Anyone still masking?

[Spryte]

Yes, masking indoors when not at home. We use good quality masks.

19 year old masks on campus for classes, when inside. He apparently karaokes in a mask as well. (Who knew that could be done?)

We have not had Covid.

 

[teachermom2834]

I can’t remember the last time I wore a mask (though I was pretty devoted for a year or so). I hardly ever see anyone with a mask and when I do it is curious. Like a single person walking down the street with no one anywhere near them. 
 

And interesting thing, and I know multiple cases, is people that mask because they didn’t want to give it up for social reasons. I know a couple teens/kids that do this. One kid at my dd’s school had said his parents insisted because they had health issues but then his father started working at the school and didn’t mask and the kid admitted it was a social crutch and he didn’t want to give it up so he still wears it even though everyone knows it isn’t about covid anymore. I have had a couple parents say that they couldn’t get their child to stop masking. My dd had mentioned during covid that she wouldn’t want to give it up but then she did without issue. 
 

I have a friend that works in a medical facility that does require masking (none of the ones I use do) and it is a daily argument. People just don’t mask here at all and seems some that do it isn’t for covid reasons at all. Which is fine. I don’t care what people do regarding masking!

[mom2scouts]

The only time I wore a mask in the past year was when I visited my dying father in a nursing home. It was required and I knew it would be the last time I would ever see him alive. I rarely see anybody masking anywhere outside of medical facilities.

[Ting Tang]

Yes! The only time I do not is for my daughter’s lessons. My son masks and still caught a bad cold (not Covid). But have read some conservatives only feel liberals are doing so, which makes me mad. I’m all over the place, but I do not like my politics to be presumed and judged. We have cancer patients in our family. Makes me mad! FTR masking imo is not political, 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Ting Tang

[Arcadia]

My kids are still masking everywhere because it is pollen season. My husband mask indoors since he doesn’t suffer from seasonal allergies. 

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/seasonal-allergies-wear-your-face-mask-for-relief

“When it comes to protection from allergens, any mask is better than none. But when choosing which type to wear, consider surgical masks. They are readily available and more effective at filtering particles than most cloth masks. Surgical facemasks can also be thrown away after each use, ensuring that each time you put on a mask, it’s free of allergens.

If you decide to use cloth masks, make sure you have a lot of them so that you can wash your mask after each use.”

[popmom]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

I have been very inconsistent with masking since February. No one else in my family was wearing them except me. Everyone here has had some sort of upper respiratory illness at different times since December. I am not masking at home, so it seems kind of pointless if they are going to bring it home to me. When they got sick, I made them test repeatedly for COVID, and every time it was negative. Even at the doctor's office.

None of my doctors even wear masks except my dentist. 

So I'm no longer masking to shop for groceries or whatever other errands or shopping I have to do. I eat in restaurants indoors again. It's been nice.

I would still mask if I went to a movie theater and it was crowded. But I just avoid situations like that. Even with a mask, I'm not comfortable going to a concert or movie. I mean--I'm not trying to get sick. 😉 At church I still sit outside the sanctuary, but I no longer wear a mask. 

quoting myself to add: 

I have had COVID once. 3 of my kids have had it once. All during Dec-Jan when Omicron was peaking.

Dh and youngest dd have never had it to our knowledge. Dh stopped wearing masks long before I did.

Edited April 7, 2023 by popmom

[SHP]

I mask 100% of the time around non household members. Another household member was a jerk and didn't and didn't mask in common areas after having symptoms and I caught covid.

 

[1234]

We mostly do not mask anymore. Obviously, we do anywhere it’s still required such as medical appointments, but do not anywhere else usually. Sometimes we do in places that are really crowded. We all had Covid last June (hadn’t been masking since the October before when we had boosters), pretty sure we had RSV that following September, and have been healthy since. It just seems weird to me to keep masking when we eat and drink in public often now.

[desertflower]

My husband does at work when he does go in.  We sometimes don't mask indoors.  We do during church service and most of the time grocery shopping.  Rarely outdoors unless I'm with someone who is masking.  I make my daughter wear a mask to her indoors art class because of the fumes.  I wear a mask when I use the public restrooms.  😂 

I think we have had covid twice.  Not confirmed though.  Because one time was before lockdown.  And the other time my dh and I had just been fully vaccinated and it went through us in one day. 

