Should masks return in fall and winter to prevent a COVID surge?

[pstokely]

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/masks-return-fall-winter-prevent-covid-surge/story?id=90316370

However, experts admitted it will be hard to convince Americans to wear masks again after so many cities and states have done away with mandates.

Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver remain the three biggest cities in the U.S. where masks are still required on public transit. In most cities, only health care environments still require mask mandates.

Ray said he believes a surge, similar to those caused by the delta and the omicron variants, would be the only thing drum up support of mandates.

"I think that people are really tired of this pandemic and there is, culturally, very little appetite for mandates, for masking," Ray said. "And so, it's a steep climb to tell people unless there's a particular context in which it's important, like a health care setting when there are many vulnerable people."

[dchill]

1. They kind of have returned in stores.

[we can do it]

2. Return? Never stopped. No colds, no flu, no Covid.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

3. ditto!

[we can do it]

7. It's really not that hard.

[sheshe2]

29. I never stopped either.

Ditto on the rest.

[SheltieLover]

4. Yes, they should, but no, they likely won't

I still wear a NIOSH N-95 in public & have no intention of going without one.

Denying the existence of COVID will not render it a moot point.

😷👍

[wnylib]

49. Same here. I even wear one outdoors if

there is a lot of crowding close together.

The stalls at our outdoor farmer's market are set up in a way that puts people shoulder to shoulder with faces inches away when looking at produce and paying for it. So I wear my mask there.

This is a small city. I live within walking distance of a shopping center, a convenience store, and a local library branch, so I walk for the exercise. I am short and have shoulder length, mostly white hair. So I am easily recognized as the "little old mask lady" in a town where almost nobody else wears one.

[electric_blue68]

5. Didn't stop either. So far so good.

[David__77]

8. As a requirement they will not.

…

[MiniMe]

9. I never stopped and don't plan on stopping

[tirebiter]

10. Prevention is rarely rewarded. Wars, disease, forest fires, floods, you name it. The majority

always wants to kick the can down the road. What, pay now? Can’t afford it now.

[Hekate]

11. Seldom without mine, so whatever

Just saw my doc day before yesterday and all who enter are required to be masked. All who work there are masked.

Went to the County shot clinic afterward and got my booster, and same thing.

Went to Costco to pick up a few things after that, put on my mask as a matter of course. I don’t really care any more who does or does not wear theirs.

[wnylib]

51. I was appalled when I went to a doctor this summer and

nobody in the large, filled waiting room wore a mask. Doctors and staff did not wear one either. I was the ONLY one with a mask.

That office shares its waiting room with an oncology practice. Appalled? More like horrified.

A couple days later, they sent me an email asking how I would rate the office and treatment I got, on a scale of 0 to 10. I checked 0 and said in the comments section that I was surprised that they asked my opinion. If they don't care about their patients' health enough to wear masks, why would they care about my opinion on anything?

[Hekate]

59. I do expect my medical folks to wear masks, & they all have the sense to do it. Big sign on the door

… and verbal notification when you make an appointment. I care very much about that kind of close-quarters interaction.

It’s just that for the rest of the country, all the businesses and such, masks are part of the stupid MAGA culture wars, and MAGA warriors are tiresome. I don’t blame the government for giving up at this point, now that vaccinations are available.

Anyway, I just pick my battles. I went to a delightful block party last weekend, all outdoors, no masks, no alcohol, potluck. First time in 3 years. Our HOA hosted it, and invited neighbors from all around. My gods it was good to be with a crowd of happy people again.

[Ocelot II]

12. Doubtful they'll be mandated, but I still wear mine

in crowded places indoors, and will keep doing it.

[RockRaven]

13. Americans are such spoiled fucking babies, it's like we are a society founded on sociopathy.

How we insist upon pissing away all of our good fortune in material/technological advantages has got to be perplexing to other nations who do more with less, and do it with so much more dignity/empathy/humanity.

[Meowmee]

26. +

[jimfields33]

39. President Biden said it's over.

I trust him fully. He knows all the information more than any of us do.

[Elessar Zappa]

61. The pandemic phase is over but

there’s still a few hundred a day dying of it, which isn’t insignificant. That said, I don’t wear a mask unless I’m in a crowded, indoor place like a concert or something.

[magicarpet]

14. Oh God don't say Covid face masks.

The MAGA crowd will run get their guns and fire bullets into the sky to warn us - no mask mandates.

[former9thward]

32. What blue cities or states have mandates?

I don't think it is the MAGA crowd stopping anything.

[magicarpet]

41. No, sorry no specific mask mandates yet this fall or winter.

Just saying after the past history we saw of the MAGA crowd,.. any mere mention of Covid masks causes them to freak out, threaten other folks, and violently refuse to wear a mask themselves.

