Winter Rant

This is my New Year’s Eve rant. I am also ranting after a long time.

New York Times is always a good source of irritable analyses and discussions nowadays. I recently read a piece that is titled: “The Last Holdouts: It can be tough being a committed mask wearer when others have long since moved on.” That is certainly a point of view. Here is another point of view: “Holdouts that matter: It can be easy being a mask wearer when you are committed to avoiding Long Covid.”

The New York Times is stupid.

I know that mask wearing has become a cultural lightening rod that sparks all manner of debate and emotions. But I never really understood why that would be the case. I also never really understood why masking, or rather … not masking would become a matter of personal freedoms. If masking is an encroachment of personal freedoms, then societal fascination with freedoms is only superfluous.

When I mask up, I have a greater chance of not being infected with COVID-19. That is freedom for me.

When I mask up, I have a greater chance of not being infected repeatedly with COVID-19. That is freedom for me.

When I mask up, I have a greater chance of avoiding Long COVID. That is freedom for me.

When I mask up, I have a greater chance of avoiding hospitalization. That is freedom for me.

When I mask up, I have a greater chance of avoiding a painful death. That is freedom for me. And I say all this as someone with asthma.

Now, as to the peer-pressure of being the only person who is masked in a crowd: I have never been uncomfortable with being the odd one out.

In fact, it gives me great pleasure to know that I am slightly smarter than the people around me. And yes, someone who opts to not wear masks in public in the year 2022 (and 2023) is stupid. Being infected by COVID does not give you immunity the same way a chicken-pox infection does, i.e., you can get re-infected even if you get infected today⁴. In fact, the risks of repeat COVID infections have been well documented^1,2,3. Finally, can masks help reduce the spread of the disease? “Yes,” says Mayo Clinic, in very clear terms. According to Mayo Clinic⁵, “Face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as getting vaccinated, frequent hand-washing and physical distancing, can help slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.”

But societal pressures dictate that I should feel uncomfortable when wearing a mask?

Why? The overwhelming evidence and advice from experts in the field suggests that I should be wearing a mask. In fact, we all should in public spaces.

News flash: I have no reservations about wearing a mask in public, even though everyone else around me might be mask-free. Would it be better if they wore? Yes, because it will further reduce the spread of infection. And that is the only reason why. Save your chants about personal freedoms.

This entire pandemic has taught me that people care very little about each other. We could never convince the public, the masses, the people that wearing a mask is about protecting each other. Protecting our kids. Protecting our neighbors. Protecting our elders. Protecting our friends. Protecting our loved ones. But that simple argument failed spectacularly. And instead, the messaging around personal freedoms won.

At this point I would say “happy new year.”

But I wonder if it really will be a happy year, in general.

Instead, I will say this: Have a safe new year.

— vijay, waiting for the clock to hit 12 midnight.

Refs:

1: Reuters: “Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds” https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/repeat-covid-is-riskier-than-first-infection-study-finds-2022-11-10/

2: WebMD: “Repeat COVID Infection Doubles the Risk of Death” https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20221111/repeat-covid-infection-doubles-risk-of-death

3: Time: “Getting COVID-19 Multiple Times Is Risky for Your Health” https://time.com/6232103/covid-19-reinfections-effects/

4: CDC: “Science Brief: SARS-CoV-2 Infection-induced and Vaccine-induced Immunity” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/vaccine-induced-immunity.html#anchor_1635540449320

5: Mayo Clinic: “Yes. Face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as getting vaccinated, frequent hand-washing and physical distancing, can help slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449