Reconsidering masks

Here and there I see someone wearing a mask, but for the most part, it seems that the end of the pandemic and the end of mask wearing coincided. An Axios/Ipsos American Health Index in August found that only 15 percent of Americans wear a mask at least sometimes, a decline from 23 percent in May and 30 percent in February.

I was glad to give up masks. They’re uncomfortable and make it harder to hear and to breathe. The loops occasionally knocked off my hearing aids. Masks block my vision when I’m looking down, which is scary on uneven sidewalks and steps. 

Since my recent bout of COVID, however, I’ve been thinking about whether to mask in some situations. Here’s a sampling of medical advice.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Where COVID-19 hospital admission levels are high, wear a mask in public indoor settings. When admission levels are medium, older people and those who have underlying conditions should discuss with their doctors whether to mask.

World Health Organization: Wear a mask in a crowded, enclosed, or poorly ventilated area. Wear a mask in a public space if you are at high risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID. In other situations, consider the local infection rate and vaccination level.

Cook County Department of Pubic Health: Masking continues to be recommended for anyone at high risk of complications from COVID or in the presence of someone at high risk.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, interviewed by the New York Times:  Wear a mask whenever you are in a confined, crowded indoor space (can include stores, offices, and public transportation), particularly if you are 65 or older, have an underlying condition that makes you more vulnerable to severe disease, or are pregnant. 

Dr. Andrew Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, also interviewed by the New York Times: If you’re indoors for longer than 10 minutes, you might consider putting on a mask.

Following the CDC’s advice, Chicagoans wouldn’t bother with masks. Hospital admission levels are low here. Following the two physicians’ advice, we (especially seniors) would wear a mask indoors much of the time. I’ve decided that it would be prudent to carry a mask to put on in indoor settings where I’m sitting close to strangers — such as on the CTA or at the theater. I’m not going to have a hard-and-fast rule but just make sure a mask is available.

Masking in high-risk environments doesn’t guarantee that we won’t get COVID. But it should help: A CDC study during the pandemic found that surgical masks reduce the risk of infection by 66 percent, and the higher-quality N95 and KN95 masks by 83 percent.

I dislike masks, but I disliked COVID more.

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