MASKS: Yes — they do work

The front-page photo and story in Saturday’s paper concerning mask mandates made my heart ache.

I’m a retired public health microbiologist who worked with infectious diseases my entire career, mostly in Coeur d’Alene.

My job was to isolate and identify pathogens like tuberculosis, respiratory fungi, HIV, pertussis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and several others. The first day on the job I was required to wear a face mask. I didn’t question wearing one because someone knew in the laboratory what the safest way to work with these potentially dangerous microorganisms.

My common sense said do what is recommended because I didn’t want to get sick or more importantly, I didn’t want to be responsible for taking home and infecting my family.

After working with, as Carl Sagan would say, “billions and billions” of germs, I never was infected. Wearing a mask was a major contributing reason which safeguarded me and anyone I was around.

For those protesters who resist face masks, my common sense and experience makes me ask, plead, with you to put this protest on the back burner and help put this deadly disease behind our kids and all of us.

MIKE BRODWATER

Coeur d’Alene