I think that is a very poor analogy. Adjusting my finances could cost me dearly. Throwing on a mask if don’t really have to for 15 minutes in the grocery store costs me absolutely nothing.
8 Likes
First supermarket trip yesterday since mask restrictions lifted for the vaccinated. I would say 90% of the customer were unmasked. Given that my state has already reached the president’s 70% goal, it felt different, but OK. A discount store requested all customers remain masked, so we did that as well.
So nice to see people’s faces at the stores, everyday interactions are much better now.
Wearing masks certainly had costs, and I suspect the benefits were quite a lot less than people imagined.
2 Likes
Actually, your employer can ask (and I suppose a business or anyone else), but you are not required to answer/provide your private medical info.
In fact, one county in Silicon Valley is requiring employers to ask. But yes, an employee does not have to provide an answer.
https://covid19.sccgov.org/order-health-officer-05-18-2021-focused-safety-measures
Re: https://covid19.sccgov.org/order-health-officer-05-18-2021-focused-safety-measures
According to the linked page, employees who do not answer are to be treated as unvaccinated (9c) for the purpose of any additional requirements that may apply to unvaccinated people (9d).
2 Likes
Logical!
1 Like
Just got back from CVS, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and Walgreens. There were one or two maskless people in each store, perhaps jumping the gun on the June 15 changes. Or not. Walgreens had a free vaccination tent in the parking lot (I think that was for sign up; the actual shots were being given at the pharmacy). Social distancing was still marked at all store check outs but was not being practiced anywhere else in the stores.
It’s very inconsistent here. Last week my daughter and I went to Ulta and the grocery store on day. We are both fully vaccinated. Ulta had a “masks are optional if your vaccinated” sign on the door but when we walked in EVERYONE in the store was masked. Then we went to the grocery store which had a similar sign and the majority were not masked.
This weekend we were in Houston dropping my daughter off for her internship. Texas has not had a mask mandate in ages so I expected to see significantly less masks than at home but I would say the majority of people in all the stores we went to (Target, Home Depot, etc) were still wearing them. It was interesting.
My whole family is fully vaccinated and after us all being crazy careful this year I am happy to be without them. But, I bring one with me everywhere I go and am happy to wear them where they are required. We also feel like when we go somewhere where all the employees are still wearing them, we should wear them too.
1 Like
Went to a grocery store recently. Although everyone inside was masked, and it was not crowded so that keeping distance while shopping was easy, I did notice that this store had adjacent registers open for the first time since the beginning of COVID-19. This meant that the customer of one register could be fairly close to the cashier in the next register.
In the general region, higher SES areas appear to have about 60-70% fully vaccinated and 75-85% with at least one dose, while lower SES areas appear to have about 45-55% fully vaccinated and 60-70% with at least one dose.
It has been about 5 weeks since easy availability of vaccines, so those who started the Pfizer sequence then are just now reaching “fully vaccinated” status, while those who started the Moderna sequence then have about a week to go (those who got J&J then were done weeks ago, but J&J is the least common vaccine due to manufacturing problems). However, those age 12-15, who can only get Pfizer, are at least a few more weeks until “fully vaccinated” status even if they got started as soon as the were able to, and those under 12 obviously cannot get it yet.
While I am fully vaccinated, and have been since the first of February, I still will wear my mask in all stores. I have said this before, but not ready to pull of the band-aid. We have been wearing mask for 15 months, another month or so is not going to kill me. I wear a mask to work (medical clinic) 9-10 hours a day, so a short visit to the grocery store or other errands is not a bother to me.
I was in Trader Joe’s on Saturday to pick of 3 items; while grabbing the 3rd item, I realized I hadn’t put my mask on! It was raining when I park, so between picking up my umbrella, purse and grocery bag, I just forgot my mask. It was such a weird feeling, even though I know it was fine. Most of the employees and shoppers were also maskless, so I was in good company!