[easypeasy]

Not masking except at doctor's offices that still require/request it (and, honestly, I prob would anyway - masking in doctor's offices and waiting rooms just makes a lot of sense to me now). Oh, and I pop on a mask if I'm gonna be outside and the pollen counts are high that day. lol

Have had Covid twice (after vaccination) and have had one booster one year ago. Not planning to get additional boosters unless it starts to creep up again. One college student is currently required to continue to get boosters and my other two are not and also stopped after the first booster.

Around here, it's life as normal unless someone has someone at home with Covid, then they will wear a mask to work, but they still come to work.

Edited April 7, 2023 by easypeasy

[gardenmom5]

Medical offices here are still requiring it - even the orthodontist to whom I took dudeling  . . . 
His akido class is also masking.

[Pawz4me]

We aren't, except where it's required (mainly when DH goes to the oncologist). All medical facilities here except for the cancer centers and (I think, maybe) some of the nursing home facilities have dropped their mandatory masking policies. We're fully vaccinated and have never had Covid that we know of.

[marbel]

Like others, not masking unless I'm in a medical facility or other place that requires it. I never tested positive for Covid, but 3 of the 4 of us here did over Christmas 2021, and I was sick to, so... I assume I had it. I'm fully vaxed. 

 

[Melanie32]

I only mask when it’s required. I had Covid once in 2022. My family hardly ever gets sick, thankfully, and that has continued to be true other than our bout with Covid. Hardly anyone masks here and even many dr offices don’t require them. 

[73349]

Yes, indoors in public places like stores. Still not doing indoor dining in restaurants. The dropping of masking expectations is the reason we still don't go to church services in person.

Right now the pollen is so bad, it's not a bad idea to mask outdoors in self-defense as well!

DS has extra risk.

Edited April 7, 2023 by 73349

[Jhwk21]

We still mask in public places where there are a decent amount of people, like grocery stores, and in doctor offices and restaurants regardless of the number of people present (we only do take out orders so we mask when we pop in to pick those up). My kids mask at their extracurricular classes. None of us have ever had COVID and we have not had any other illness since we started masking (March 2020).

Edited April 7, 2023 by Jhwk21

[livetoread]

I've stopped putting one on to go into stores just in the last couple of weeks, though I'll resume if numbers start creeping up. We usually do takeout but I've gone to restaurants a few times with friends unmasked. We wear one if we will be indoors with crowds for awhile like at a concert. Wore one while flying and in the airport recently. We wear N95s. Neither dh nor I have gotten covid and we are fully boosted. Young adult kids are in and out of house and one lived with us most of 2021. They have both had covid but not while around us. 

[wintermom]

I mask when I go to my pharmacy. I would mask in other settings, if asked to. Otherwise I don't mask. I didn't mask on my last few airplane flights once the restrictions lifted.

I've had COVID, and I've had my 5th booster. 

[Vintage81]

Nope. The only time I even think about it is if we go to a doctor's office and they may still require it, but even then I can't think of any recently that still have those requirements. 

Over Christmas my dad unknowingly exposed all of us to COVID (he thought he had a sinus infection). Of the eight of us with him, my mom also got it, which made sense because she was with him the most. I think I also had a mild case. I took several at-home tests and the faintest line showed up on my test once. Like we literally needed a flash light to see the line. I was sick for a few days. The other six people did not get COVID. My DDs have not been vaccinated, but the rest of us received the initial two shots, no boosters. 

[purpleowl]

No. We stopped masking once fully vaccinated.

Medical offices here don't require it any longer. And I'm glad of that, because I've developed claustrophobia and masking very much makes me feel trapped and like I can't breathe now. 

We've had covid once, about three months ago (over a year after we stopped masking).

[shawthorne44]

Almost never masked.   Pretty much since the beginning.  We tried to avoid places and activities that required masking.  Just before the lockdown we'd bought an annual pass to Universal Florida intending it for one long trip.   But we ended up using it a few more times since the vacations were so cheap, and there wasn't much else to do.   Masks were required there, so that is where most of our masking happened.    

I think we all had SARS-2 in Feb 2020 when it was just a Non-Flu Flu, and haven't had it since.  No shots.

I did catch a nasty bacterial infection Spring 2020 most likely from the mask when attending the funeral of my young niece who was killed by the lockdown.   

