"If people want to wear masks in the U.S., I have no problem with them wearing one. But when the mask-wearers—even now—insist that mask-wearing is something more than a rite, no different than wearing a yarmulke for Jews or a hijab for Muslims, versus some effective method of keeping me from becoming infected with COVID-19, I pat them on the back (after squirting some hand sanitizer on my palm) and say 'bless your heart.'"
Is this actually happening to you in Georgia? I'm in pretty Blue Chicago and worked an election this week maskless and and it wasn't a big deal to anyone. (FWIW, it's one of those Blue north shore precincts that went for Brandon Johnson pretty decisively.) I also haven't run into mask scolds for the past two years out in the wild, and that's being in environments that have plenty of people, and sometimes, a significant portion of them wearing masks themselves.
Wondering if this isn't an "us" vs. "them" political thing, but instead you being in a location with a higher concentration of suburban Mask Karens than I encounter in my urban daily life.
The mask scolds are in remission until the next flare up of a new variant. They want to minimize and dismiss the findings on the mask study so they can go back to their old ways when it happens. The most effective prevention is getting vaccinated, followed by hand hygiene and keeping away from uninflected people. Just like flu. It doesn’t have to be political.
My cardiologist finally gave up the mask requirement. I'll find out about the urologist in a few weeks when I have my next cystoscopy (two or three times a year event). That surgical center will not even allow my wife, with or without a mask, into the waiting room during the three or four hours required to complete the procedure. She can't leave the grounds in case there is a problem. And I need a driver after I regain consciousness.
I had the flu and pneumonia in 2017. Long before covid. When the nurse came in to the exam room to tell me I tested positive she immediately handed me a mask. Please wear this to exit and stay home until you are symptom free she instructed. I complied. No one in my home got sick as I isolated in my room a couple days and practiced extreme handwashing when I emerged. No politics, just common sense and caring for my family and the community. When covid appeared I had no issue with masking. This year’s flu season there was a big increase in mask wearing in the businesses I frequent. I was grateful to see that. No politics, just caring people wishing to stay healthy and keep others from getting sick too. This tendency to make absolutely everything political is bonkers.
Might as well provide this, which reviews the Cochrane review and comes to the conclusion that studies that were convenient to the "masks don't help" narrative were weighted more heavily than those that did not:
And one question not asked/answered in general: how would things have been different if the DPA was used to provide everyone an elastomeric mask and long-lasting filters?
"If people want to wear masks in the U.S., I have no problem with them wearing one. But when the mask-wearers—even now—insist that mask-wearing is something more than a rite, no different than wearing a yarmulke for Jews or a hijab for Muslims, versus some effective method of keeping me from becoming infected with COVID-19, I pat them on the back (after squirting some hand sanitizer on my palm) and say 'bless your heart.'"
Is this actually happening to you in Georgia? I'm in pretty Blue Chicago and worked an election this week maskless and and it wasn't a big deal to anyone. (FWIW, it's one of those Blue north shore precincts that went for Brandon Johnson pretty decisively.) I also haven't run into mask scolds for the past two years out in the wild, and that's being in environments that have plenty of people, and sometimes, a significant portion of them wearing masks themselves.
Wondering if this isn't an "us" vs. "them" political thing, but instead you being in a location with a higher concentration of suburban Mask Karens than I encounter in my urban daily life.
The mask scolds are in remission until the next flare up of a new variant. They want to minimize and dismiss the findings on the mask study so they can go back to their old ways when it happens. The most effective prevention is getting vaccinated, followed by hand hygiene and keeping away from uninflected people. Just like flu. It doesn’t have to be political.
My cardiologist finally gave up the mask requirement. I'll find out about the urologist in a few weeks when I have my next cystoscopy (two or three times a year event). That surgical center will not even allow my wife, with or without a mask, into the waiting room during the three or four hours required to complete the procedure. She can't leave the grounds in case there is a problem. And I need a driver after I regain consciousness.
I had the flu and pneumonia in 2017. Long before covid. When the nurse came in to the exam room to tell me I tested positive she immediately handed me a mask. Please wear this to exit and stay home until you are symptom free she instructed. I complied. No one in my home got sick as I isolated in my room a couple days and practiced extreme handwashing when I emerged. No politics, just common sense and caring for my family and the community. When covid appeared I had no issue with masking. This year’s flu season there was a big increase in mask wearing in the businesses I frequent. I was grateful to see that. No politics, just caring people wishing to stay healthy and keep others from getting sick too. This tendency to make absolutely everything political is bonkers.
Might as well provide this, which reviews the Cochrane review and comes to the conclusion that studies that were convenient to the "masks don't help" narrative were weighted more heavily than those that did not:
https://twitter.com/tomaspueyo/status/1630000803141255169?s=20
And one question not asked/answered in general: how would things have been different if the DPA was used to provide everyone an elastomeric mask and long-lasting filters?
Duh
I’ll take one in the “duh” column.