Masks were always about a combination of forcing compliance and virtue signalling, and had almost nothing to do with infection control. There is definitely val

Masks were always about a combination of forcing compliance and virtue signalling, and had almost nothing to do with infection control. There is definitely value in ensuring the existence and availability of masks for a situation that warrants it. Throwing it around as a way to signal what side you're on has cost authorities a lot of credibility that is going to make it much harder to get people to pay attention in situations where they may be important. Ironically, I think there is an overlap between the "prepper" types that would probably have good masks ready to wear, and those they pushed back on their use as theatre. It's going to be a bigger challenge when we can't just pretend that diseases stop spreading when you're seated at your restaurant table, or that having the mask on your face is what matters rather than actually covering your nose.