Here’s a commonly-used facemask intended for COVID-19 use.  The cost for one (in quantities of 10) is $16 plus tax.  There are over 330 MILLION people in the U.S.  The dollar cost to purchase one of these masks for everyone is $16 * 330 million = $5.25 BILLION.  

THE CDC recommends mask-wearing; yet, where have they compared mask-wearing Costs Versus Benefits, other than in the vague, generic manner: “may save lives”. Should we be paying billions of dollars for something that may save lives? Shouldn’t the higher priorities be on things that will save your life and mine? Masks are often asserted to work, because of their filtering capacity, but the measured filter quality of a masks is only one data-poinh. Masks that “filter well” don’t necessarily work in favor of your survival or the survival of those closest to you.

The Holy Grail Question is: “If I don a facemask, does my (and your) Death Rate From ALL CAUSES, increase, decrease or stay the same! This is the crucial question to ask, because the side-effects of mask wearing (besides the obscene diaper looks and costs) may be largely unknown and not easily accounted for; though, they are real.

For example:  You’re walking across the parking lot and a person driving their car becomes distracted, trying to adjust or remove their mask and runs over you. The Stats. will read that you died from an automobile accident, but mask wearing was the cause. Wearing a mask (and every other mitigation strategy) has real trade-offs.  Changes in Death Rate from All Causes helps to ferret out some of those hidden costs of mask wearing, which can be as magnificent as the Dollar cost.