ETA:  A friend of mine wears one outdoors because she said it mostly screens out pollen and she has pollen allergies.  

Edited April 7, 2023 by shawthorne44

[KSera]

14 hours ago, MaryCrawley said:

The only time I've worn one after the mandates ended was at my son's pediatrician where it was forced. He has his yearly checkup in a few weeks, hopefully they've dropped the requirements---it appears the hospital group it is a part of got rid of the forced masking months ago.

I’m most disappointed about hospital and medical facilities dropping masking requirements. Now that we know what we know about the spread of airborne illnesses, it seems egregiously inconsiderate of the health and safety of medically fragile people to not just always require masks in health care settings going forward. Not just due to Covid, but all illnesses that put them at risk. Fragile people need care, vulnerable babies who can’t be masked need care, and forcing them into the same spaces where sick people are also getting care without requiring masks is so sad. 

9 hours ago, easypeasy said:

Not masking except at doctor's offices that still require/request it (and, honestly, I prob would anyway - masking in doctor's offices and waiting rooms just makes a lot of sense to me now).

Thank you for doing that (I realize it may be as much to keep yourself healthy as anything, but still, thank you!)

18 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

I think we all had SARS-2 in Feb 2020 when it was just a Non-Flu Flu

😢 It was never “just” a non-flu flu, but most especially not in 2020, pre-vaccine when it carried such a high risk of death. That statement just makes me sad when I think of how many people we lost to Covid in 2020 😔.

[SHP]

10 hours ago, easypeasy said:

 Oh, and I pop on a mask if I'm gonna be outside and the pollen counts are high that day. lol

 

Same! I can work in my garden and feel so much better afterwards.

[skimomma]

I only mask now on mass transit (planes, trains, buses, including stations and airports), Uber/Lyfts, any medical building, and any time I think I (or another household member) might be sick.  I also mask at any indoor space for the two weeks prior to visiting a family member who is in a facility and high risk.  I do always have one with me so if I notice someone nearby displaying obvious illness symptoms, I will put it on.  We masked religiously for the first two years of the pandemic and everyone in my household got it at least once.  My case was bad and I still have some lingering effects 11 months later.  I don't want it again but I live in an area where mask-wearers can be bullied, which HAS happened to me more times than I can count, so I am cutting my losses at this point and hoping for the best.

[Moonhawk]

Yes, in all public places that we go, except for my work (for multiple factors). But, stores, church, doctor visits, all are still done with masks, for all members of the household. 

We did get Covid November 2022, from my parents who are anti-vaccine/anti-mask. Kids and DH got it bad but were back up in about a week. For me, 3 weeks of complete illness where I couldn't even get off the couch except to go to the bathroom. And more than once I just sat on the floor in the bathroom for a while instead of walk back to the couch (20 feet max). DH had to spoon feed me if I was going to eat anything for at least a week (and he force fed at some points). 

Mild case or not, I do not want that again, and a mask is an easy preventative measure that costs little and does much. 

[Halftime Hope]

I haven't read the entire thread, but the Cochrane review of masking indicated that the best evidence we have (which they rated as low quality evidence, leading to moderate certainty about their conclusions for wearing of N95s, with regard to lab-confirmed respiratory illness) is:

Four studies were in healthcare workers, and one small study was in the community. Compared with wearing medical or surgical masks, wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (5 studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness (5 studies; 8407 people) or respiratory illness (3 studies; 7799 people). Unwanted effects were not well reported; discomfort was mentioned. 

https://www.cochrane.org/news/featured-review-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses

Anecdotally, I know umpteen people who masked rigorously and still got COVID. I masked rigorously through Fe 2022 and did not. My reluctant conclusion is that our best hope is our immune system, and perhaps prophylactic measures. 

That said, for what it is worth, I masked yesterday from airport entry to rental car, and I'm also taking prophylactic measures. But it is the measures that have gotten me through two non-masked, heavy exposures from co-workers who each went home within less than two hours after exposing me and immediately tested positive for CV19.  Both of them were vaxxed and both were very sick, and they passed it along to other family members, so it's not that they were non-contagious. 

