It’s been a year since the Coronavirus pandemic started. We’ve been through millions of deaths, depression, hysteria and loneliness. Let’s just say 2020 wasn’t the year we thought it would be. 2021 is seemingly looking up due to the roll out of the COVID vaccines. However, the world is collectively suffering from PTSD. The CDC stated that it is ok for vaccinated people to hang out maskless with other fully vaccinated people or with people from one household who are unvaccinated. However many folks are skeptical, as they should be. Dr. Fauci recently stated that after getting vaccinated that we shouldn’t let our guards down. He said that there hasn’t been enough research on whether vaccinated people can carry the virus and inadvertently pass it to a non-vaccinated person. For that reason you should still wear a mask in public after getting the shot. NBC news has more on people’s reactions to potentially going maskless along with some quotes from experts about it.
“Heaven help me! Yes,” Susan Cohen, 76, a fully vaccinated New Yorker, told NBC News when asked if she could ever see herself taking off the mask and returning to her old life.
But Cohen is not yet ready to go maskless, especially in public.
“I love restaurants, I love movies,” she said. “Even if I were perfectly safe, the scientific experts don’t think it’s time yet. I can afford to wait.”
Jacqueline Gollan, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that’s the survival instinct kicking in.
“Many of us learned to reduce our risk of getting the virus by avoiding others,” she said. “We viewed social activities as an unsafe experience. We learned being around others was potentially catastrophic, so we perceived these scenarios with apprehension and vigilance.”
And that fear doesn’t lift like magic the minute a person gets vaccinated.
“It is normal to have anxiety about resuming social activities,” Gollan said, even while following federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Dr. Aderonke Pederson, an instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Feinberg, agreed.
“Right now, we know that two weeks after we get vaccinated, it is fine to gather with other fully vaccinated people,” she said. “However, it is expected that many of us may struggle with the transition back to some form of in-person socialization. The emotional impact of this past year may linger with us for longer than we might expect.”
Everybody has their own way of processing grief and trauma, and you’d be hard-pressed to find any American who hasn’t been affected in some way by the pandemic, Pederson said.
“For some people, there is ongoing grief for lost loves ones, missed funerals, missed goodbyes, and for others the economic impact has meant changes in lifestyle,” she said. “And for the Black community, these challenges have been compounded by the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black people and ongoing racism that remains pervasive.”
I look forward to being fully vaccinated more so that I can travel (most of my friends live out of state). To be fair, I don’t think I will give up wearing a mask in public because I didn’t get sick much last year like I normally do. I think the mask and excessive handwashing kept me from the allergy and upper respiratory infections I would normally get when the seasons change. But I am also concerned that there are way too many anti-vaxxers and folks who don’t believe COVID was real for me to trust the public in that way. However, I do look forward to my close friends and family getting fully vaccinated so that we can hang out without masks because I hate not being able to hug them or see their faces. I am advocating for all of my relatives and friends to get vaccinated for their safety, but I also want the world to achieve herd immunity by getting 70% of its population vaccinated. We have lost so much this past year. I just want us to move past this moment but with more humility and compassion. I believe we are collectively suffering from anxiety and depression and we all need a hug, to travel, to love. You know, the normal sh*t we are used to doing unencumbered. My cousin told me that his doctor told him he is suffering from agoraphobia. And I believe many of us have developed mental health complications because of the last year. So in addition to needing a hug, we also need to heal, collectively. Anyhow, I hope you all are either vaccinated or are on a waiting list and will be vaccinated soon. I am sure we are all looking forward to some sort of family/friend reunion in the near future.
Photos credit: Julian Wan, Gabrielle Clare Marino and The Creative Exchange on Unsplash
I will be wearing a mask out and about for the foreseeable future. I’m putting off travel until 2022. Luckily, everyone in my family has sense and they are all getting vaccinated. I will only be maskless around them.
I don’t want to ever give up my mask! It’s been great not being sick 1-2 weeks a month this last year!
I agree with you Jess. I love this mask life and fully intend on wearing one in public indoor spaces from here on out. COVID isn’t the only virus we deal with and to be honest it isn’t going to be the only new virus we encounter. My allergies are less, I didn’t get the flu or a cold it’s been amazing. So considering me a forever masker.