1 Like
I went into a jewelry store to leave some watches to get fresh batteries. I was the only customer. I had my mask on; the sales clerk realized she didn’t and apologized and was about to get one. I said I was fully vaccinated and so did she. This was the first time I didn’t push it since we’re one week from no masks required in California. Also the state has one of the lowest contagion rates in the country.
Then I went next door to Marshall’s, where there was a masked greeter. Only one other customer was maskless. The two dogs on leashes, however, were maskless, and one of them was barking. I told the greeter I didn’t know I should bring a dog. I don’t think she knew I was being sarcastic.
4 Likes
I’m past the two-week mark as of this past Monday but haven’t done any extensive shopping yet. I did notice over the weekend that the Whole Foods that hadn’t changed its mask guidance finally got around to it, and posted a sign saying fully vaccinated people were welcome to shop without masks. Even so, almost everyone I saw was masked, except one mother and teenage daughter. It’s a highly vaccinated area, so it seems a lot of people are just being extra cautious.
Ran in to a CVS yesterday for literally two minutes (grabbed batteries, used self-checkout), but I did put my mask on, and my wife waited outside because she had forgotten hers. Figure I’ll still wear a mask in pharmacies, as they’re close enough to being medical facilities. But for general shopping, I plan to be barefaced for the first time in more than a year.
I was in Ohio for six days. Some stores still required masks. Some didn’t. It varied, and you had to read the signage on the entry door. They had just lifted restrictions on restaurants, and it was nice to see a few retirement parties, and larger groups celebrating this year.
1 Like
Getting used to maskless has come quickly for me. I stopped wearing them in stores maybe 2 weeks ago? (I’d have to check my reports on here, LOL.) I still keep one in my purse just in case, but it’s rarely required. I wore one in line at the pharmacy the other day and it felt weird indeed. Very few people wear masks now. I would say POC are the most common demographic, but they have been the best at wearing them throughout the pandemic in my area.
I would say that we are just about back to normal. We dine in restaurants. No small, packed ones yet, but mid sized ones that are pretty full. But we won’t dine for hours. 30-45 min is our norm. We went to the movies yesterday and H even went to an arcade. I sat outside because I didn’t care to play. They did have all of the doors open and he was in there for maybe 15 min. He was very happy indeed.
Our cases locally are hovering around 3 cases/day per 100K population. However, the hospitalizations suggest it might be a bit higher. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been at 5.5% per known cases. Using that number we would be around 15-20 cases/day per 100K population, so I wonder if fewer people are getting tested. We are still bouncing between 5-10% positivity. That is still pretty low considering I am vaccinated. My level of anxiety is almost nil. However, I’ve moved on to the next topic to worry about.
2 Likes
Please take notice if you are inside smaller places with children. If they are preschool and above they should still be masked but you might also keep yours on for extra kid protection. And/or maintain social distance with them.
Actually can we ALWAYS maintain social distancing? I hate standing in line for anything and having someone breathing down my neck.
5 Likes
We had to visit a small building products supplier yesterday to make selections. A sign on their door read, “masks encouraged.” We wore masks but neither of the employees or the one other customer did.
H went to Publix a few days ago and reported that about 3/4 of the customers wore masks and most of the employees, too. I was surprised given the strong anti-mask sentiments posted on social media around here well before the mandate was lifted.
Went to Costco today. About 80% were maskless, the free samples are back, and the food court has seating again (but more socially distanced than before).
1 Like
Our Costco is still 90%-plus masked, had a few samples out (guys giving samples out are surrounded by plexiglass), and the tables are back at the food court - but only 4 of them each seating 4 folks.
Just spent the last 9 days in large midwest city getting work done on our rentals. We were in and out of various home improvement stores and grocery stores every day. I thought our first trip to Home Depot had to be an outlier, but, with the exception of a handful of store employees, we rarely saw anyone in a mask the whole trip. This is in one of the lowest vaccination rate areas of the country.