When are you going to stop wearing masks indoors (stores, etc)

[Anonymous]

It’s kind of ironic that the most likely way you’ll catch Covid when out and about is while dining indoors, and that’s when you’re unmasked (for obvious reasons). Studies have shown that the risk of transmission in places like grocery stores, gyms (other than inside small crowded spin studios or the like), or any other indoor areas with high ceilings and/or good ventilation is much much less if you’re vaxxed. But those are the places where people tend to mask up. I’ll probably stop wearing a mask in those settings so long as the establishment doesn’t require it. It’s not that wearing a mask bothers me so much but it seems like its not necessary so why do it? Just for the sake of appearing to be careful? If it doesn’t actually confer a benefit, I have no interest in doing something just for the performative aspect. I don’t care if others want to keep theirs on though; just don’t give me dirty looks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I know there are a lot of people on this board who aren’t from the DC area and I’m curious where OP and a lot of other posters to this thread live. Here in the DC area I still see tons of people wearing masks and I just don’t hear that much complaining or asking when other people are going to stop. You certainly don’t get funny looks if you wear one and no one has ever asked me when I plan to stop.

OP here. DC area, born and raised.

Yes about 80% of people are masked still in stores and things, but it seems like most are doing it because everyone's doing it, and people are waiting for others to make the move to stop wearing them before they follow suit. I just don't see the sense in it anymore. Vaccinated people are very, very rarely experiencing severity and to continue to insist on masking for healthy people is becoming absurd.

What is “severity” to you may be something different to someone else. I’m vaxxed and boosted and have been pretty sick with Covid for 5 days now. My siblings just had it and they were all sick for a week. I spoke to a friend of mine who is a doctor and she said most of her vaxxed/boosted patients are having sinus like congestion for 7-10 days. Can you understand how a lot of people don’t want to get sick like that, since it’s more than a cold?!

Based on what you described, it certainly sounds like a moderately bad cold to me.

Have people forgotten what it is like to get sick?

Well, there was a big study out earlier this month about the significant increase in risk to cardiovascular health even after a "mild" case, so I think it is smart to try to avoid getting this virus because we are still learning about its long-term effects.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00403-0#:~:text=Massive%20study%20shows%20a%20long,SARS%2DCoV%2D2%20infection.&text=Even%20a%20mild%20case%20of,a%20new%20study1%20shows.

https://www.science.org/content/article/covid-19-takes-serious-toll-heart-health-full-year-after-recovery

NP. That study doesn’t really say what you think it does. It doesn’t worry me.

Please tell me what it means

[Anonymous]

I plan to mask indoors for a while; I already have health issues and don't need more with long Covid.

What I do has absolutely no relationship to what others are doing around me. If they unmask, goody for them, but it's not a good idea for me.

[Anonymous]

I am and will continue wearing a mask indoors for the foreseeable future, no plan to stop without more info re covid being much less prevalent or remaining strains being less harmful. I'm not wearing a mask because I'm keeping up appearances, but because I legit don't want myself or my family to get infected because of the unknown and potentially serious long term effects from covid.

As I said in another thread, many scientists are suggesting that in the coming years we will find that covid infections are like HIV or Epstein-Barr (mono) infections, in that the initial infection itself might not kill you, but it implants long lasting damage to your immunity system that will be felt down the line.

For example, we already know that covid infections -- even mild infections -- can cause long lasting impact to your T cells, which are the cells that help to fight off infections and diseases like cancer. Even mild covid infections can deplete your body's finite reserve of T cells and age them, say about 10 years, so that a 40 year old who gets infected with covid can wind up with the natural immunity of a 50 year old. It's not a good idea to keep getting infected with different strains as though it's no big deal, because sooner or later your body is going to catch up with you. It's like the fable of the grasshopper and the ant. Fail to take precautions now so that you can live your life in perfect freedom and pay later, if you like.

Here is a helpful youtube video explaining how T cells are affected by covid and how the disease causes harm that you may not immediately see. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWfytQXpEs. The advice of the doctors on this video are: minimize the number of times you get covid; use rapid testing to determine when you have the disease and don't expose others needlessly; preventativeness through adequate ventilation; boosters every 4 months until a better booster/vaccine (possibly nasal) is developed; use better masks especially in crowded indoor spaces; and get vaccination numbers up over the world.

