A TikTok video of a woman breaking down into tears after being told that face masks were “irrelevant” has gone viral online.
The clip features an initially masked hospital patient discussing her recent trip to a clinic in Washington state. In the two-minute anecdote, the woman notes how she was given an extra face mask on leaving the hospital.
After she thanked the nurse for providing an extra mask, she was reportedly told “we could use less of them” by practitioners at the clinic, who also said they “were pointless”.
Despite the patient’s disbelief that masks were not required in an oncology and hematology infusion center, the nurse and three colleagues reiterated that masks had not been worn prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The woman, who said she was “not an oncology patient” but is “immunocompromised”, added she was “so floored” by the conversation before breaking down into tears (watch below):
When the clip made it to social media platform X, users noted how individual beliefs over the effectiveness of masks were largely dictated by mainstream media outlets.
One commenter praised the nurses from the clip.
For some, the TikTok video brought back dark memories of mask mandates during the pandemic.
The effectiveness of masks has long been disputed. In some instances, interpretation of studies and misinformation has prompted media outlets to overreport their usefulness, while their introduction alongside other preventative measures has boosted the true effectiveness of face coverings.
What’s your views on masks? Did you wear one throughout the pandemic? Let us know in the comments.
