How Americans felt about masks during the 1918 flu pandemic
As Election Day nears, the role of masks during the coronavirus pandemic has become highly politicized; while health experts have emphasized how masks can reduce spread, mask rules across the country have varied and so has the response from Americans.
More than a century ago, during the 1918 flu pandemic, there were some similar feelings about masks.
As Americans were celebrating victory in World War I in the fall of 1918, the masks on returning troops showed that the U.S. was losing another war against the so-called Spanish Flu.
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The U.S. outbreak had started on a Kansas Army base and the campaign to stop it was tied to the war effort.
Wearing a mask became a patriotic gesture.
"If you refuse to wear a mask, you could be called a slacker," Tomes said. "A slacker was not quite like a traitor, but it was someone who was dragging their patriotic feet."
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-americans-felt-about-masks-during-the-1918-flu-pandemic/ar-BB1axXFG?li=BBnb7Kz
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