How do we decide if not taking precautions against COVID is irresponsible and dangerous, generally as well as personally?

I believe masks still provide some protection for the wearer and more protection for those around the wearer. For example (gift link):

I’m happy to believe that masks mandates were less necessary in relatively sparse states, without lots of public transportation and high rises, and more effective in densely packed cities with elevators and public transportation. Any study that isn’t trying to control for population density is a waste.