See, most of the time when I’m wearing a mask, it’s not my #1 priority. Typically my #1 priority is picking which head of cauliflower to put in my basket or something.
Masks are a little uncomfortable. So are shoes. I’m not wearing either right now, working from home. And I admit that when I worked in the office, I often slipped off my shoes when it wouldn’t be too obvious. But I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about shoes when I was heading to a meeting. And I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my mask, either.
I agree that we aren’t going to get everyone to do anything. But I think we could make our lives a lot easier if it were more accepted to wear masks in more places.
See, people are weirdly judgey about other people wearing masks. I really wish mask-wearing was more normalized.
I went walking half an hour with a mask yesterday. No one else on the path was wearing a mask. But most of them were out walking their dog or getting exercise, and had no reason to have a mask. I was killing time while waiting for an oil change. So I needed the mask when I dropped off the car, and when I picked it up. And it was cool enough out that it was pleasant to just leave it on in between. And that meant I didn’t need to find some other place to put it.
I’m almost done with masks. They are more than a little uncomfortable. They are duhumanizing, and if you have 3 shots there is statistically negligible risk of serious illness. I’m wearing masks until my daughter is fully vaxxed, and then only if 100% required.
well… you could say the reason people are judgy about wearing them now is because how crazy people were about not wearing them before. This kinda goes both ways.
I recall many people trying to shame me for my mask wearing habits last year like I was some kind of insane animal trying to kill people. That left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. So now when I see people wearing them (seemingly) unnecessarily, I associate that resentment with them.
I wish they were acceptable and there was no resentment. But it will be hard to get past everything that has happened.
Yeah, I admit, I still resent the asshole who kept taking his mask off in the doctor’s office. And the guy who sounded like he had TB who took his mask off on the bus so it was easier for him to cough. (The bus driver made him put it on at the start of the trip, but as soon as he started to cough, he took it off. And he coughed a LOT.) And the woman in my office who spent an entire day coughing and sniffling in her centrally located cubical, when we have extremely flexible WFH rules, and she could also have moved to an enclosed office.
I joined a kickstarter for a transparent mask. They are more than a year past their original date, but now say they will be shipping in a couple of weeks. I doubt it will be breathable enough for exercising, but I look forward to having it for stuff like visiting immune-compromised family members.
Do you mean " An evidence review of face masks against COVID-19" by Howard, Huang, et al?
I read the Mitze et al paper about Germany, where mask mandates imposed at different times in various regions were used to try to gauge the effects of masks. Adjusting my priors, that one moved the needle slightly toward masks being good, though not enough to counter the impact the Bangladesh study had on me in the opposite direction. The relative drop in new cases in Jena compared to the synthetic control is pretty stark.
My main points of skepticism about this paper are that the numbers of cases in question are quite small (e.g., an increase of 62 cases for the control region) and that it didn’t distinguish between masks being intrinsically beneficial versus mask mandates causing other behavioral changes that led to reduced cases. For example, perhaps people delayed retail trips, took shorter shopping trips, or went on trips with fewer companions following the imposition of a mask mandate. I suppose you could see these all as legitimate benefits from a mask mandate but I’m less interested in the impact of mandates than on the impacts of mask wearing per se.
Check the thread. I really think the most recent post there is the most interesting. It discusses the difficulties with collecting data, and refers to a bunch of studies of different sorts.
good examples that I can also relate to… being around people that look sick that DNGAF is infuriating. It is hard to get past that…
My point was that we are inappropriately directing our past resentments at each other. I didnt always wear a mask, but I did wear one when it mattered. So when other people that were frustrated by selfish acts would yell at me, I would be frustrated by that… and hold my own resentments.
I knew that’s what you meant. Just admitting to my own past resentments. I was never the one who didn’t have a mask, but the only person I ever pressured publicly (without success) was the guy in the doctor’s office.
A friend’s 25 yo nephew is currently on a vent. His last words to his parents: I don’t wanna die. No one in the family vaccinated. They are frustrated because he’s not getting “those drugs they gave President Trump”.
Got my booster yesterday. Felt like shit overnight but it’s getting better. Worst is the Covid sinus pain. When I had Covid, it was so bad I could hardly stand it. It’s come back with each shot but not as bad as when I was actually sick.
does he have underlying conditions? that seems really young to be on a ventalator due to covid.