It’s hunting season in Maine and many parts of the United States. Bright orange outerwear – on both people and pets – echoes the hues of the fallen foliage. I get why it’s worn: Each year brings accidental shootings, including of people in their own backyards.

It appears that Mainers don’t don masks as often as they do bright orange gear, despite a statewide mask mandate. As a physician, I am surprised because it simply doesn’t make sense. If someone is concerned enough about their safety to don a vest so they’re not inadvertently shot, then I would expect that they would want to avoid being accidentally infected with a potentially deadly virus.

Under Maine law, anyone who hunts with a firearm or a crossbow must wear bright orange clothing. The practice works. “Hunter orange” was first endorsed by Field and Stream magazine in the 1960s when a committee of vision experts from state, military and medical fields determined the color to be the most visible under the widest variety of lighting and weather conditions. We can credit widespread adoption of hunter orange, as well as better hunter education, with the substantial decline in hunting-related shootings.

Between 1993 and 2008, 35,970 firearm-related injuries involved in hunting were reported to U.S. hospitals, or about 2,400 per year over the 15-year period of the study, mostly occurring in the deer hunting season of October to December. The vast majority of these shootings were self-inflicted, unintentional (e.g., resulting from a fall) or both, resulting in an overall mortality rate of 0.6 percent (about 144 deaths per year). Fortunately today, shootings of non-hunters by hunters are uncommon, in part because of bright orange outerwear.

The use of masks is also uncommon, although accumulating evidence has shown that simple cotton masks are effective. They reduce the spread of the disease at least 75 percent.

COVID is surging, including in more rural areas of the country where hunting is popular and that had previously been spared by the pandemic. Even Maine, a state with one of the lowest rates of COVID in the U.S., is now seeing an increase. Lower rates of mask-wearing in rural areas – where people are likely bundled up in neon orange – is what’s causing the community spread. While lower population density had initially offered some protection to rural areas, it’s no longer sufficient. Over 239,000 people have died from this disease.

Simply put, it doesn’t make sense to be slow to embrace mask wearing when hunter orange vests and hats are not controversial.

I can see some reasons why someone sporting an orange vest and hat would forgo a mask. For one, people don’t like being told what to do. Beyond that, if someone doesn’t believe in the pandemic or the risk of COVID, it’s hard to convince them that they need a mask. Persuading someone to accept accidental shootings – which are visible and damaging in ways that we can’t deny – in a place where they see them is much easier.

But there’s also a more disturbing reason why people would opt for a vest and hat and not a mask. Unlike wearing orange, where the protection is for the individual, wearing masks is motivated by community, not personal, concern. While the public health value of protecting others is crucial, perhaps the public health messaging should also focus on the mask-wearing’s benefits to the individual.

They’re both appearance liabilities; masks don’t flatter and few people look good in orange. But both are simple pieces of clothing. Both can save lives. I hope people see the parallels between hunter orange and masks and change their behavior to be consistent. Their lives are worth it.

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