There was definitely an anti-mask bias in the US at the policy level, because cloth mask use has limited effectiveness and triggers a pretty visceral reaction. A lot of the weird “muh freedom” and antivax nonsense was a pivot from anti-mask.

COVID hit at the worst time, our federal government was reeling from the insanity of the last administration, and key early measures weren’t taken. A reaction similar to what happened in China in the NY Metro region and a few other places early on would have blunted this, and protocols had been developed and left on the shelf due to the political implications.