I know most people are tired of all this and just want to get back to their normal lives, and maybe haven't seen serious consequences from a covid infection so don't think there is much sense in taking preventative measures anymore. I don't feel that way, and still think there is a lot to be gained from avoiding covid infection altogether if possible. And I just don't think masks are that hard or inconvenient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was at Whole Foods Kentlands this morning and almost everyone was masked, but a few went without; it will probably take some time for people to get comfortable being maskless (in MoCo). I have to wear a mask for health reasons and after reading this thread I was paranoid that people were going to look at me with disgust, ha.

I'm also in MoCo and I noticed at Wildwood shopping center in Bethesa today that half of the stores still had their mask required signs up, like they aren't aware that there isn't a mandate anymore. Like CVS never removed theirs in the other two times the mandates were gone. So I wore it in CVS, Fish Taco (even though two dozen kids from WJ were eating) but not in South Moon Under.

[Anonymous]

Forever. Hopefully it can help me not make awkward small talk if I run into someone I sort of know. We'll pretend we don't recognize each other. Done.
Has nothing to do with COVID.

[Anonymous]

It makes perfect sense to still avoid Covid. You idiots are trying to normalize the belief that Covid is like the flu. It isn't. I'll wear a mask as long as I want to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes perfect sense to still avoid Covid. You idiots are trying to normalize the belief that Covid is like the flu. It isn't. I'll wear a mask as long as I want to.

You're right. Covid wasn't nearly as bad as the flu when I had it in December as it did not prevent me from working working or doing vigorous exercise. Last time I had the flu I was asleep for a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am and will continue wearing a mask indoors for the foreseeable future, no plan to stop without more info re covid being much less prevalent or remaining strains being less harmful. I'm not wearing a mask because I'm keeping up appearances, but because I legit don't want myself or my family to get infected because of the unknown and potentially serious long term effects from covid.

As I said in another thread, many scientists are suggesting that in the coming years we will find that covid infections are like HIV or Epstein-Barr (mono) infections, in that the initial infection itself might not kill you, but it implants long lasting damage to your immunity system that will be felt down the line.

For example, we already know that covid infections -- even mild infections -- can cause long lasting impact to your T cells, which are the cells that help to fight off infections and diseases like cancer. Even mild covid infections can deplete your body's finite reserve of T cells and age them, say about 10 years, so that a 40 year old who gets infected with covid can wind up with the natural immunity of a 50 year old. It's not a good idea to keep getting infected with different strains as though it's no big deal, because sooner or later your body is going to catch up with you. It's like the fable of the grasshopper and the ant. Fail to take precautions now so that you can live your life in perfect freedom and pay later, if you like.

Here is a helpful youtube video explaining how T cells are affected by covid and how the disease causes harm that you may not immediately see. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWfytQXpEs. The advice of the doctors on this video are: minimize the number of times you get covid; use rapid testing to determine when you have the disease and don't expose others needlessly; preventativeness through adequate ventilation; boosters every 4 months until a better booster/vaccine (possibly nasal) is developed; use better masks especially in crowded indoor spaces; and get vaccination numbers up over the world.

I know most people are tired of all this and just want to get back to their normal lives, and maybe haven't seen serious consequences from a covid infection so don't think there is much sense in taking preventative measures anymore. I don't feel that way, and still think there is a lot to be gained from avoiding covid infection altogether if possible. And I just don't think masks are that hard or inconvenient.

Please give some links to those "many scientists" saying this, beyond those two YouTube guys.

[Anonymous]

Magnus Carlson was defeated in Chess by a 16 yr old Indian Chess player. MC made a lot of mistakes in the game. A LOT. Not a small mistake. A LOT.

I read a news article that said that MC felt that he is having difficulty focusing because he is still recovering from COVID.

This is what COVID can do to the brain of a genius like Magnus Carlson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was at Whole Foods Kentlands this morning and almost everyone was masked, but a few went without; it will probably take some time for people to get comfortable being maskless (in MoCo). I have to wear a mask for health reasons and after reading this thread I was paranoid that people were going to look at me with disgust, ha.