Whee, it's a roller coaster out here in work world.  🙂

ETA: My co-workers are decent people who would not have exposed anyone intentionally, and they were both mortified that they had been in the office exposing people. Neither one of them knew they were sick when they came to the office. One started feeling off mid-morning, and the other at noon. They had both felt fine when they came to work. And since our office has a policy of "go home and work from home if you're any kind of symptomatic" they did.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Halftime Hope

[KSera]

14 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

the Cochrane review of masking

The Cochrane review of masking has been widely and roundly criticized by researchers having been horribly done. It’s not a valid review of the masking evidence at all. They lumped all kinds of different studies together, most of them done pre-Covid, in all differ t kinds of settings, with widely varying adherence to even wearing a mask at all, and use that to draw their conclusions. If you wanted to design a way to make an actual clear effect disappear in a review, this is exactly the way you would do it.

[Halftime Hope]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

The Cochrane review of masking has been widely and roundly criticized by researchers having been horribly done. It’s not a valid review of the masking evidence at all. They lumped all kinds of different studies together, most of them done pre-Covid, in all differ t kinds of settings, with widely varying adherence to even wearing a mask at all, and use that to draw their conclusions. If you wanted to design a way to make an actual clear effect disappear in a review, this is exactly the way you would do it.

What the study authors did is the very definition of a meta-analysis. The Cochrane framework is an exacting process by which the data from studies which differ in one aspect or another can be combined, to pool data and give a better answer to a question. EBM has long considered meta-analysis to be the highest quality of evidence.

It's disingenuous to attempt to discredit this single study, when the authors have explicitly followed the Cochrane process, down to the exact words which are specified by the framework to translate the numerical data into, again, exact wording. That is then used in the write-ups when describing the level of certainty, how they adjudicated the quality of the data of a particular study, etc.  Furthermore, there is strength in this study in that the authors separating the studies into batches by kind of intervention and by differing kinds of illness. By doing so, that gives a more transparent view of what the data shows.

If I'm going to lay any blame for the degree of uncertainty on this question, I will point out that the CDC or NIH could have funded RCTs to answer the question at any point after mass vaccination. (I was under the impression that they have not done so, but I could be wrong. I'd welcome being shown if they have and I missed it.) The fact that we have been through a pandemic and don't have a definitive answer to this question is criminal. 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Halftime Hope

[SKL]

We only mask when required, e.g., at certain doctor offices.

We've all had Covid at least once, always after traveling.

[bookbard]

24 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

It's disingenuous to attempt to discredit this single study,

No, I think it's disingenuous to even quote this study, which was conducted by anti-maskers, and then was apologised for by the very people who published it, after all its flaws were pointed out. You can't use a study which puts "was given a mask but they never wore it" in the same category as "people who wear masks rigorously". In fact the actual conclusion of the study was that just being given a mask won't stop anything. You have to actually wear it. 

The reality is that before covid all health professionals wore masks because they worked; equally, if you're working with sawdust etc, you wear a mask because it works. And the other reality is that people struggle to wear masks when there isn't a mandate, because they struggle to stand out and be different. 

[DawnM]

No, not unless I am in the hospital (a lot with dad this past year).

 

[shawthorne44]

5 hours ago, KSera said:

😢 It was never “just” a non-flu flu, but most especially not in 2020, pre-vaccine when it carried such a high risk of death. That statement just makes me sad when I think of how many people we lost to Covid in 2020 😔.

 

That is what the doc called it.   Haven't we all had flu-like symptoms gone to the doc, been tested for the flu and then been told it is a non-flu flu?   That just means they don't have a name for it.   Well, I did give it a name in our family.   DH is king of the man cold.   He was the sickest of us and I remember thinking, "This isn't a man cold."   So, that is what I called it, "Not Man Cold."   Even then he was back to working outside 24 hours later.  

 

 

[KSera]

39 minutes ago, bookbard said:

No, I think it's disingenuous to even quote this study, which was conducted by anti-maskers, and then was apologised for by the very people who published it, after all its flaws were pointed out.

Right, this. There are lots of good meta-analyses out there, but this isn’t one of them. I don’t have the energy to post all the links out there about the problems with this one because it’s been done to death, but there’s plenty there for finding as well as the follow up statement from the Editor-in-Chief at Cochrane— I’ll link that one at least: https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review

 

Quote

Many commentators have claimed that a recently-updated Cochrane Review shows that 'masks don't work', which is an inaccurate and misleading interpretation.