This fall and winter after we all get back inside and return to enclosed areas Covid could spike and spread. Wearing face masks in crowded areas might be a very wise thing to do.

But expect no help or cooperation from the MAGA crowd in that regard. They are bull headed meatheads when it comes to mitigation of Covid so deaths don't spike and sky rocket up needlessly.

We will shortly see what fall/winter has in store for us pertaining to the continuing saga of the pandemic.

Going to get the new booster shot with the variant 4 & 5 included. Looking for the 2022/2023 high potency senior's flu shot too.

[FuzzyRabbit]

15. I still wear a mask whenever I go out, shopping for example.

Whenever I see anyone else wearing a mask (many people still do) I think "there is an intelligent person".

[GP6971]

16. We've never stopped.

We always mask up in public and don't plan to stop.

[Lucinda]

20. +1

[Demobrat]

17. Where I live

masks are required in doctor’s offices and at the museum I went to the other day. They are not mandated on public transportation, but most people wear them. In stores it’s probably 30-40%, depending on how crowded the store is. People are a little more relaxed, but still being cautious.

[Lithos]

18. Mostly I do not see masks

When I pick up my kids from school (they all wear masks) - I see maybe 10-15% compliance. But in most retail stores - seems to be maybe 2-5%. For some circumstances - Walmart, etc. - masks seem to be the exception.

At this point, i consider Covid now to be Endemic - not Pandemic. However, given the percentage (albeit anecdotal) - people are opting to avoid masks when they are sick - meaning things are not quite settled down to what most people think of as Endemic.

[Ms. Toad]

22. Endemic and pandemic have specific meanings,

And COVID is still a pandemic.

[Lithos]

25. I know of the traditional meaning

Endemic is within a specific region while Pandemic is cross region...

But I think the definitions are out-dated in some respect. Endemic is within a specific cultural/behavioral group while Pandemic means spreading between these groups. Not regional, but cultural... It's a stretch - but covers the differing cultural norms.

L-

[Ms. Toad]

37. You don't just get to change the meanings of scientific terms

because you think a different meaning is better.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

19. I am still wearing my mask

[Ms. Toad]

21. It should never have stopped in the first place.

All of Ohio, the last time I checked, was red on the transmission map (the original measure for masking). Unfortunately, most people don't know that, since the CDC is now touting the community level, which requires a super-high transmission level before the map budges from green.

[keep_left]

28. Here's a link to the CDC community transmission map.

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk

This is the original measurement that was used for Covid cases. Since then, the CDC has gone to the "community level" measurement, and I can't remember what that actually measures (hospital capacity?).

You're right--by the older standard, Ohio looks like it is completely red, as do a number of other states.

[Ms. Toad]

34. It measures a combination of things -

But most heavily weighed - in essence - is the current capacity of the hospital to handle the caseload. Which isuseful if the only goal is to ensure hospitals aren't flooded with more cases than they can handle. The community transmission level is a component - BUT - it doesn't budge the community level from green unless it goes over 200 cases/100,000 people over a 1 week period. (The community transmission level - the guiding factor until ~ just before the state of the union was red (or orange, at least) at 50 cases/100,000 people over a 1 week period)

So the (assinine) message is that spreading COVID is just fine, as long as we don't spread enough to overwhelm our hospitals. Completely ignoring long COVID (including conditions which are, themselves, life threatening). Completely ignoring the fact that we know virtually nothing about the long-term consequences - and what we do know is bad.

[Takket]

50. Holy crap the entire country is red!!!

Last time I looked it wasn’t nearly that bad!

[keep_left]

53. Well, maybe not ALL red...

...but certainly it's not a good look. It appears that a lot of the areas that aren't red (high transmission) are relatively rural or low-population areas of the country. Which makes sense as we're dealing with a variant of the virus that is approximately as contagious as measles. And when you combine the insanity of antivaxxers and a population 50% of which is unboosted (more or less), this result shouldn't be too surprising.

[Ace Rothstein]

23. There were mask mandates in plenty of places last year and they didn't stop a surge.

What will be different this time around?

[pstokely]

27. there was lax enforcement, and would be again

and much of the spread occurred (and still occurs) at private gatherings in homes

[Ms. Toad]

35. Go back and look at the statistics in any community starting 2 weeks after a mask mandate

was implemented - the cases took a dramatic downturn. (Or compare the curves in places which mandated masks with those which didn't.)

Masks can't stop all disease transmission, but they are extremely effective when followed. The dramatic downturn in cases approximately 2 weeks after mask mandates were implemented gives you a taste of the much more significant surge that would have taken place had the mandates not been in place.