Yeah, in nonpandemic times, I take public transit to work and right now the thought of being packed into a subway car this winter with all the sniffling, coughing, sneezing commuters just grosses me out. I think masking might be a permanent part of my commute, at least.
I don’t know when I’ll go anywhere without a mask, frankly. I work in food service (retirement home kitchen!) and I’m prone to upper respiratory infections (I have some scarring in my lungs from repeated episodes of bronchitis), and I dunno, I don’t think this virus is done throwing us curveballs. 🤔
I plan to wear a mask for the foreseeable future. Better safe than sorry.
In Europe the recommendations are to continue wearing masks until we reach 70% of the population vaccinated / immune …
this makes me so nervous. vaccines are very hard to come by where I live but they are opening restaurants in a couple of weeks. as the weather gets nice I already see the mask holes emerging from their fox news holes. I went to an on line event with my congressperson last night and they wont even pretend to estimate when I will get a vaccine but it is likely several months/
I am fully vaccinated and I am still double masking. I just want to be down to wearing one mask by summer so people really need to start acting right.
This pandemic truly showed who some people are and I for one am glad to get the confirmation since somebody always was making excuses for people’s awfulness.
I am fully vaccinated (actually, just realized today is 3 wks.post shot!). Saturday was my first “real” outing: I went INTO my old salon to get my hair cut. I still made the appt. for an earlier time in the day when no one else would be in the shop, and we both wore masks (she is not vaccinated yet), but wow…it felt WEIRD! It was my first time back in the salon since Oct. 2019 (stupid me put off getting a trim in Feb 2020…who knew!). After the cut, I walked next door INTO a Starbucks and got a drink…again….FIRST TIME in about 13 mos, and again, felt weird!!
I’m going to (a put off) yearly eye exam later this morning. This dr. is going to get closer to my face than any other person (other than my family) has been in over a year; I just hope I don’t jump out of the chair ! Lol.
It really IS going to take some getting used to, to get “back to normal”, to feel at ease to travel, to sit (even outdoors) at a restaurant, and not worry about aerosols floating downwind. I know a lot of people have been doing it, have been traveling already…. but man, it’s a scary thought!
I’m thinking once I’m past the two-week mark with my second dose I should maybe book a hair appointment. But it’s so weird to think about! I’ve also gone over a year without getting my hair done, and haven’t been in a Starbucks in that time, either!
I did go to the eye doctor when halfway vaccinated because I was really having some vision issues and was almost 6 months overdue for an exam. I was impressed with how safe I felt, even though people were getting in my face. They did the best they could. I can deal with “getting back to normal” when it comes to necessary appointments — I desperately need to go to the dentist, who I usually see every six months and haven’t been to in over a year. But when it comes to dining out and traveling? That’s going to be tough to get used to again.
My first trip after being fully vaccinated was in February, I went to TARGET!!! It was fun. The store wasn’t busy which was nice and I spent too much, somethings never change.
I just got my hair done last week and a mani/pedi. It was nice but felt very odd.
For those who don’t know here is how it works you are “fully vaccinated/fully immune” from the really bad covid – 10 days after your second Pfizer shot and 14 after Moderna. I don’t know about J&J but guess it’s similar. Ask when you get the shot.
I Just saw my eye doctor for my yearly eye exam this past weekend actually. I was only a few days post-shot 1 (I got Moderna) but I didn’t feel like putting it off anymore. I’ve had issues with my right eye for a year and I wanted to make sure it was okay (nothing serious, but hugely annoying). Literally as the world shut down last year due to COVID, my right eye got some sort of infection–it felt like there was sand/something lodged in my eye and it was super dry, especially in the morning. My regular eye doctor shut down in the early months of COVID so I had to go elsewhere to get it looked at and take two different course of antibiotic drops to get it cleared up. There is still some residual dryness in that eye/bumps on the inner eyelid and since I was due for my yearly check up, I didn’t want to put it off.
Since I had been multiple times to the eye doctor due to my eye issues in the early months of COVID by necessity, I felt pretty comfortable. And of course I wore a mask the entire time and the only people in the store are there for appointments.
