Went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC this weekend and was happy they still have their vaccine and mask mandate. I believe both will be dropped next week. I wore an Aura N95 mask and probably would do the same for future visits. I don’t care if no one else is wearing a masking. I don’t wear masks outside.
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You could try to get a nucleocapsid antibody test. The nucleocapsid is a part of the virus that is not targeted by vaccines used in the US, so it should only show positive after infection, not vaccination only in the US.
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I do agree that, especially in areas in which there is a large percent of vaccinated people, and when the numbers are down, we can definitely start relaxing a lot of the precautions.
The problem, though, with areas that have low levels of vaccinations, is that it increases the chance of a breakthrough case as well.
Since there is a distinct chance of new variants which are better at getting around immunity of all types, you may want to rethink that philosophy.
And, at the risk of being a downer, this is likely just the first of many epidemics and pandemics that we will see. Epidemiologists have been predicting this for years, and it was just a matter of time. I predict that we will see the same set of mistakes, aggressive ignorance, politicians focused on how to further their careers, no matter what the cost to human lives, and the same set of leaders whose popularity is based on actively denying that people are dying for whatever pandemic is running through the population.
A thought - proportionally, the 1918 H1N1 pandemic killed about 2X of the numbers that COVID has killed in the USA so far. The fatality rate of that H1N1 was around 2.5% in the USA, while that of COVID is 1.2% in the USA. The two have similar R0.
What that means is that, for all our better medicine, better masking technology, and actually knowing what a virus is, until there was a vaccine, the USA did no better at dealing with COVID than it did with the H1N1 pandemic of 100 years ago. In fact, it did worse.
There is no reason to believe that the USA will do any better during the next pandemic.
So I would guess that we will all be masking up again at some time in the near(ish) future. I wouldn’t recommend that you throw away your unused masks.
If the cloth masks though as deemed “no longer useful” versus KN95 and similar, then one can ditch the Cloth ones. When this first hit, noone had masks, so everyone turned to a sewing machine. I look at some of those and wow. Now I have stock of medical/Kn95 masks in case we do need them again.
I will keep my Sonovia masks, as the only Cloth ones.
A well fitting cloth mask may be useful if you happen to be in a situation where all you have is a surgical-type mask which leaves gaps on the side when you wear it, and you are about to enter what you consider a higher risk situation. Putting the well fitting cloth mask over the surgical-type mask may help force those gaps closed.
But it may not be a concern if you have an ample supply of N95 / KN95 / KF94 or similarly effective masks relative to the times you are likely to enter what you consider a high enough risk situation to need a high effectiveness mask.
Covid is here to stay. It’s not going anywhere. It’s time for me to move on. I feel like many here want to wear the masks forever. I’m just not going to live my life like that. I don’t look at everyone around me as if they are carrying this virus.
I have no problem with those that want to continue masking but my choice is to live with Covid not in fear of Covid.
What is the metric for taking the mask off for those of you still wanting to wear masks and double mask?
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I’ll continue wearing my masks indoors. I’m the support person for a sibling who is not well and is on immunosuppressant medication. I also will soon have a newborn in my life. I mask to protect them.
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You are, therefore, implying that people who do wear masks are living in fear of COVID
Let us expand your philosophy:
I do not live in fear of a car accident, so I don’t use a seatbelt.
I do not live in fear of being electrocuted, so I leave live wires uncovered in my house
I do not live in fear of being burnt in a gas fire, so I’ll light up when I smell gas.
I do not live in fear of food poisoning, so I’ll eat that meat that smells off.
I do not live in fear of crime, so I’ll leave my wallet outside.
I do not live in fear of freezing to death, so I’ll take a walk in the snow with short sleeves…
Wearing a mask is a precaution, like all of the above, and you don’t have to "live in fear of COVID to take this precaution when you deem it necessary.
Depends on positivity rates, infection rates, whether in infection rate is going up, or not, whether the present variant causes a large number of breakthrough infections, and on the severity of this infections, etc.
The metrics are the chances of me being infected, and the potential results - how sick I will get, who can I potentially infect, and how long I will not be able to resume my normal life. In fact, they are the metrics I use for any choice - what are the risks to me and to others.
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For now, I only wear masks in indoor public spaces, but that is a relatively small percentage of the time (going into stores or take-out restaurants). Most of the time I am in public spaces, it is outdoors and uncrowded, so no mask needed. This is not really different from how I wore masks earlier (including before vaccine availability).
The local counties have recently changed to “mask required if not vaccinated” in most indoor public spaces (places like health care are still “mask required for everyone”, and individual businesses have the option of requiring masks). I will be watching the following:
- COVID-19 levels and the characteristics of the variant of the day.
- What my elderly relatives whom I see somewhat often choose to do.
