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.

For my birthday, I got COVID

“During COVID,” people say, relegating to the past the period of lockdowns, masking, and horrific death statistics. Indeed, the US government declared the COVID-19 public health emergency over in May.

We think we’re past COVID until we get it.

Turning 75 calls for adjusting, not giving up

Remember the controversial 2014 article by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, then 57, an oncologist, bioethicist, and Rahm’s older brother, where he announced that he would stop getting medical care after age 75? It’s downhill from there, he said, and going on would be a drain on society.

I’ll reach that age at the end of this month.