It felt more risky getting a haircut which I did in February before I got my shot. It was my first time at a salon during COVID and my hair had so many split ends it was looking so ratty. The salon was taking stringent precautions and I trusted them 100% because it’s a Japanese hair salon and the Japanese don’t mess around when it comes to hygienic cleaning protocols and mask wearing. But I forgot just how in your face the stylist gets when she cuts your hair and it made me uncomfortable, despite being double masked.
I go to the dentist for the first time in a few weeks… I would wait until post-shot 2 but it’s been more than two years (I didn’t have dental insurance and only recently got it again) and I really can’t put it off any longer. Pretty sure I have a few cavities that need filling.
I am a healthcare worker and have been fully vaccinated since early Feb and just started walking around NYC without a mask, sometimes. It feels weird and I definitely get dirty looks from others. I’ve had covid and been vaccinated. So many mixed feelings. Like maybe I should wear a mask just out of example and solidarity. But then again, it feels so great to feel a little normal and honestly I don’t think I am putting anyone at risk. I of course still wear a mask indoors and even outdoors in crowded public spaces. We have all been through a collective trauma, so it will take time. And this is new, so recommendations and guidances will shift and that adds to our uncertainty on how to behave. I say this as someone who volunteered in a covid ICU for 6 months and am currently volunteering as a vaccinator. It will take time to know what to do and to feel “normal” again.
youre fine midge. you are not putting anyone at risk outside, and as a healthcare professional, you know this. I am all for masking where it makes sense, but not when it doesnt and it’s simply about managing other people’s unnecessary anxiety (you dont get covid from passing people on the street). a lot of stuff has gotten to the point of hygiene theater, such as incessantly wiping down every stupid surface, when that is also NOT how covid is spread and is actually detrimental to the human biome in general and serves no useful epidemiologic purpose.
Thanks for sharing @Midge and the supportive information @bros
As a fellow New Yorker (who is not close to being eligible for vaccination – early 50s, healthy, able to WFH), I am very jealous of your ability to go out maskless. That said, I am also one of those giving you dirty looks. My apologies. I forget that there are actually a lot of people who have been fully vaccinated.
Except there is the possibility that even vaccinated we can still be carriers.
Wear the mask
My husband and I are getting our first vaccine next week (YAY) but I dont know which one we’re getting – if its the J&J or if it will require two doses. My SIL wants to have an outdoor party at her house on Easter (its her son’s bday too) and I’m not sure how comfortable I am going – my parents and one brother/SIL are fully vaccinated, but my other brother and SIL arent, and none of the kids are (and one set of kids goes to daycare full time and they never wear masks.) I just kind of feel like we’ve come this far, whats another month or two at this point, especially since we dont know enough about whether vaccinated people can still spread it.
I’m having this issue re: a Fourth of July party. My aunt usually throws one for the whole family and wants to do it this year…but I know at least two people are opting not to get vaccinated because they’re looking to get pregnant and are worried about vaccine side effects. Which…fine, that’s their choice. But the thought of co-mingling with unvaccinated people plus children who are in school but not eligible for shots yet is a little scary to me. I know that will just be reality — we’ll be around people in stores and restaurants and work who aren’t vaccinated, but it’s still hard to wrap my head around!
I get my second shot at the end of the month. I am looking forward to eating inside a restaurant again. And a 3 girl weekend beach trip later this spring. But i feel like i’ll be wearing a mask in public for awhile. And i am fine with that.
I am still a long way from being vaccinated (France, 32 years old, no underlying health problems) but I know I will still wear my mask in public settings such as transportation. COVI aside, it protects you also from many viruses. Also you never know, you are vaccinated but you miss pass on the virus to some that aren’t…
Anyway, longing forward to my vaccine!
You are supposed to continue to mask. Vaccination means that Covid won’t kill you. You can STILL TRANSMIT COVID. You can still get asymptomatic Covid and transmit. The only time you don’t have to mask is in a small group of vaccinated people. KEEP MASKING AND REASONABLY DISTANCING if you have the vaccine.
thank you for saying this. I cant legally get a vaccine yet or I would. I am afraid im going to be more at risk than ever now.
From what I’ve read, there’s some really promising data indicating full vaccination *does * prevent transmission, but they need more time and results to study before making anything official. I’m hoping there’s enough evidence to indicate transmission is prevented in the next few months!
