I think the CDC mis-messaging is one component of this. Another is that there is no long tradition of public medical mask-wearing in the West, unlike many parts of SE Asia. Public mask-wearing is new, exceptional, and somewhat alarming if you live in North America or Europe.

Yet another component is that trust in the press and other public institutions was at possibly an all-time low in America at the time the COVID pandemic became public knowledge, and shows no signs of pulling out of that nosedive.