- What staff in stores, etc. choose to do.
The latter two are more out of being polite to those whom I encounter frequently who would be more concerned (i.e. higher vulnerability or higher exposure). Right now, I am not that concerned about Omicron personally (though there is a possibility of a future variant that is more concerning), but I am watching what the more vulnerable and more exposed choose to do out of politeness to them, since I do not consider wearing a mask for a short period of time in (or going to and from) a store to be a burden.
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Our state (NJ) is dropping the mask mandate in schools next week. I am still wearing one all day at work (compulsory), but have stopped wearing them indoors most other places, unless the business has a sign requesting or even just recommending it on their door (e.g., Costco). I have one in my pocket at all times. I am operating under the “what’s the weather?” analogy someone posted a while upthread. Right now, I’m pretty comfortable being maskless, given the current conditions in my area. If new, worrisome variants emerge, I may opt to mask up again.
Had a seamstress come to the house this past weekend to do some work. When I met with her at her house in November, I showed up with a mask. She answered the door, saw I had a mask on and immediately put one one. The other day when she showed up at my house, she had a mask on. I asked her if she would be more comfortable if I put one on, and she said “No, I’m vaccinated and boosted, I just have one on because I remember you wore one last time.” So I told her to feel free to take it off, if she would prefer (she did). That’s sort of how I’m approaching things these days - just trying to read the room, so to speak.
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I wear a KN95 any time I need to enter a business, which is fairly rare for me. No indoor dining for me for now. I plan to gradually scale back where I wear a mask, but am not ready to ditch it yet. I have a feeling I will always wear one in certain situations like on an airplane. I find I really don’t mind wearing them.
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After what we’ve experienced/observed during the past couple of years, it occurs to me that it seems like a huge miracle that this doesn’t happen much more often. I mean, really, this thing has just raged across the world in essentially a blink of the eye. How have we gone 100 years without many repeat events???
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I think that part of the problem, is that for some of us, the vaccines are the seatbelts protecting us if we have a car accident, to use your analogy, and the thought of continuing to wear masks when they are not mandated is like wrapping the car driver with bubble wrap as well. I agree that wearing a mask is another precaution to protect us, but a person’s individual level of risk could cause one to say it is time to go without masks. I have continued to wear masks indoors only as a form of solidarity until the very young have the option of getting vaccinated, but I am already comfortable with completely removing my mask indoors based on my own community’s current CDC profile. I respect a person’s choice either way and feel comfortable adjusting to do whatever is needed to protect my family.
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This page lists epidemics and pandemics. You may choose a different ordering or inclusion / exclusion, of course.
I’m not saying we haven’t had any other pandemics, but we’ve had nothing that compares to Covid (IMO), and I really am kind of surprised that we haven’t.
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I disagree. There are plenty of people who insist that it is their right to go maskless even when doing so puts others at risk. The question specifically asked us to respect the wishes of people who “have no intentions of wearing masks,” and it wasn’t qualified by circumstance. Speaking for myself only, I don’t respect the wishes of those who put others at risk by their own actions.
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Honestly I think the metric for me to completely give up masks is for us to get a handle on Long Covid. I don’t plan to wear a mask all the time by any means, but putting it on for the grocery store or the subway is just not that big a deal. I won’t be wearing one to the neighborhood block party or the outdoor meeting of Healthy Yards - I didn’t last summer either.
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I did as well and will continue to do so regularly. I feel fine doing this and will mask. Easy thing for me to do to help others.
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Maybe you are right, but that has not been my experience. My wife and I have visited her Grandmother in Assisted Living at least 10 times since the pandemic began in my wife’s hometown, which happens to be in the least vaccinated state, and we have never seen or heard anyone start a disturbance because they did not want to wear a mask. 100% mask compliance each and every time we have visited.
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I will definitely be wearing masks for the foreseeable future when I’m out shopping or using public transport. I am certain I will never fly maskless again. I enjoy not getting colds as often. It’s no issue for me to wear masks for an extended time. I know they don’t stop everything, but I’m pretty sure they at least catch the big germs😃
I’m wearing a mask when I work one on one with students, and I am asking them to do the same until after I get back from vacation later in March. I’ll play it by ear after that, but I may just keep on masking myself and let students not wear a mask until summer. I will continue to work outside with them and I don’t wear a mask outside. It’s sooo much nicer to sit outdoors, and kids prefer it too. One benefit of the pandemic.
I know it’s illogical, but I feel safer with my mask on. At the same time, I’m very aware that kids hate them (don’t we all?) and I will do my very best to ensure that students enjoy their sessions with me as much as possible.
I feel like I’m done with Covid. I’m all updated with vaccines and I want my old life back. There is not one person I hang out with who isn’t vaccinated, so I am trusting that I’m as protected as I can be without going insane.
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