YEP, THEY SQUANDERED THEIR CREDIBILITY, WHICH IS PUBLIC HEALTH’S KEY ASSET: The mask fiasco shows the dangers of a ‘noble lie.’

Related: Why our public health leaders didn’t push face masks early and are now regretting it.

On Feb. 29, the U.S. surgeon general begged people not to buy masks, saying they were “not effective in preventing general public from catching #coronavirus.” On March 8, Dr. Anthony Fauci went on “60 Minutes” and said “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”

That means that the curmudgeonly group of reluctant mask wearers had a lot to hang their hat on: the literal words of the nation’s top health officials from three months ago. Given the inconvenience, that doubt is enough to keep them from wearing a mask most of the time in businesses.

Lying is bad.