MaskBlocJC founder on masking as COVID remains firmly with us, thoughts on bird flu
An interview
It’s late winter 2025, and for those who face undue antagonism for masking to avoid potential illnesses throughout the year, masks looking like they make more “sense” in cold, winter air may allow for a break that COVID doesn’t take. Five years after the COVID pandemic was announced, the coronavirus has killed nearly 3,000 people just this January, with about 2,000 being in the U.S., according to a report from ABC News. Meanwhile, the Trump administration froze CDC reports from being made public until Feb. 1, reportedly stymieing bird flu studies as it’s increasingly a concern on farms and in wildlife across the country, with a requirement that reports be reviewed by his administration before publication.
Here is a Chilltown Blues interview with the founder of MaskBlocJC, a local chapter of a group still advocating for masking as well as providing them at no cost at any local communal resource they can. (Questions in bold.)
How did MaskBlocJC come together?
I was low on funds and looking for affordable masks. I fell down a little bit of a rabbit hole on Google and stumbled upon Project N95, which was at the time, about to be defunct. I did a little more googling, and I think I may have found out about mask blocs on a Reddit post. When I went to search for one in Jersey City, I found out there was none. I remember thinking, "I guess that's me, then!" I filled out a request form to another organization giving out free masks, who then seeded our bloc with 1000 masks, and the rest was history.
What’s been the most disappointing thing for you about the way society handles COVID – both nationally and locally?
In my opinion, the most disappointing thing is, I know that we know better. We all know better. We lived through the beginning of 2020, and we had the information. Nothing changed. The only difference is, we got tired of masking, and collectively decided that if we pretended the virus didn't exist, then it didn't. But as you know, that approach isn't really an effective public health strategy.
“We lived through the beginning of 2020, and we had the information. Nothing changed. The only difference is, we got tired of masking, and collectively decided that if we pretended the virus didn't exist, then it didn't. But as you know, that approach isn't really an effective public health strategy.” - MaskBlocJC founder
What can or should people be mindful of when it comes to indoor-gatherings? Unless someone was fortunate or very unaware or apathetic, I think it was impossible to not notice how many people weren’t mindful during the initial height of the pandemic – particularly in disenfranchised communities which have the kind of high population density and health-vulnerable people, along with people working on the other front lines of the service industry, that make for a perfectly challenging storm.*
I hear what you're saying, but I'll have to respectfully disagree with you. Some folks genuinely could not afford personal protective equipment (some still can't, but I'm speaking in the past tense because I am referring to the beginning of the pandemic). Unfortunately, our organization wasn't around back then. In 2021 I used to work at a job training center for low-income folks. One of the students was a young woman in her early 20s, a single mother of preschool-aged twins. I picked up a box of kids' masks at a store during my lunch break, because I remembered hearing her mention how expensive children's masks were. When I gave them to her the next day, she burst into tears, telling me no one had ever done something like that for her before. In other words, of course there were people who couldn't be bothered to mask, but we shouldn't lump them together with folks who wanted to mask and couldn't.
For the people who really didn't care to mask there were also more fail-safes in place back then. Let's say back in 2020, one person wasn't masking in a room of ten people. There would still be nine other people masking. And if someone didn't feel well, they could get free PCR testing on every street corner. There were mandatory isolation periods in place for people who tested positive, and there was also contact tracing. A lot of people worked from home. We were kind of living in a golden era. Now when it comes to indoor gatherings in 2025, I would still (forgive the pun) avoid them like the plague, if possible. Like I said in my answer to the previous question, nothing has really changed with regards to COVID. However, I know that some people insist on indoor gathering. Gather, if you feel you must, but wear a mask. Ventilate the room as much as possible with open windows and fans. And if you have air purifiers, turn them on. Everyone should test before and after they meet up. Rapid testing isn't always accurate, but it's better than nothing.
“We’ve also gotten threats of violence on our Instagram account. In person, I've had people cough on me.” - MaskBlocJC founder
Have you or any of your group’s members had encounters with the kind of person who thinks they need to comment on how “unnecessary” a mask is, or how it affronts their sensibilities?
Yes, more times than we can count. One of our volunteers runs our TikTok account, where we receive hateful comments all the time. We've also gotten threats of violence on our Instagram account. In person, I've had people cough on me. On my personal Facebook page, one of my high school classmates whom I haven't seen or spoken to in 20 years called my COVID posts (citing news articles and scientific studies) “embarrassing.”
Is the possibility of bird flu on your radar? (Experts say it’s uncommon for humans to catch it; those who have are people who’ve been in contact with infected animals, according to an infectious disease specialist interviewed by Berkley. But some experts are wary of the possibilities of what could happen if the bird flu mutates). When it comes to stemming the tide of that, do you know enough to think masking would be as effective as it was with COVID?
Bird flu is definitely on our radar. I think that masking can be effective against bird flu, as long as people mask with good quality, well-fitting masks. However, there are other factors when it comes to bird flu, that we did not have to contend with at the beginning of COVID. For example, there are scientific studies that show that COVID decimates the immune system.* Most of the population has had COVID at least once. What effect will bird flu have on a population who is now largely immunocompromised? No one can know the future, but it doesn't look good.
“As for the future, who can really say? We have to stay flexible in these ever-changing times.”
Do you have any tabling events coming up? With the potential need for mask advocacy being where it is, what does the future look like for Mask Bloc JC?
We distribute masks weekly to the homeless and anyone who needs them with Jersey City Mutual Aid in Journal Square. As for tabling events, we'd love to do more of those. As for the future, who can really say? We have to stay flexible in these ever-changing times. At the very least, we'd really like to partner with more organizations who understand the importance of masking and supply them with masks as well.
Learn more about MaskBlocJC and their work at https://linktr.ee/maskblocjc.
*The pandemic “exacerbated inequities,” according to early data from a March 2021 National Library of Medicine editorial. If systemic responses to quality of life issues were lacking before it, a continued lack of resources/infrastructure to support such measures likely made even what were relatively rare exceptions to social distancing, etc. among the general population in a disenfranchised area have an outsized presence.
*A 2023 piece by a scientist tries to walk a line between people downplaying effects of COVID, which he notes can include a generally under-noted detrimental effect on heart health, and unpacking some of the studies on how the coronavirus, which the scientist says is good at evading our immune systems, affects them long-term. The scientists also notes the “Swiss cheese” model of protection, which posits that even if preventative measures are imperfect (or have a few holes), the more you stack the Swiss cheese (the more people who take preventative measures), the more whole the barrier is: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19/does-covid-19-mess-immune-system
Also of interest: Daily Gazette editorial: “Mask ban is still a bad idea”