[Ace Rothstein]

38. With Omicron? I don't believe that was the case.

Many states and localities already had mask mandates in place when Omicron hit and still saw their largest waves of the pandemic.

[Ms. Toad]

40. Mask mandates, as a general rule, weren't started during omicron.

They were implemented more than a year earlier, and were largely lifted by the time omicron came around. While there were some jurisdictions which continued their mandates, most had been lifted by then. So as to omicron, you don't have a before and after (i.e. omicron surging, mask mandate, how did it affecto the surge), and you didn't have a significant number of remaining mask mandates - or compliance with any remaining mask mandates where they existed.

Pretty much impossible to know whether universal mask mandates, universally complied with, would have prevented the omicron surges.

[LuckyCharms]

24. I've been going out in public a lot more lately.

Always, always, always have an N95 when inside. Sometimes, I even wear it when outside if in close proximity to people. I don't just throw it on either, I make sure it is fitted properly and my glasses are not fogging.

I get looks. Fuck 'em. It's staying on.

I'm vaxxed 5x.

[Meowmee]

31. Still masking everywhere

I hope not to be here at some point and not to have to at some point as well. Who knows though with the stupidity of people being what it is. Lets hope someone comes out with a new vaccine that will cover all future strains.

Our county is now high level alert.

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

33. We are a Social species

Our facial expressions convey thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Our social bonds are made stronger when we do not hide our faces.

Our sexual instincts are inexorably tied to the visual perception of each other's faces.

Our love of life is greater when our faces are not hidden and when we can see other people's faces too.

[Ms. Toad]

36. So we should tell all the doctors and nurses to just stop wearing masks.

While your first statement is true, and likely the third for some people, your second and 4th statements are bunk.

And EVEN if they were all true, the need to minimize transmission of a largely unknown disease - which causes significant (including life-threatening) long term health consequences in around 1/5 people - even those with mild COVID - trumps them all.

[DontBelieveEastisEas]

45. given a specific reality, you may be right about statements 2 & 4

Statements 2 and 4 are up to debate.

In a perfect world, I believe, that they would be facts.

In a world with 1 or more viruses that can be reduced by wearing a mask there may be a different result.

Could we have tighter social bonds by feeling that we are acting as a group when wearing the masks for the greater good?

If a virus is severe, could it be that our love of life is lessened more by the damage to our health and to our fellow humans than our love of life is lessened by hiding our face when in public?

[LuckyCharms]

42. The virus doesn't care. n/t

[Dorian Gray]

43. He's right

in that people won't want to do it. That's the reality we are living with, so we will have to urge more people to get vaccinated/boosted and choose masks.

Schools should ALL have upgraded HEPA units.

[scarletlib]

44. Never stopped wearing my mask.

[BlackSkimmer]

46. I was wearing mine until fairly recently, when in grocery stores.

After I noticed that the president and every single one of our leaders have stopped wearing them, I figured I'd stop too.

Not that I normally care what "leadership' does in terms of health, but I'm thinking they surely must know something we don't, right? I mean Both Biden's have had it, what? twice? And they're not wearing masks.

I'm vaxed and boosted. I keep a mask in my car and generally avoid crowds anyway, so there ya go.

[EnergizedLib]

47. Yes, I never stopped

I also wish we could have another shutdown/lockdown, too.

[Demsrule86]

48. No, It is a losing proposition and the courts are not with us on this. Wear a mask yourself,

get vaccinated...and that is all we can do.

[beaglelover]

52. As of yesterday, masks no longer required on mass transit in Los Angeles.

You don't need to wear them at the airports either anymore.

I'm fine with that.

If you want to wear one, you still can.

[Tree Lady]

54. My doctor told me yesterday that if

You got your vaccines and 2 boosters they won't let you get new booster. He was talking about Providence which runs doctors and hospital in my area.

So I wondered what about pharmacies?

[ProfessorGAC]

55. Readily Available Around Here

Every pharmacy around is offering them. If one is on Medicare, there is no copay.

[Tree Lady]

58. Yes I am thinking its my doctors office

So will try the pharmacy's when ready. I had my last one end of June so going to wait till end of October before a trip I have planned.

[tritsofme]

56. I'm sure more people will voluntarily mask, but we're not going to see mandates comes back.

[Wingus Dingus]

57. If hospitals start filling up again, yes--in those affected areas.

[maxsolomon]

60. If a new variant evades the vaccines I guess.

I'm not changing what I do. I wear them on the bus and in the grocery. Not outside, not at work (we have a vax mandate).

[alphafemale]

62. So... How do you intend to enforce this?

Curious.