I'm also in MoCo and I noticed at Wildwood shopping center in Bethesa today that half of the stores still had their mask required signs up, like they aren't aware that there isn't a mandate anymore. Like CVS never removed theirs in the other two times the mandates were gone. So I wore it in CVS, Fish Taco (even though two dozen kids from WJ were eating) but not in South Moon Under.

I had understood that individual businesses would be free to decide their own mask policies -- which makes sense, especially for smaller businesses that deal with the public. I'm sure that they are aware that there isn't a mandate anymore. Many individuals and businesses are wearing masks, not solely because it has been mandated, but because they have decided that the benefits of doing so far outweigh any risks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Magnus Carlson was defeated in Chess by a 16 yr old Indian Chess player. MC made a lot of mistakes in the game. A LOT. Not a small mistake. A LOT.

I read a news article that said that MC felt that he is having difficulty focusing because he is still recovering from COVID.

This is what COVID can do to the brain of a genius like Magnus Carlson.

What matters is whether he is going to recover, and how quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Magnus Carlson was defeated in Chess by a 16 yr old Indian Chess player. MC made a lot of mistakes in the game. A LOT. Not a small mistake. A LOT.

I read a news article that said that MC felt that he is having difficulty focusing because he is still recovering from COVID.

This is what COVID can do to the brain of a genius like Magnus Carlson.

What matters is whether he is going to recover, and how quickly.

Sounds like an excuse to explain having his a$$ handed to him by a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I know there are a lot of people on this board who aren’t from the DC area and I’m curious where OP and a lot of other posters to this thread live. Here in the DC area I still see tons of people wearing masks and I just don’t hear that much complaining or asking when other people are going to stop. You certainly don’t get funny looks if you wear one and no one has ever asked me when I plan to stop.

OP here. DC area, born and raised.

Yes about 80% of people are masked still in stores and things, but it seems like most are doing it because everyone's doing it, and people are waiting for others to make the move to stop wearing them before they follow suit. I just don't see the sense in it anymore. Vaccinated people are very, very rarely experiencing severity and to continue to insist on masking for healthy people is becoming absurd.

What is “severity” to you may be something different to someone else. I’m vaxxed and boosted and have been pretty sick with Covid for 5 days now. My siblings just had it and they were all sick for a week. I spoke to a friend of mine who is a doctor and she said most of her vaxxed/boosted patients are having sinus like congestion for 7-10 days. Can you understand how a lot of people don’t want to get sick like that, since it’s more than a cold?!

Based on what you described, it certainly sounds like a moderately bad cold to me.

Have people forgotten what it is like to get sick?

You are welcome to it then. Shall I take off my mask for you?

Yes, please. I had Covid. It felt like the same cold I get every winter including winter 2021 when we were still distancing and wearing masks everywhere.

I was honestly relieved to get it over with.

Oh and we didn't get it from any of the things every thinks are risky like social gathering, stores, or the gym. We got it from our son who got it at school where everyone has to wear a mask.

Ah, except during lunch. He probably got it at lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I know there are a lot of people on this board who aren’t from the DC area and I’m curious where OP and a lot of other posters to this thread live. Here in the DC area I still see tons of people wearing masks and I just don’t hear that much complaining or asking when other people are going to stop. You certainly don’t get funny looks if you wear one and no one has ever asked me when I plan to stop.

OP here. DC area, born and raised.

Yes about 80% of people are masked still in stores and things, but it seems like most are doing it because everyone's doing it, and people are waiting for others to make the move to stop wearing them before they follow suit. I just don't see the sense in it anymore. Vaccinated people are very, very rarely experiencing severity and to continue to insist on masking for healthy people is becoming absurd.

PP here. I don’t assume at all that people around here are just waiting for others to take them off. I assume it’s because we don’t mind wearing them and we don’t want to spread or catch COVID. It’s pretty basic.

Well, I took my DS to a birthday party this weekend at the house of a daycare friend. First party like this in two years!! There was one family that wore masks when not eating/drinking, but the remaining 20ish attendees did not. But they all wear them during the week to daycare, etc. We’re all rule followers.

When MoCo has dropped the mask mandate before I’d still rarely see anyone in stores without one. I continued to wear mine too, not because I necessarily wanted to but because I wanted to draw attention to myself even less. Peer pressure is powerful.