# Are you wearing a mask if you go out in public? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 23, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448 "2020-04-23T16:39:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/161 "2021-07-23T22:59:26Z")
I trust the CDC a lot of the time, but they’ve made some bad calls and their mask guidance is an example. Deciding not to track breakthrough cases is another. They’re not infallible. And again, they’re not the only public health agency on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/162 "2021-07-27T22:21:56Z")
And what is the harm in an individual wearing a mask that the CDC hasn’t yet said is necessary? For my part I have a wife who has a chronic disease for which it is known that the flu can cause to take an irreversible down turn. So even though we are both vaccinated we still wear masks and social distance. However, we are no longer having our groceries delivered and I started using a regular cloth mask rather than the heavily used N95 masks we got back in February 2020 before they became restricted. In my area 83% of adults are vaccinated, and looking around the grocery store probably about half the adult patrons is wearing masks. So at least 40% of the vaccinated population is wearing masks. This assumes that all of the unmasked people are vaccinated, which is probably false given that the sort of people who don’t believe in getting vaccinated are the same sort who won’t believe in following the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/163 "2021-07-27T22:29:59Z")
Although I am in one of the areas of the US with the highest rates of vaccination, with very few cases, I have made the decision to wear a mask indoors in public places. It isn’t being required by my state but I figure, nothing to lose, possibly much to gain. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/164 "2021-07-28T00:03:16Z")
CDC changed its guidance. So what does that tell you? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/165 "2021-07-28T00:09:33Z")
That CDC has a communication problem. It just changed again .If your vaccinated( and I am) you should get be able go maskless this is what they told us! Now this is going to be a reason NOT to get the vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/166 "2021-07-28T00:11:01Z")
Oh come on…seriously. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/167 "2021-07-28T00:17:47Z")
If there is no carrot why then? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/168 "2021-07-28T00:21:59Z")
99% of Covid deaths recently have been unvaccinated people. If that isn’t a carrot, I don’t know what is. (And 97% hospitalizations.) ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/169 "2021-07-28T00:22:36Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Oh come on…seriously. I know, right? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/170 "2021-07-28T00:29:26Z")
That’s true and that’s one ‘carrot’ but the fact of the matter is that this delta variant can pierce through the protection of the vaccine - and the data that Israel has (and CDC does NOT have) shows that vaccinated people can get sick. There is also increasing evidence that vaccinated people - perhaps as many as 40% - can get sick with _long_ COVID when they do get infected. I don’t want long COVID. I don’t want psychosis. I don’t want blood clots. I don’t want to be forced onto a couch after walking for a few minutes. I don’t want my IQ lowered by 7-10 points. I don’t want symptoms that mimic Alzheimers. That is the shit that nobody - and I mean nobody - is talking about when they paint their rosy ass scenarios about vaccine protection cutting down the death rate. Yes, that’s great, but there are a LOT of other bad outcomes, life-altering outcomes, that can occur before death - outcomes so bad that many people might actually wish they were dead. That’s the point of my ‘alarmism’ And I go back to the fact that CDC does not have the most important data that you, I, and other vaccinated people want and need to have, which is how many breakthrough cases there really are. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/171 "2021-07-28T00:48:27Z")
I wear a mask, but we have enough cases of the vaccinated getting Covid in the US that if 40% were getting long Covid I think we’d know. But sure the unvaccinated are dangerous to everyone. They don’t seem to give a shit, so it’s better to scare them about them dying than anyone else getting sick. Some places are seeing increases in the number of vaccinations, so maybe the message is finally getting through. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/172 "2021-07-28T01:59:20Z")
It tells me they don’t know what they are talking about. But for the last 18 months, officials at all levels of government have been imploring us to “follow the guidelines”. It can’t be both. One can’t have their cake, and eat it. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/173 "2021-07-28T02:01:05Z")
Okay, so you’re using CDC guidelines when they’re convenient. All or nothing. No capacity for nuance. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/174 "2021-07-28T02:04:59Z")
No, exactly the opposite. I’m not. People (including several on this board) want to follow the guidelines when they’re convenient to _them_. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/175 "2021-07-28T02:07:55Z")
No, don’t play this both sides crap - you were the one saying _“I find it interesting that people know more than CDC. I’m following the CDC guidelines which don’t advise wearing a mask, so I’m not wearing a mask.”_ I challenged you and pointed out that the CDC was a little slow on the uptake. I was right. You were not. And you’re not now. You are deliberately trying to have a dishonest debate and you’re trying to, within the rules, sow misinformation. This should not be allowed. In fact, I think YOU should not be allowed. To everyone reading this: everyone knows the little games that our resident “conservatives” play. I am trying to defend the integrity of the community discussion here. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/176 "2021-07-28T02:19:29Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > By your logic, everyone everywhere should wear masks as long as anyone anywhere has COVID. This is not reasonable Why not? Mask-wearing can be directly connected to this past flu season being the mildest on record. People should continue wearing masks in public indefinitely whenever possible. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/177 "2021-07-28T02:20:20Z")
Most people disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/178 "2021-07-28T02:27:01Z")
“Most people” were opposed to wearing seatbelts not that long ago. > **[When New Seat Belt Laws Drew Fire as a Violation of Personal Freedom](https://www.history.com/news/seat-belt-laws-resistance)** > > The 1980s battle over safety belt laws reflected widespread ambivalence over the role and value of government regulation. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/180 "2021-07-28T02:32:41Z")
I currently do not. Until CDC guidelines for my area change, I will trust them. When they change, I will wear the mask. I will continue doing what I have this entire time: following their advice. (And the advice of medical professionals who are my close friends and who have worked with major virus outbreaks and have immunology specialities.) I personally am fine with the current risk level. I no doubt will change my behavior when advised to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448/181 "2021-07-28T02:35:45Z")
If you live in one of the orange or red counties on this map, then the advice is for you to mask up. > **[COVID Data Tracker](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view)** > > CDC’s home for COVID-19 data. Visualizations, graphs, and data in one easy-to-use website. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-wearing-a-mask-if-you-go-out-in-public/852448.md?page=10)