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I have thoughts about masks. None of these is new, but I wanted to get them out anyway.
Here's why I wear a mask in public: Knowns and unknowns.
1) We know COVID-19 is real. There are a relative few who still believe it's all a hoax. It's a real virus that infects real people.
Here's why I wear a mask in public: Knowns and unknowns.
1) We know COVID-19 is real. There are a relative few who still believe it's all a hoax. It's a real virus that infects real people.
2) We know people have died from it. More than 145,000 people have died in the U.S. Even if you believe the numbers are inflated, the "real" number would still be significant. Even if you cut it in half (72,000+ deaths), that's still a lot more than die from the flu each year.
3) We know that people can be infected but never show symptoms. The CDC estimates that 40 percent of infected people will not show symptoms, but the chance of these people transmitting the virus is high (50-75 percent). So, people can transmit it without knowing they have it.
4) We don't know who will have an asymptomatic/mild case and who will have a serious or life-threatening case. Healthy people have gotten very sick and/or died, while some vulnerable people have had little or no trouble. But we just don't know how an individual will be affected.
5) We also don't have a grasp on the long-term effects of those who've had it. Most recover and don't seem to have further issues. But others have problems long after the infection has ended: continued loss of smell and taste, breathing problems, major fatigue, etc. Seems random.
Because of all that, the knowns and unknowns, I wear a mask. Yes, it's inconvenient. But not that inconvenient. I still go about my day with relative ease. I run errands. I go to church. I exercise. Working from home aside, not much has changed. I'm not afraid. I'm cautious.
Some argue that masks don't work, that an infected person, even an asymptomatic one, can't spread it unless they're basically breathing in your face. But there have been enough people to get infected and never learn where or how they got it to cast reasonable doubt on that idea.
So I don't get the issue with wearing a mask. Nobody claims they're 100 percent effective. But I don't get why so many people are fine with potentially getting someone else sick. And saying "life has risks" is lazy. We happily curb risk in many other areas of life. Why not this?