Yes there is data coming back to indicate that getting vaccinated prevents transmission. The longer we study this virus the more we learn, and we are learning from the data that vaccination in all likelihood prevents you from infecting others.
The OP using all caps to declare the opposite is not helpful.
We do need to wait for the final data but it is looking *very hopeful* and frankly we could all use some of that.
YES.
Better safe than sorry. Every expert is advising to keep wearing the masks. It’s a simple thing that really helps, I’m happy to keep doing it as long as needed.
People seem to be forgetting or ignoring this important point.
A fully vaccinated (since January) health care worker in my town tested positive in recent days, followed by her husband. The vaccine is effective at keeping one out of the hospital, not from contracting or spreading.
The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are 94% (+/-) effective at keeping you from contracting the vaccine. Data on transmission is still up in the air and the efficacy rate is not 100%, so of course people are still going to contract COVID even if vaccinated. The J&J vaccine is only 75% (+/-) effective at preventing contracting the virus, but almost 100% effective at keeping you out of the hospital. Continue to mask until told otherwise.
I received my first vaccination yesterday and the next is scheduled for April 12th. And like you, when I go to the store or if in the future I am on public transportation again, (I will be), I will wear a mask! We will all be healthier if we continue to be safe!
I’m happy to start a discussion about this, but unless I’m sick and trying to protect others, or in a low quality/circulating air environment, I won’t wear a mask after we reach herd immunity. It interferes with my job too much and exacerbates my anxiety symptoms.
Same. I will wear it indoors and if I’m sick, but if I’m outside that mask is coming off.
Meanwhile, I’m already having people using their vaccinated status to be dicks to retail workers in my store – just because you have a little filled out vaccine card doesn’t mean you’re exempt from store policy, which is to wear a mask properly. (Also, the CDC says everyone should still wear a mask in public places, and my company is following CDC guidelines, guy who got huffy at me about “well the CDC says I don’t have to wear a mask!!!”)
I am not at all nervous. Ive been vaccinated and i am annoyed it is still required for us. I get why, performatively. But two studies show vaccinated seriously cut down transmission and the risk of having covid while vaxxed and passing it on is infinitesimally low.
People have covid stockholm syndrome and mask wearing got imbued with political symbolism and public displays of virtue and I wish it hadnt. Im over it.
I hear you (I really do!), but I’m worried that a LOT of mask-holes will just take that as “an excuse” and start saying THEY are vaccinated (when they are NOT) just to be out w/out a mask, and we will end up with another huge surge (ie: Italy going back into lockdown because of a big surge).
As posters above have said, we’ve come *so far*, it won’t be much longer IF PEOPLE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE CDC PROTOCOLS, get vaccinated, and stay masked in public for a few more months.
And I’m over selfish people. If it’s so annoying for you to wear a mask, then stay home.
Im actually not selfish. I got vaccinated asap so as to remove myself from the population able to get/spread covid. I had no problem wearing a mask while unvaccinated and felt the same as the below posters trying to bite my head off. I agree only with the idea that maskholes will try to exploit and say they are vaccinated when in fact they arent, which proves the point again that mask wearing was unnecessarily and stupidly politicized by stupid republicans when it really should have been a simple scientific public health measure. now, in fact, there is excellent evidence that people who are vaccinated DO NOT pass on covid and the vaccines prevent infection, not just symptoms.
What I am saying is that now that I am vaccinated I see no reason to perform as if the world is unsafe anymore for me, because scientifically, it is not. and all of you arguing for simple science should also be able to see this other side of the coin as well. covid stockhold syndrome is when we can’t leave our kidnappers behind. of course i will wear them going into retail establishments and planes etc because im not trying to make a stink about it and get filmed being an idiot antimasker. Im saying that I do not feel the need to wear one at all, not that I won’t wear one.
the public health messaging around these vaccines has been utterly horrible (see Lina Wen, Zeynep Tufecki, etc for examples of how bad its been). dramatically underselling them, and keeping people absolutely in the mindset that nothing changes once you are vaccinated, when in fact, it changes drastically.
People are so selfish. How hard is it to wear a mask? I wear glasses and masks fog them up but I still wear my mask and will continue to do so. It’s such a simple thing to do, not just for yourself, but for others. Those people that hate masks and refuse to wear them should just stay home.