It would be accurate to say that the review examined whether interventions to promote mask wearing help to slow the spread of respiratory viruses, and that the results were inconclusive. Given the limitations in the primary evidence, the review is not able to address the question of whether mask-wearing itself reduces people's risk of contracting or spreading respiratory viruses. 

The review authors are clear on the limitations in the abstract: 'The high risk of bias in the trials, variation in outcome measurement, and relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampers drawing firm conclusions.' Adherence in this context refers to the number of people who actually wore the provided masks when encouraged to do so as part of the intervention. For example, in the most heavily-weighted trial of interventions to promote community mask wearing, 42.3% of people in the intervention arm wore masks compared to 13.3% of those in the control arm. 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by KSera

[Dmmetler]

Yes, in public spaces. I've gone three years without getting sick, and as someone with multiple autoimmune disorders, that's really important. 

 

Besides, I have a couple of teen students  who wear overpowering levels of body spray. Those N95's with charcoal filters that I bought when they were painting in my building have turned out to really, really help avoid migraines. 

 

[KSera]

8 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

Haven't we all had flu-like symptoms gone to the doc, been tested for the flu and then been told it is a non-flu flu? 

Well, quite honestly, no. I've never been to the doctor for flu like symptoms and no one in my family has ever had a flu test 🤷‍♀️. But that's neither here nor there.

I'm very glad that your husband had such a mild bout and was back outside working within 24 hours. Unfortunately, a lot of people experienced much, much worse than that. Hopefully eventually that's all it will be for anyone (as an aside, in February 2020, there was also a different non-covid illness rampant in the country with very similar symtpoms--even in Spring 2020, the overwhelming majority of people with covid symptoms who were tested turned out to have something else).

[Ausmumof3]

4 hours ago, Halftime Hope said:

I haven't read the entire thread, but the Cochrane review of masking indicated that the best evidence we have (which they rated as low quality evidence, leading to moderate certainty about their conclusions for wearing of N95s, with regard to lab-confirmed respiratory illness) is:

Four studies were in healthcare workers, and one small study was in the community. Compared with wearing medical or surgical masks, wearing N95/P2 respirators probably makes little to no difference in how many people have confirmed flu (5 studies; 8407 people); and may make little to no difference in how many people catch a flu-like illness (5 studies; 8407 people) or respiratory illness (3 studies; 7799 people). Unwanted effects were not well reported; discomfort was mentioned. 

https://www.cochrane.org/news/featured-review-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses

Anecdotally, I know umpteen people who masked rigorously and still got COVID. I masked rigorously through Fe 2022 and did not. My reluctant conclusion is that our best hope is our immune system, and perhaps prophylactic measures. 

That said, for what it is worth, I masked yesterday from airport entry to rental car, and I'm also taking prophylactic measures. But it is the measures that have gotten me through two non-masked, heavy exposures from co-workers who each went home within less than two hours after exposing me and immediately tested positive for CV19.  Both of them were vaxxed and both were very sick, and they passed it along to other family members, so it's not that they were non-contagious. 

Whee, it's a roller coaster out here in work world.  🙂

ETA: My co-workers are decent people who would not have exposed anyone intentionally, and they were both mortified that they had been in the office exposing people. Neither one of them knew they were sick when they came to the office. One started feeling off mid-morning, and the other at noon. They had both felt fine when they came to work. And since our office has a policy of "go home and work from home if you're any kind of symptomatic" they did.

 

 

 

 

Cochrane review later issued a statement about that study because it was being widely misinterpreted/overapplied. You can read it here.

https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review
 

I’m not that sold on going back to mandates. I would like to see what a really effective marketing campaign from public health could do around wearing n95 equivalent masks, fitting them correctly etc. The biggest issue with masking here was it was mostly ineffective because people never moved from cloth and surgical. Even now I see older people who are clearly trying to avoid covid at the shops with poorly fitted surgical masks. 

[BlsdMama]

No, not anymore. We’ve had it twice - personally I’ve had it twice confirmed. The University hospital has just stopped mandating it. I was there today and masks were fairly unusual but not rare. 

[Hannah]

Our country was in a state of disaster where we had to mask indoors and out in any public setting and in the workplace for more than 2 years.  It was also compulsory to sanitise one's hands when entering workplaces, shops, churches, etc. The requirements were lifted end of June last year and I rarely see masked people any more. There are still sanitizing stations and I see people using those.

I did have Covid in August 2021, after my first vaccination, and probably caught it in the ER when we took a family member in for a dislocated collarbone.

