Masking

I often mask still. Doctors offices in SC don’t require it, but I feel an obligation to myself and others to do it because you just don’t know what vulnerabilities others have, as well as myself. I realize it offers minimal protection now since germs are all around, but it can’t hurt can it? I went through cancer treatment during the pandemic too, but I don’t give it need to explain myself to anyone. The pandemic just taught me some good practices that I will still engage in. Sure, we’re supposed to be comfortable knowing our chances of dying from it are less now, and there’s treatment available if you catch it early, but I’d rather not get Covid just to test my recovery. But I respect 5000% people who choose to never wear masks at all now.

@tim1028 Funny, when I read your header, i was thinking about masking in terms of how we as people will mask our feelings, acting "as if" in situations.

For me, I mask, always have and will continue to do so. I am an active cancer patient, receiving treatment, and also on kidney dialysis. Back in Feb 2020 I received my first COVID 19 vaccine, and have received a total of 4 doses of Pfizer vaccine. Plus two doses of Evusheld, and last August a dose of the bivalent vaccine. It is my own personal opinion and feeling to minimize the risk of getting sick, be it COVID [which the professionals say everyone will get at some point!], the flu, or RSV. I am immunocompromised and really cannot afford to get sick.

Do people ask me "why the mask?" Yes, and I tell them. Turning 70 this year, I do see a fair number of elders wearing masks every time I go to the store.
Ginger

Ginger--Thanks for your reply. You have a full plate of health concerns with active cancer in addition to dialysis treatments. Before Covidtide I regularly got several mild to bad colds every year , but thankfully no flu due to the annual vaccination. My wife, regrettably, got Long Covid symptoms-- fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath and GI issues. Thankfully she is slowly healing. Doubtless you know this, but FDA plans to approve an RSV vaccine that may be available to the public in a couple of months. All the best to you!

I am an AML and stem cell transplant survivor. While I was going through my chemo and transplant seven years ago I had to mask for about a year. I felt very out of place masking then.

When we started masking in 2020, I felt totally normal masking again. I’m still masking in all public places, including my work. Most of the time I am the only person in the room who is wearing a mask and at this point I don’t care what everyone thinks.

I am on immunosuppressants and have to think about my health. Nobody else around me is concerned about keeping me from getting infected. It’s on me now.

People in my department at work know my health history and don’t ask any questions. Actually, nobody asks me why I’m still masking.

I can't believe people are asking you why you mask. Firstly, it is none of their business and secondly, how do they know what your health concerns are? This is just plain rude of them. I am sorry you are having to deal with this. Next time, tell them you will take off your mask if they will take your health issues.

I am recovering from stage 3B lung cancer and have some breathing issues. When people say "mask" they frequently don't give enough information to give meaning to what they are saying. Wearing the little throw-away masks doesn't give protection so hopefully they are wearing real masks if they are want protection. When I spray Talstar for mosquitoes at my cabin I wear a fitted P100 mask. If I feel a need to have protection from airborne viruses I would wear a similar mask. But these masks do restrict airflow and I don't tolerate them for long periods. The little toy masks don't give protection from airborne viruses so I don't wear those unless I need to go in some place that has a misguided mandate.

I never stopped masking - and I always use a quality mask - N95 mask. I have multifocal lung cancer so never know when I will need treatment. I don't need to compromise my lungs with Covid, RSV, flu or anything else.
I wore a mask at Thanksgiving and Christmas indoor family gatherings. I didn't eat there but took home my food.
I went to Italy for the month of March. I kept my mask on all the time in the plane and at the airport. At least in Italy they had only 5% positivity rate compared to Minnesota 10%
Wearing a mask is hard for me because I have shortness of breath under exertion and breathing through a mask is difficult.
No one has said anything to me....and if they did, I would give them an earful.

Noteworthy is that the Japanese have been wearing masks for many years to avoid getting sick. I lived in Italy for a lengthy period and had to take the bus most days to get to work. They were crowded and I caught so many things every year. Coming back to the States, I could drive to work, and I rarely caught anything.

Were you wearing your mask during your lengthy period in Italy?

No, I rarely put on my mask. I was staying with a friend at a quieter seaside village. Fortunately, the weather is much better there, and we could always eat outside with high 50s temperatures.
I only put on a mask if in a busy market. I had a PCR Covid test yesterday, and I am negative, so I did not pick up Covid in Italy (PCR test can detect Covid for 90 days). I did get a sore throat two days before departure for the US and then had two weeks of fatigue on my return (extreme jet lag I guess). My friend's doctor in Italy said to worry more about the flu than Covid at the time.
But airplanes are so packed.

Airplanes are the worst repositories for respiratory viruses. Tightly confined spaces with limited air exchange and long exposure. It rings all the bells for getting infected: duration, distance, and viral load. Those who are immunosuppressed or older are at high risk. And, of course, Long Covid is a ever-present possibility, even with mild cases of Covid.