covid-19, and what can governments do to be trustworthy in the face of such a public health crisis?
The American public has not seen a pandemic to the scale and severity of Covid-19 since the 1918 Spanish Flu, and not the population nor government was not ready for a pandemic of this scale. In the first few critical months, the CDC indicated that only frontline workers and those who were infected needed masks, a message which the organization flipped on in April (Wetsman 1). This manner of inconsistency in messaging is one of the worst things a government can do in the face of a public health crisis. The change in policy must come with in-depth explanation so that mass confusion is not fostered at such a critical time for public health.
Mistrust in scientific and government authorities is by no means exclusive to the Covid-19 pandemic. As previously mentioned, the worst pandemic America had seen prior to Covid-19 was the Spanish Flu of 1918. Both pandemics were respiratory, and based on modern scientific knowledge, we know that masks slow the spread of respiratory viruses, such as the common flu. There was a distinct, active anti-mask movement during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, mirroring anti-mask sentiments that have spread during the Covid-19 pandemic. The arguments used against masks during the Spanish Flu were like ones made about masks today. “Masks were uncomfortable, inconvenient, fogged up one’s spectacles… others of a more thoughtful cast called masks a humiliating and unconstitutional interference with personal liberty” (Crosby 105). The “anti-mask league” as it was known, turned out about 2,000 San Franciscans to a public meeting (Little 8).
While this may seem significant, the opposition to mask wearing during the Spanish Flu was not widespread, and only pockets of American society were pushing in that direction, according to Nancy Tomes, a history professor at Stony Booky University that has studied public health measures during the Spanish Flu pandemic (Little 10). A major reason that mask opposition was not as widespread during the Spanish Flu as it is during Covid-19 is that the messaging from officials was consistent during the Spanish Flu. As previously discussed, inconsistent messaging coming from public institutions erodes trust, especially during a time of such confusion as Covid-19. During the Spanish Flu outbreak in San Francisco, precautions were being taken prior to the pandemic arriving in the city. The Director of the Board of Health of San Francisco suggested, several days before the first case of the Spanish Flu was recorded, that precautions against the flu be taken in the city. Weeks later, a city-wide mask ordinance was issued, though San Franciscans did not wait for the ordinance to take effect before beginning to don masks. Figures such as the governor of California and Doctor Woods Hutchinson, a famous physician, strongly recommended masks, which undoubtedly had an effect on attitudes towards wearing masks (Crosby 103).
By contrast, mask opposition has been much more mainstream during Covid-19 pandemic. With the President himself doubting the effectiveness of masks, much larger swaths of the population feel comfortable going against established scientific and state/local government authorities. Donald Trump is not the sole reason for mask denialism during Covid-19, though. In general, Americans’ trust in their government has been at a record low since 2007, an abysmal 30% (Pew Research Center). Couple this with the messaging inconsistency on mask effectiveness, and it becomes clear why segments of the American public deny the effectiveness of masks in slowing the spread of Covid-19.
Understanding how mistrust of government can be fostered allows us to understand how the government can be a trustworthy institution in the face of a public health emergency. As previously mentioned, inconsistent messaging from government and health institutions erodes trust in these institutions. The precautionary measures put in place to stop Covid-19 are, with some exceptions, guidelines that are voluntary in nature, and unenforceable. One example would be the suggestion to not visit elderly family members or those with underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19. If people are broadly not trusting the government’s guidance, they are far less likely to abide by voluntary government guidelines (Rothstein 2). Back in 2003, in response to a SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak, the World Health Organization issued the following conclusion: “Information should be communicated in a transparent, accurate and timely manner. SARS had demonstrated the need for better risk communication as a component of outbreak control and a strategy for reducing the health, economic and psychosocial impact of major infectious disease event” (O’Malley 1). This statement can be applied to any public health emergency, including Covid-19. The fact is the government did not respond in a transparent, accurate, and timely manner enough to prevent economic and psychosocial damage to America. A common sentiment I have heard from peers and family members is that life has not felt the same since Covid-19 hit, and that they want a “return to normal”. This sentiment perfectly embodies the psychosocial impact that this out of control public health crisis is having on America. When the government fails to prevent these deep, profound impacts on society, trust in them falls among citizens. In conclusion, in an era of historically low trust in government, consistent messaging from the government to the public is more important than ever to ensure that the population is trustworthy of their government and, more importantly, their decisions regarding public health crises.
Citations
“Chapter 7: Flu in San Francisco.” America’s Forgotten Pandemic: the Influenza of 1918, by Alfred Worcester Crosby, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010, pp. 91–121.
Little, Becky. “When Mask-Wearing Rules in the 1918 Pandemic Faced Resistance.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6 May 2020, www.history.com/news/1918-spanish-flu-mask-wearing-resistance.
O’Malley, P, et al. “Transparency during Public Health Emergencies: from Rhetoric to Reality.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Aug. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2733257/.
“Public Trust in Government: 1958-2019.” Pew Research Center – U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research Center, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/04/11/public-trust-in-government-1958-2019/.
Rothstein, Bo. “Trust Is The Key to Fighting the Pandemic.” Scientific American Blog Network, Scientific American, 24 Mar. 2020, blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/trust-is-the-key-to-fighting-the-pandemic/.
Sheridan, Jake. “’I Don’t Believe It’: Huntington Beach a Symbol of Mask Resistance as Doubters Abound.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2020, www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-22/doubts-about-dangers-of-covid-19-linger-in-huntington-beach.
Wetsman, Nicole. “Masks May Be Good, but the Messaging around Them Has Been Very Bad.” The Verge, The Verge, 3 Apr. 2020, www.theverge.com/2020/4/3/21206728/cloth-face-masks-white-house-coronavirus-covid-cdc-messaging.
