# What's a good metric for when to stop masking? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [June 26, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122 "2023-06-26T14:12:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/121 "2023-08-04T01:41:33Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > You are flying blind. We are. > **[COVID Data Tracker](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00)** > > CDC’s home for COVID-19 data. Visualizations, graphs, and data in one easy-to-use website. The CDC death data can lag by as much as 2 months, which means that all the values for the latest two months are under-counted. (That is, if you check in December how many deaths there were in July, you will see a much higher number than the number currently reported for deaths in July. Because a lot of July’s deaths haven’t yet been reported. That being said, wastewater numbers remain a leading indicator. And they are reported thrice weekly in my area, with a lag of a day or two. The wastewater numbers are rising. They are still low, but there’s a definite towards trend at this point. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/122 "2023-08-04T01:42:30Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > or the immunocompromised have also almost universally given up masks here too. Or they are hiding. My brother’s partner doesn’t go out much. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/123 "2023-08-04T03:15:24Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Either New Hampshire is some remarkable bastion where nearly no one is immunocompromised, which seems unlikely, or the immunocompromised have also almost universally given up masks here too. …or, as Leaper has suggested, many immunocompromised are simply not getting out-and-about as much any more. I, for example, am no longer a photographer. I had to change my entire business model to protect my already-not-great immune system. I haven’t given up masking. I just go out less frequently, avoid crowds, buy groceries on the internet. We’ve had to adapt. We didn’t have a choice. I’m not making a big deal of it. It is what it is. But just because you don’t see anyone masking doesn’t mean that immunocompromised aren’t out there making the best decisions that they can. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/124 "2023-08-04T14:13:06Z")
I have an immunocompromised friend. He and his wife don’t go out much; but when they do, they go masked. If I go see them, I mask, and we’d probably also meet outdoors. ---
**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:** [August 5, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/125 "2023-08-05T22:52:04Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > International travel is a big one, too people have always roamed, but plagues can spread so much faster on airplanes than on foot, and that makes a huge difference. True dat. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/126 "2023-08-07T15:01:44Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But it’s the proper job of politicians and political entities to make value judgements about costs and benefits. What is a reasonable speed limit on this road? How do we balance the desire for raw eggs against the risk of salmonella? How clean must the exhaust from this turbine be, and at what cost to consumers? Those are all political decisions. Your turbine remark struck a chord with me because of this: [https://www.epa.gov/economic-and-cost-analysis-air-pollution-regulations/regulatory-impact-analyses-air-pollution](https://www.epa.gov/economic-and-cost-analysis-air-pollution-regulations/regulatory-impact-analyses-air-pollution) I’ve sat in on EPA rulemaking sessions before, and it’s amazing how many factors get considered in deciding whether/how to implement a new pollution control regulation, and how deeply those factors get explored. It’s not just a matter of “the technology exists and will save lives, so mandate it.” They look at the cost to consumers who buy (and pay for maintenance on) polluting products, the effect on the industries manufacturing those products (jobs lost/gained), how many lives will be saved, how much health is improved, environmental effects, and more. I have no doubt that the CDC undertakes a similarly complex calculus when trying to decide what disease prevention measures to mandate or recommend. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/127 "2023-10-02T22:34:24Z")
For what it’s worth, most people in the UK stopped wearing masks some months ago. Only hospitals insisted, but even they have given up now. It helps that well over 90% of us are vaccinated and most of the elderly and those with breathing problems are already vaccinated for COVID and influenza this Autumn. My wife and I had ours done last Saturday at the GP surgery, and they were working rapidly through a long list. NO one I saw was wearing a mask, including the medical staff. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/128 "2023-10-03T15:05:55Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > It helps that well over 90% of us are vaccinated and most of the elderly and those with breathing problems are already vaccinated for COVID and influenza this Autumn. COVID vaccinations have a very short half-life. Don’t quote me on it but I think it’s something like 2 weeks. Likewise, vaccines aren’t as effective in the elderly for the same reason that they’re at a greater risk of harm from COVID: Their immune system isn’t what it used to be. That makes it harder to respond to the disease and also harder to train to fight the disease. Young people need to get vaccinated and they should do so 2-4 weeks before any holiday gatherings. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/129 "2023-10-03T16:22:34Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > COVID vaccinations have a very short half-life. Don’t quote me on it but I think it’s something like 2 weeks. I don’t have time to look up an actual cite, but I’m pretty sure this is old information. I believe the shelf life if kept refrigerated is more like 4 to 10 weeks depending on which vaccine you are talking about, and significantly longer if frozen. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/130 "2023-10-03T16:38:06Z")
@Sage_Rat – And if you’re talking about how long they’re effective after a person’s vaccinated, while that’s going to depend on the possible appearance of new variants and on the particular individual’s immune system, it’s generally considered to be at least several months, with some lingering effect for longer. It’s two weeks before they become fully effective; maybe that’s the source of the confusion. > **[COVID Vaccine](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/procedures/covid-vaccine)** > > COVID vaccines reduce your risk of getting COVID or getting seriously ill if you do get infected. Learn how they work and what to expect. > Studies suggest COVID vaccines are most effective in the first few months following your shot. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122/131 "2023-10-03T16:46:12Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > I don’t have time to look up an actual cite, but I’m pretty sure this is old information. I believe the shelf life if kept refrigerated is more like 4 to 10 weeks depending on which vaccine you are talking about, and significantly longer if frozen. Antibody counts: > **[Trajectory of IgG to SARS-CoV-2 After Vaccination With BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273...](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.850987/full)** > > Three COVID-19 vaccines have received FDA-authorization and are in use in the United States, but there is limited head-to-head data on the durability of the immune response elicited by these vaccines. Using a quantitative assay we studied binding IgG... Note that they’re graphing on logarithmic scales so the rise and decline are greater than depicted. That said, I recall the numbers as being fairly bad - ergo, the reason that Moderna and Pfizer were recommending follow-up booster shots every few months. But, maybe the numbers were based on smaller and worse studies. This does look like you’re pretty solid for quite a while. I rescind the statement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-metric-for-when-to-stop-masking/986122.md?page=6)