Since I am now more than 6 months post-2nd dose, I don’t even want to hang out with other vaccinated people indoors (outside of my H, of course!) unless we are masked and distanced.
Because my church doesn’t seem to care about the CDC recommendations for all to mask (and we are in a high transmission area with percent positivity above 10% now…probably around 12%), I have decided to stop attending in-person church.
I was able to get a reservation at a hard to get in restaurant in NYC for a friend’s birthday. The day before the reservation I got a text from them to say they were closing outdoor dining because of the heat wave, but they could give us a table indoor. I asked my friends what they thought, they all said, “No thanks.”
This restaurant required all to be vaccinated to eat indoor even before our Mayor put out the new restriction, but people are using fake IDs now.
I have gone back to caution even with vaccinated folks, including visiting family and friends. I am concerned for a medically vulnerable family member who teaches a class of 300 students indoors, starting next month, when her 2nd vaccine will be more than 6 months past.
May-July we had started going to church again, shopping leisurely, even eating in a restaurant or two. August, with delta variant, have no desire to return to church or do non-necessary shopping, masking up again, etc. YES, my brain knows breakthrough cases are usually mild, but we’ve worked way too hard to let our guard down and get this thing!
A trip for next month has just been cancelled after re-scheduling it from LAST September. We really thought with vaccination we’d be OK for this trip. Very frustrated that we as a nation could not unite, get vaccinated, and make COVID just an annoyance.
Given that pre-vaccination, we were really, truly locked down (working and schooling remotely, no indoor gatherings with anyone outside of our household, no outdoor dining), things even now, in the face of Delta are better. It’s a far cry from the hot, vaxxed summer we thought we’d be enjoying, but it’s not bad. We’re gathering outdoors with a larger circle of people (including outdoor dining at restaurants), gathering indoors only with our closest family and friends (all vaxxed), one or two families at a time, and we’re back to work (and soon, school) in person.
Page about the Provincetown outbreak:
Some points:
Based on point 1 above, the risk of spread and dose of virus if exposed was probably near the maximum possible, far greater than even typical higher risk situations like dining in most indoor restaurants. Point 2 probably made the magnitude of the outbreak more visible to the CDC and general public.
Other reporting indicates that, out of 965 positive tests from this outbreak, only 7 people were hospitalized, and none died.
Synagogue A has now decided only vaccinated masked members allowed indoors, although no indication how they are proving vaccines.
Guess my mask wearing in the cottage was an issue for my sister in law, after all. She posted something on FB that was more or less a passive aggressive slap at my Covid concerns. I ignored it, but my 29 year old S decided to unfriend her rather than risk saying something he shouldn’t. His friend’s dad died of Covid in July, so he isn’t up for people saying Covid is no big deal. When will we be done with all of this???
Went to the post office today here in south central PA to mail my sister a birthday gift. The lobby had a sign saying masks are recommended, but not required. I put mine on, but when I went inside no one was wearing one, not even employees (one had a mask on her chin as if that counted). I took mine off. Why bother?
Having just come from the SF area of CA where practically everyone wears one inside and many wear them outside, the difference is stunning.
The “why bother” wearing a high quality fitted mask is I wear a mask to protect myself, especially from people who aren’t masking and may not be vaxed.
Yeah, at this point we’re trusting our vaccines having poured over data and comparing to our ages plus date of last shot. We’ll get boosters when it seems necessary by data and will be isolating for a couple weeks before going to FIL’s since his age could be a major issue even though he’s vaccinated.
Unfortunately, BIL is anti-vax and goes to see FIL all the time as well as doing all other typical socializing. H is livid but his opinions don’t matter. FIL willingly got vaxed, but won’t tell BIL he has to do so. Regardless, we don’t want to be the ones taking Covid to FIL since his odds are far different than ours even vaccinated.
BIL stands to inherit a bit from FIL and BIL’s financial situation isn’t great. We suspect that’s part of his heading there all the time TBH. It’s sad and infuriating.
Maybe BIL wants FIL to “remember” him financially and in other ways. Hope bil doesn’t infect your FIL, who sounds like an amazing guy.
FIL is 93 with one lung and heart issues (plus significant hearing loss). Nevertheless he lives alone since caring for MIL through almost all of her Alzheimers before she died in 2019, hunts, fishes, and has great mental abilities. Playing games with him doesn’t require any “senior discounts.” He doesn’t need Covid taking him down. He’d rather go out with his boots on hunting or something.
But he can’t change BIL’s mind, so… at least FIL is vaccinated.
That’s interesting. My closest post office is the southeastern PA unit post office and masks are required in the part of the building where the counter with the postal workers is located. They installed a wall and glass doors to separate it from the self serve area where masks are only recommended.
Perhaps like pretty much anywhere else, there are “rules” and then there’s what actually happens, likely decided by the leader of the individual place. If the employees had been wearing theirs I’d have kept mine on even though other customers didn’t have them. Since the employees didn’t care, I’m back to just trusting my vax to protect me.
Monkey see, monkey do.
Peer pressure.
Join the crowd.
Humans like to play follow the leader. If mask wearing seems right to you - for YOU and for OTHERS - then put the mask on and fingers crossed, others may follow. Just like @Creekland decided to take her mask off because others weren’t wearing (not picking on you but your explanation seemed clearly based on what the trends were around you) why not start the trend of wearing?
If you’re in a lower % vaccinated area or a current high rate of Delta variant area, chances are of those people in the mall/store - none of who were wearing masks - some of them were NOT vaccinated.
For me it’s because I trust the vaccine to assist me and assume my mask is protecting others should I be asymptomatic. When I see others masked I know they care and I’ll be as helpful as possible. When I see others not masked I know they don’t care and neither do I any longer.
Prior to vaccines we stayed masked to help everyone we could, including ourselves.
On the train we stayed masked because those were the rules, we signed a statement each day (24 hrs before departure of each train) saying we understood the rules and would do it, and my word is worth something - unlike many others on the train including some whose religion would have you think their word meant something, but like some of the Boy Scouts and the “official” line of who they are, it didn’t mean squat in reality.
I have a hard time understanding this. If you don’t wear a mask you are susceptible to contracting COVID/variant - from ANY of those unmasked - vaccinated or not. So maybe because you are vaccinated you don’t get a hospital needed case of COVID. But you may very well still get a case that might resemble a bad flu or take away your sense of smell/taste, or knock you out for a few days. You’re ok with that?
Is the mask that much of a hassle for the amount of time you’re in a store?
I just don’t get the rationalization.
D2 commented that when she went to the Post Office yesterday to drop off a package the workers were not wearing masks, but they were behind plexiglass. D2 and all other patrons in our small Post Office were wearing masks. Most places we are going inside the mask wearing is now 80% or greater here in San Diego.
Obviously, @Creekland is more confident in vaccination reducing an infection to a minor annoyance, rather than a potentially serious medical event. On the other hand, it does seem that many people posting here have little confidence in vaccination protecting them.
But, regardless of how confident one is in vaccination, in an environment where masks are not required and typically not worn, the choice to wear a mask, and the choice of the type of mask, should be made based on self-protection, rather than protection of others who obviously do not care about either their own or others’ reduction of virus exposure. Those not confident in vaccination protection should consider masks that are more protective of themselves when entering higher risk situations.