Only in a medical setting.
The science says that the delta variant is spreading like wildfire among the unvaccinated population, which is still quite large, and that it can penetrate through vaccine protection in a number of cases.
There is nothing irrational about wearing a mask right now - it’s increasingly irrational not to wear one and the CDC is looking dumber and dumber for not revising its mask guidance. Christ, look at the data. If the delta variant hasn’t already caused a surge in the number of cases in your area, there’s a good chance that it soon will, unless you are fortunate to be living in a community where vaccination rates are above 80% and has hardly any visitors from outside your community.
I was at Costco yesterday. I saw that they have brought back the free samples.
Pro tip: Remove your mask before trying to insert a spoon full of chili.
About half of the customers were masked.
Your statement comes after a three paragraph post responding to two different posters saying completely different things. Want to point out what you are responding to?
I just realized that maybe you were responding to the OP specifically. If so, that makes perfect sense and I apologize for not realizing that might be the case.
You seem to have an idea in mind. Why don’t you tell us your theory?
One of the three Covid deaths in Hawaii yesterday was of a fully vaccinated woman in her 60s. She reportedly had some underlying issues going on though. Dunno exactly how much that contributed.
I don’t even know where my masks are anymore. I haven’t put one on in at least three weeks. I’m flying next month, so I’ll have to find one in a drawer or under the seat of my car.
The CDC guidelines came well before the Delta variant started spreading all over the world. I think anyone vaccinated without underlying conditions are pretty safe from hospitalization and/or death. For those with conditions, the CDC says this:
- If you are fully vaccinated and have a condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may need to keep taking steps to protect yourself, like wearing a mask. Talk to your healthcare provider about steps you can take to manage your health and risks.
Unfortunately, Delta may be infecting vaccinated people without an underlying condition and they may not even know it. That means that they can infect relatives who are in a high risk category. I personally think the CDC should provide additional guidance that people wear a mask when visiting high risk family and friends. I still wear a mask in public to avoid catching it and wear a mask to my parents house just in case I do catch it and don’t even know it.
I looked at the data. For example, in Michigan, the 7-day average daily new case count is currently 31 cases per million people; in Florida, it’s 415 cases per million people. That’s a thirteen-fold difference.
Maybe different levels of discretion (mask/no-mask, dine-in/takeout, etc.) are reasonable in different areas?
At what level of local prevalence would you say leaving the mask at home is a reasonable, rational choice for a vaccinated individual?
NB: I understand my figures relate to daily incidence rate rather than prevalence, but the two are linearly related by illness duration, so decisions about self-protection measures can be made based on either metric.
For the vast majority of people, being over the age of 65 is an underlying condition. With the exception of people who take really good care of their bodies through exercise and eating well, immune response declines considerably by the time you’re over the age of 65. There’s a good chance that people over the age of 65 have stage 1 or even stage 2 blood pressure - this is often true of American males over the age of 45. A lot of people over the age of 65 are also pre-diabetic or outright diabetic. Many people have these conditions and are completely unaware of them.
So “follow the science”, unless (generic) you disagree with it? That’s not rational.
The science says that wearing a mask was not generally necessary for fully vaccinated individuals, prior to learning more about the Delta variant. Now we know more and “not generally necessary” could use a revisit. At no point, even prior to Delta, did the science say you shouldn’t wear a mask if you choose to reduce your risks even further than the protection vaccination alone provides. Wearing a mask isn’t anti-science. Not wearing one might be.
I work in a hospital (non clinical) and masks are mandatory. I take mine off when I’m in my office with the door closed. I still wear a mask when indoors in public, like the grocery store. I’ve been fully vaccinated since March, but there are other cooties floating around.
Public health officials are already beginning to revise their mask guidance. Are you saying that they’re making unscientific decisions?
Possibly, but as far as I know, the guidelines have NOT changed yet. Do you know something we don’t?
Oh, my bad. I thought you were asking about following the science, not waiting until the scientists have a meeting to go over their recommended guidelines, disseminate it to whoever they send it to, then have those people report on it or make changes based on that.
I’ll follow the science. You feel free to wait until there are official pronouncements from on high.
The CDC just might actually be a little slow with this round of mask guidance, just as they were slow with the initial mask guidance. It’s also worth noting that the CDC is not the only health agency.
The CDC makes decisions based on science; they are not to be confused with the science itself.
I just think it’s odd that now some people think they know better than the CDC.