MP Savangi Patel
DCMS member Savangi Patel, a fourth year medical student at CCOM/Midwestern University, shares her thoughts on COVID-19 masks in this inaugural Member Pulse. All views are the author's.Wearing masks was once just a question of public health, but now a decision to not wear one represents a statement of independence and individualism. In other words, mask wearing has become symbolic of political beliefs.
We see that for many, there is a strong culture of individualism and reluctance to follow governmental recommendations, even if it means infecting others. As stay-at-home orders are lifted and more businesses open, I worry that an individual's statement of autonomy over their actions will lead to catastrophic pandemic effects.
Although autonomy is an important principle in medicine, imagine the feeling of disappointment and frustration that must be felt by healthcare workers. Frustration because not only are essential personnel at high risk of contracting COVID-19, but also because of their fear of infecting their families and friends.
Sometimes in medicine it proves difficult to balance a patient's autonomy with beneficence. The same dilemma occurs with face masks. For me, considering this issue as a medical ethical predicament, beneficence takes precedence over autonomy; I suspect many healthcare workers agree. So we require vaccinations prior to school enrollment and we directly observe tuberculosis treatment.
Each time I step foot out of my apartment to run errands and see people not wearing a face mask, I think of the fine balance between individualism and greater good of the general public. When a friend grieves the COVID-19 death of a grandparent, I'll wonder if exhibiting a political stance justifies the death of someone's loved one.