More about Masks

The common-sense crowd fears that the CDC was wrong in declaring that the fully vaccinated could go maskless, mainly because there’s no way to ensure that only the fully vaccinated will go maskless. That the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers—a greatly overlapping Venn diagram—will use this guidance as an excuse to continue in their stubborn ways.

The common-sense crowd is undoubtedly justified in this belief.

What these people wanted, I assume, was for the CDC to say, “Well, from a scientific perspective, there’s no real need for fully vaccinated people to continue wearing masks in most situations. But, since a number of unvaccinated people will choose to use this guidance as an excuse to stop wearing masks—even though they haven’t been vaccinated and may have no intention of doing so—and because there is no (politically) easy way to tell who’s been vaccinated—then we recommend that everyone continue wearing masks.” But this is a statement beyond the purview of the CDC. Mask mandates are now fully in the realm of politics, as opposed to that of science.

I choose to believe that CDC scientists, in making their pronouncement, take into account the fact that many unvaccinated people will go around maskless. That is, they’ve thought about the risk to vaccinated people posed by the non-compliant, and they still cleared us for take-off. We should take comfort in this.

But, people say, shouldn’t the CDC not have said anything? Keep mask recommendations, such as they are, in place? 

No.

The CDC would have been wrong NOT to rescind mask recommendations if, in fact, wearing a mask provides no special benefit to people who have been fully vaccinated. Because that strategy would simply give more ammunition to the anti-science conspiracy theorists. “See,” they’d say, “the deep-state just wants to keep controlling us! They know there’s no need to wear masks, but they don’t want us to be free!” Or similar nonsense.

The next phase of this will undoubtedly be. . . interesting. What will happen as businesses continue (as they can) to refuse entry to unmasked, unvaccinated people? How will they enforce this prohibition? Will they require people to show proof of vaccination and, if so, of what will that proof consist? 

I think people’s anger at the CDC stems mostly from fear of what comes next—of the battles that will continue to be fought at the level of the store entrance by people who have misplaced ideas of what “personal freedom” really means. Understandable fears. Yet we must move forward.

*****

Some will continue wearing masks anyway. I think most of these folks hold one of two non-mutually exclusive beliefs: Either they’re worried for their own safety—that they could still be susceptible to one of several Covid variants spreading around the world; or they’re concerned that, while they themselves are protected, they could still spread the disease to the unvaccinated. More power to them.

Already, though, we’re hearing of people screaming at these folks to lose the masks! The CDC has spoken. I can’t help but suspect that most of the screamers are the same people who denied that the CDC had any right to recommend masks in the first place—and that they, thus, are less likely to be vaccinated themselves. Considering, then, that the overcautious vaccinated are mainly protecting them by keeping the masks on, these people are berating others for being... courteous.

America!