ETA it is no longer a threat here though https://covid19.who.int/region/afro/country/za

Edited April 8, 2023 by Hannah

[kokotg]

The Cochrane Review looked at 78 studies, two of which were conducted during covid, and both of those studies found that mask use did decrease transmission. We're less careful about masking than we were before since we all had covid a couple of months ago...which is to say I'll sometimes go without a mask when I'm going into a store for a few minutes or somewhere else that's not crowded and has high ceilings. And we'll do indoor restaurants now when outside seating isn't available or practical. My husband still masks at school and my younger kids mask in classroom settings (no idea what my college kids are up to these days; I would be surprised if they're masking in classes, though). Everyone who still lives in my house wears a mask in any crowded indoor setting. 

[I talk to the trees]

On 4/6/2023 at 6:04 PM, AmandaVT said:

Yep - I work in a middle school, so masking is as much for not getting sick as it is for blocking middle school smells. 🤢 Also, as a bonus, I can cover my 'wtf' face as needed. I mask in stores, at work, and at appts. I do not mask in friends' homes or when we have people over.

I'm the only teacher masking at school all the time. I've noticed that they will all mask when sick, which is considerate. We have 2 students who mask as well, and I will continue masking as long as they do because I want to make sure they're not feeling totally alone. (also I've quite enjoyed not having a cold for 3+ years now and think I'd be a gigantic baby if I got one)

It is so very thoughtful of you to consider the feelings of those students! Even if they're doing what they know is right for them (maybe they have an immune compromised family member, or are high risk themselves!) it has to be difficult for them not to give in to what must be immense peer pressure to fit in! 

We still mask (n95) indoors in public places, but not outdoors. Haven't been inside a restaurant since 2019- which really isn't saying much, since we only went out to eat maybe once or twice a year in the before times! Healthcare providers here don't mask unless you ask them- except for my dentist, who has always masked. My optometrist frowned a bit when I asked her to wear a mask, but complied, and I was grateful, even if it was just a ratty, old fabric mask. My best guess is that 2-5% of people in this area are still masking. I did notice a lot more masks (I counted at least 5 other masked patrons) when I went to the local co-op/organic food store. It was a small difference, but I felt so much more comfortable in there, and so much less judged! 

I also mask when I mow or do yard work, and always have. I sneeze and get bloodshot eyes if you spell p-o-l-l-e-n around me! 

None of us have had Covid. All of us are completely vaxed and boosted. We are doing everything we can to avoid infection, and especially multiple infections because 1) We don't want long covid or the organ damage that comes with repeated infections and 2) The bill from a single hospital stay could literally bankrupt us. 

[WildflowerMom]

We still have doctor's offices requiring it around here.   I still mask depending on how crowded it is, how closed in a building feels.   Also, if there's 'something' going around, I mask.   Thankfully no one seems to care.  

[KungFuPanda]

I just did my first unmasked public event in mid-March. It was a dance convention. I went to workshops and shows unmasked and shared a condo with 9 friends. The friend that I rode with both ways got Covid at the event and didn’t know until the day after she got home. She, and a woman on her same volunteer shift both came home with it.
 

I’ve never tested so many times in a two week span, but this was my first known exposure. I haven’t had Covid yet, and I didn’t get it this time. 🤞

[Amethyst]

I have recently started being less obsessive about wearing masks in stores, but will take it with me in grocery stores because if it’s very crowded or there are little kids coughing, I put it on. Also, we recently went to our first post-covid concert in a very very tiny intimate setting, and we wore masks. Definitely still wear on airplanes. 
 

This past week, less than a week ago, I made the decision for our dental hygiene school to stop wearing N95s and go back to level 3 masks. I had been monitoring CDC website regarding Community Transmission and it had gone down in the school’s county and all the surrounding counties, so I felt it was time. 
 

I have not yet had covid. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just today we have an entire family from  church very ill with Covid. One has O2 levels of 60. So it’s definitely not gone.
 

Note:  obvious not everyone exposed gets it and not everyone has serious illness. But it does mean that I am not going to treat it cavalierly. I have no problem with people making their own choices on masking at this point in the history of covid. But it does make me sad when it hits individual or families.

