Students stand for the Pledge of Allegiance as they return to in-person learning at St. Anthony Catholic High School in California on March 24. Masks and physical distancing are proving to have some major public health benefits, keeping people from getting all kinds of illnesses, not just COVID-19. But it's unclear whether the strict protocols would be worth the drawbacks in the long run. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A CVS pharmacist gives the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to a resident at the Emerald Court senior living community in Anaheim, Calif., in January. Federal health officials have revised advice on nursing home visitations for the first time since September. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group via Getty Images hide caption
Agnes Boisvert, an ICU nurse at St. Luke's hospital in downtown Boise, Idaho, spends every day trying to navigate between two worlds. One is a swirl of beeping monitors, masked emotion and death; the other, she says, seems oblivious to the horrors occurring every hour of every day. Isabel Seliger for NPR hide caption
As new, more transmissible variants of the coronavirus spread, the CDC says wearing a cloth mask over a surgical mask offers increased protection against the virus. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Tie the ear loops close to the edges of the mask and tuck in the side pleats to minimizes gaps (left). Or use a hair clip to hold the ear loops tightly at the back of the head to achieve a tighter seal. Michele Abercrombie/NPR hide caption
A health worker holds an N95 respirator in the emergency room at OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, Texas, in July. N95s are tested and approved by a federal agency as having demonstrated that they can filter out a minimum of 95% of airborne particles. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
South Korea's KF94 mask does a good job concealing the Mona Lisa's smile — but how effective is it at preventing coronavirus spread? Here, masked pedestrians stroll through a shopping district in Seoul. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images hide caption
There's plenty of social distance out on the slopes, but resorts are requiring masks in lift lines and lodges and limiting lodge use. Most skiers and boarders are happy to comply but Schweitzer Mountain in Idaho had to suspend season passes for some who refused to wear masks and were verbally abusive to lift line attendants. Schweitzer Mountain Resort hide caption
Staff and residents of the Ararat Nursing Facility in the Mission Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles got COVID-19 shots on Jan. 7. Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been surging throughout Los Angeles County. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at a campaign rally for President Donald Trump last month in Jacksonville, Fla. Stan Badz/AP hide caption
President Trump removes his mask upon returning to the White House on Monday after undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
Dutch YouTube star turned model and singer Famke Louise performs on stage during a live show on television in the Netherlands. Famke Louise has come under fire recently for saying she would no longer participate in public campaigns to combat COVID-19. Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption
The NFL has fined San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and two other coaches for not following rules about keeping their faces covered. Here, Shanahan walks off the field after his team's Sept. 13 game against the Arizona Cardinals. MSA/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images hide caption