We have been told for months by a nearly unanimous scientific community, voiced most prominently by Dr. Anthony Fauci, that wearing a face mask and practicing social distancing in public can greatly reduce the spread of COVID-19. Now, in a race against more easily transmissible mutations of the virus, we are under pressure to achieve herd immunity, by vaccinating at least 70% of the population.

Both the obstacle to and a possible means to achieving this goal occurred to us the other night while watching commercials in the breaks of an hour-long cable TV newscast. The ads featuring actors not wearing masks, and gathering indoors in close contact, far outnumbered those in which masks were worn and social distancing was practiced. Given humans’ inclination to be influenced by what we observe and hear others doing — a tendency long exploited by advertisers — it seems that the ad industry could serve as a stimulus to increase mask wearing and social distancing, through paid ads or pro bono campaigns.

Sid Whelan and Patsy McCook

Essex