It’s been a couple of weeks since I first was able to go maskless in my state, and it just keeps getting better.
This weekend, my son had a T-Ball game, and nobody wore a mask. It was amazing. Granted, it was outside, and there may have been some people who kept their distance, but I didn’t see anyone wearing a mask.
When it comes to shopping, maskless people are definitely in the majority now. I’ve had to shop in a few different places since that first time I went maskless, and it seems obvious that people have become more comfortable ditching the masks. Perhaps it’s because they’re seeing other people not wearing them? Maybe of them more have gotten vaccinated? I honestly don’t know. Given the declining rate of vaccinations since the infamous Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause, my guess is that many of those who were wearing masks after the CDC lifted the mask mandate for fully-vaccinated people were initially hesitant to lose their masks, but eventually became comfortable with the idea.
Or maybe it was the release of Fauci’s emails that did it. I was fully vaccinated when the CDC lifted the mask mandate for vaccinated people. If I hadn’t been, I don’t know if I would have just ditched the mask anyway, but if I had, Fauci’s admission that masks don’t really protect healthy people would have had me maskless immediately.
Another interesting observation I’ve made has to do with kids. The vaccines have only been approved for those 16 and older, or for those 12 and older. Despite the fact that kids are generally unlikely to succumb to COVID-19, they are technically still required to wear masks… yet I’ve been noticing that kids who fall into this age group have been increasingly not wearing them in public.
As far as I’m concerned, they shouldn’t have been required to wear masks in the first place, so, I’m all for kids going maskless now, even if they technically aren’t supposed to, and I applaud the parents who aren’t making their kids wear them… because, let’s face it, COVID is extremely unlikely to impact their kids.
There are people who have masks handy or who wear them under their chins just in case they need to mask up for someone else’s benefit. There are still people who are at risk, and I get that, but I’m vaccinated. I’m not wearing a mask because those at-risk people have nothing to fear from me.
Since the CDC updated its guidelines, my own behaviors have changed, too. One big change for me is that I no longer bring a mask “just in case.” At this point, if a business is still enforcing a universal mask mandate, I will take my money elsewhere. I’ll respect their decision to continue requiring masks, but I’m done with it, and would rather shop elsewhere than put one on again.