[Halftime Hope]

On 4/7/2023 at 6:46 PM, Ausmumof3 said:

Cochrane review later issued a statement about that study because it was being widely misinterpreted/overapplied. You can read it here.

https://www.cochrane.org/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review
 

I’m not that sold on going back to mandates. I would like to see what a really effective marketing campaign from public health could do around wearing n95 equivalent masks, fitting them correctly etc. The biggest issue with masking here was it was mostly ineffective because people never moved from cloth and surgical. Even now I see older people who are clearly trying to avoid covid at the shops with poorly fitted surgical masks. 

I have been aware of the 'controversy' and the statement.  What they apologized for was for wording the summary in a way that left room for interpretation.  When I read the new  summary, versus the initial summary, I'm hard pressed to find a practical, everyday difference between the two. Honestly. And again, remember, I was and am a masker; it is NOT that I'm an anti-masker. My opinion and experience is that the best a well-fitted N95 will do for me is to diminish the amount of air I breathe that is contaminated, because I can't eliminate all leaks around the bridge of my nose, hard though I might try.

As my very cautious dentist said, "We're just doing the best we can."

[kokotg]

20 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

I have been aware of the 'controversy' and the statement.  What they apologized for was for wording the summary in a way that left room for interpretation.  When I read the new  summary, versus the initial summary, I'm hard pressed to find a practical, everyday difference between the two. Honestly. And again, remember, I was and am a masker; it is NOT that I'm an anti-masker. My opinion and experience is that the best a well-fitted N95 will do for me is to diminish the amount of air I breathe that is contaminated, because I can't eliminate all leaks around the bridge of my nose, hard though I might try.

As my very cautious dentist said, "We're just doing the best we can."

Do you think it's significant that they were basically only looking at studies conducted pre-covid (with the exception of two that did show a reduction in transmission)? I just don't see how anyone could use it as evidence that masking to prevent covid in particular is ineffective. Like...I don't even understand how they would try to pass it off that way; it makes no sense to me. 

[bookbard]

16 minutes ago, kokotg said:

Like...I don't even understand how they would try to pass it off that way; it makes no sense to me. 

There's a new study out saying Covid is spread by touching surfaces. But they didn't actually sample the air. So they couldn't actually rule out that Covid was air-borne . . . it's mindboggling. Why are they still publishing stuff like this? 

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Halftime Hope said:

My opinion and experience is that the best a well-fitted N95 will do for me is to diminish the amount of air I breathe that is contaminated, because I can't eliminate all leaks around the bridge of my nose, hard though I might try.

That may well be true for you. But there are millions of health care workers who have been fit tested to N95s that have no leaks. There are several N95s available that have been shown to have a greater than 90% rate of people passing fit tests in them. I know some people’s faces are just harder to fit and they get leaks (most people aren’t even trying to prevent leaks, but clearly you are, so you’re getting better protection than most), but most people can be well protected by a mask if they choose to. 

[SHP]

1 hour ago, Halftime Hope said:

I have been aware of the 'controversy' and the statement.  What they apologized for was for wording the summary in a way that left room for interpretation.  When I read the new  summary, versus the initial summary, I'm hard pressed to find a practical, everyday difference between the two. Honestly. And again, remember, I was and am a masker; it is NOT that I'm an anti-masker. My opinion and experience is that the best a well-fitted N95 will do for me is to diminish the amount of air I breathe that is contaminated, because I can't eliminate all leaks around the bridge of my nose, hard though I might try.

As my very cautious dentist said, "We're just doing the best we can."

Have you been professionally fitted? That is really important.

I was fitted for a respirator 20+ years ago for a job and there wasn't one that fit my face. Now I can find them without issue that fit my face just as good as the closest fit 20 years ago, it is close but not perfect. If I want a perfect seal I will get out my respirator and p100 filters that I use for work.  Thankfully, technology has come a long way and there are options for even the hard to fit.

Please note that I never wear my work respirator for day to day activities around humans. If the risk is such that I need that level then I will likely not to go.

[Malory]

On 4/7/2023 at 4:46 PM, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m not that sold on going back to mandates. I would like to see what a really effective marketing campaign from public health could do around wearing n95 equivalent masks, fitting them correctly etc. The biggest issue with masking here was it was mostly ineffective because people never moved from cloth and surgical. Even now I see older people who are clearly trying to avoid covid at the shops with poorly fitted surgical masks. 

Right. And I think mandates in health care settings face the same issue.