I'm very pro-mask but cases are skyrocketing everywhere, even in countries like France and Italy where masking is the norm. I don't presume to know how to fix the issue, but virologist knew this was going to happen -- it is called seasonal forcing[1]. There is going to be another spike in a few months again, even with the vaccines and masks.
On top of science, the mask guidance in the US has switched multiple times [2]. We had a chance get this messaging right but we (the Trump administration) completely fucked that up. A lot of US institutions have lost their credibility, and it is not going to be easy for them to get it back.
It interesting though, but here in Central Asia (granted, the data quality is very low, and it is heavily doctored by the government) these days, the number of cases are actually trending down since the arrival of the cold weather. Most probably there is zero seasonality in Covid. I thinks do decrease the spread of infection, and without the situation would have been worse. But compliance level must go above 70-80% IMHO.
On top of science, the mask guidance in the US has switched multiple times [2]. We had a chance get this messaging right but we (the Trump administration) completely fucked that up. A lot of US institutions have lost their credibility, and it is not going to be easy for them to get it back.
[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339321846_Impact_of...
[2] https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/19/health/face-masks-us-guidance...