Will Americans wear masks to prevent coronavirus spread? Politics, history, race and crime factor into tough decision

For many, the decision of wearing them or not transcends the medical. "Americans have proved so reluctant to put on masks that hospitals have for years used them as a cudgel to force health-care workers to get the flu vaccine, ordering employees who did not receive the shot to wear face masks at work. Such policies have been credited with boosting vaccine compliance by 20 percent to 30 percent at many hospitals." Marc Fisher, Clarence Williams and Lori Rozsa explore in The Washington Post.