Works for original variants.
Effectiveness is reduced further for South African, Brazilian, and Indian variants.
I’m curious how that person would feel about German measles, should they ever bother to think about it. German measles isn’t a very serious disease unless you are a fetus. Every single person who gets vaccinated is basically doing it to protect someone else who isn’t even born, yet.
Looks like Walmart and Costco have already updated to say no masks.
Costco? Wow. I need to go there this weekend. Do I wear a mask? Hmm. Probably.
Walmart. Wow, I’m glad they made this change after I got both my doses at the Walmart Pharmacy. My guess, you’ll never see somebody wearing a mask in Walmart again.
Costco is doing the honor system, too. I mean, they’re already checking your Costco card on entry, it wouldn’t be too much extra effort to check Vax Cards.
I just went out. Looks like about 10% of store had no masks 90% had a mask (I live in a blue state). Elderly were most likely to not have a mask while most younger people had one on
My guess is unmasked number rises next week since policy in my state was just changed today
A lot of people probably just don’t know yet.
Inertia and peer-pressure.
Once our local rules change / once I restart my travels, beyond published rules or suspicion of non-COVID contagious sniffles, whether I wear a mask will probably depend on what others are doing.
I don’t want to be THAT guy. And, frankly, I would like to see masks remain generally acceptable in the naïve hope that people will feel comfortable to wear them when they have colds, etc. I’ll do my part to further that hope, even though the effort is probably futile.
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I went to the park today, and the people wearing masks were mostly old. Except for a flock of 4 year olds and their two adult minders. I put my mask on whenever i approached someone wearing one, thinking that might be polite.
But even i, a mask evangelical, don’t think there’s much point in wearing a mask when I’m outdoors and 20 feet away from the nearest other person. And my mask made it harder to smell the spring flowers. That’s the real reason i took it off, because in general i don’t mind wearing the thing. But the park was redolent with the smells of spring, and i wanted to bask in that.
Oh… Back to the point… The people i saw wearing masks appeared to be those most at risk, plus the kids, for whom I’m sure a consistent message is easier. And actually, they were such a tight pack that i suppose they were in each other’s air.
This is one of two things I’ll miss about masks. I have allergies to basically anything that grows so not smelling flowers was a big bonus. Other positive was in winter it helped keep the face warm when it was freezing outside.
So wear a mask.
Ever since buying a stack of masks, I’ve worn them when doing dusty yard work, and next week, when the oaks are dropping maximum pollen, I’ll wear one in my backyard. I agree, they make a huge difference.
Why not?
Acne around me ears from the straps. General discomfort. the heat benefit in the winter is a negative in the spring for the pollen. Remembering to have one. Not being able to breathe as easily.
I reaaaally don’t like them and have only worn them out of a sense of requirement. Those two minor benefits I listed don’t outweigh the negatives to me.
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For the first 4 months of the pandemic, I regularly suffered panic attacks bad enough that I had to sit in my car for 10-15 minutes before driving home from grocery shopping. While it’s gotten better, I’m still tremendously uncomfortable wearing them, and will be glad when I don’t have to anymore.
My recently transitioned friend has enjoyed the masks as she feels comfortable going into ladies restrooms with her mask on. She plans on continuing wearing them at least for a little while for that reason
When i was a kid i had a face mask as part of my skiing gear. It didn’t cover the mouth and nose, of course, but it covered most of my face.
As an adult I’ve been wearing surgical masks in airplanes for years because they prevent me from getting dehydrated.
So i guess I was well prepared for the pandemic mask mandate. To me, it’s like a hat, or socks. Advantages and disadvantages, but no big deal. Ones that fit well are pretty comfortable. I expect I’ll wear one on cold days going forward, for instance.
I do feel psychologically uncomfortable wearing a scarf around my neck, though. That completely freaks me out, and I’m always afraid it will catch on something, and strangle me. So i can sort of relate.
It’s certainly helped, especially as I’ve gone through the worst of the electrolysis, but not worth it to me.
Ugh! I have an acquaintance who had laser removal of all their masculine body hair. They went to some clinic in Chicago that did it all at once. Oh my God, their skin looked inflamed and uncomfortable!!
I did laser for my face for a year before publicly transitioning, and now 5 months on electrolysis. It’s just about to the point that I can drop to one treatment a week, which means I’ll only need to look awful 2 days a week for a few more months. (Since I can’t shave for 3-ish days before treatment.) Doing laser for the rest of my body as well, but that’s much easier and should be done by the end of the year since the estrogen really helps on that.