"Children are being encouraged to take on the superhero persona and help protect others.  They do this in true average-person-as-the-superhero style by wearing a facemask alone, without any superhero powers or words.  Just as wearing a facemask in public has been the norm for years in many Asian countries, it may become the norm worldwide.  For this to happen, we need buy-in by the younger generations who are less likely to wear a mask in public but are equally likely to unknowingly spread infection.  In this group, the ability to make a fashion statement may motivate them to give up their laissez-faire view of their personal risk of harm in favor of the ethically favorable and trendy decision to protect others."

Lauren Fine is an allergy-immunology physician and a medical educator.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article that she co-authored, "The superhero within during the time of COVID-19." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/06/the-superhero-within-during-the-time-of-covid-19.html) She would like to thank her co-author and colleague, Dr. Vijay Rajput.