Bros, we don’t have definitive knowledge yet on if you can or can’t transmit this virus to others after being vaccinated. No vaccine is 100% effective at preventing the disease although they all seems to be at or near 100% effective at preventing hospitalization or death. The CDC recommends still masking, socially distancing, etc., after being vaccinated. Also, there are new variants that the vaccine currently may or may not protect against, and the recommendation will probably be to get an annual shot like the flu for COVID.
I sympathize with your feelings at having to mask up. I do not really like wearing masks and feel like I can’t breathe very deeply. (I work in healthcare, so I am vaccinated, but I always mask up outside my home to protect others, model the CDC-recommended behavior, and because it’s the law in my state.) I ask you respectfully to consider the above.
“mask wearing got imbued with political symbolism and public displays of virtue”
It really didn’t. Those of us who followed CDC and scientific expert advice in order to reduce our risk of getting sick, dying, or getting others sick did so because we didn’t want to get sick or die or make other people sick. It’s really that simple. Many Republicans for some reason decided that public health measures were a declaration of political affiliation. Maybe more Repubs don’t believe in science? I still don’t really understand why. But when I give someone a dirty look in a store for not wearing a mask it’s because I am angry that they might make me sick which would make my life difficult bc i would miss work and my kids would not have their primary caregiver and god knows what other long term effects would happen if it didn’t kill me – not because I think that means they are a republican and therefore i must dislike them.
This. I wear a mask because I don’t want to die and I don’t want my loved ones to die and I don’t want some old woman I interact with in the grocery store to die. I respect health and science and I do NOT want to get COVID. That’s the beginning and end of it, lol. I don’t understand why staying healthy and being considerate is being politicized by Republicans.
Then stay home, and definitely stay the heck out of any retail establishment. Selfishness is not reason enough. I’ll be fully vaccinated by the second week of April and guess what? I’ll still continue to wear a mask 8+ hours a day at my retail job.
I’m with you.
for those of us who are not yet vaccinated (in my case, not even sure if I can get vaccinated) it’s not just performative. in addition to the fact there isn’t conclusive evidence yet, there are also a lot of people who refuse to wear masks who are unlikely to get vaccinated (because this is political to them & they’re covidiots) which still puts the general population at increased risk to even more new variants than we’d come across if we had achieved herd immunity.
Wow, I’m shocked by the OG’s comments. A mask is so simple and so effective, I do not understand the problem. I hope masks become part of the norm in crowded places like subways and airplanes. I finally understand why many Asian people in my city have been wearing them for years. Once you get used to it, it feels gross not to!
EDIT: someone posted a perfect line, below: “I can’t un-think about how disgusting those environments are.”
6% chance of contracting is not “infinitesimally low.” And with the J&J, almost 25% chance of contracting is way into the realm of statistical significance. Wear the mask.
5% chance of mild illness and 100% effective against severe illness. Plus then the statistical likelihood of passing it on to others, so you have to deal with both sets of statistics, and the fact that STUDIES are showing that people who are vaccinated do not pass on covid, so taken together, infinitesimally low. I really urge people to read the journal articles rather than trying to pick apart my argument if you havent read the studies.
Good for you. But they still do NOT know how long the vaccine is effective once you are fully vaccinated. And you can still get COVID even if you are vaccinated with all the variants circulating around. You may not get as sick (which was the goal of the vaccine) or be asymptomatic but you might still be able to transmit it to others who are not vaccinated. Getting a vaccine doesn’t make you invincible to COVID.
People like you complaining about masks being politicized is why COVID keeps spreading. It’s basic human decency to wear one and it’s not that hard. If you don’t want to wear one, don’t go to stores, don’t go to restaurants. It’s that simple. Stay home.
Wearing a mask if you are feeling ill and will be in a public indoor space is something other countries have done forever. It’s not political it’s called giving a damn about another person. COVID isn’t the only virus we can spread. Also the vaccine isn’t permanent immunity. COVID will not and I repeat won’t be the last virus to leap over the fence and become something new for our systems to encounter. So adapting to a new normal where we care about others and monitor our health is what we should focus on. Also a lot of folks are not vaccinated and furthermore the data on preventing infection isn’t all in so you could still be vaccinated and asymptomatic. I just, I mean other posters have written much better comments than I but the sheer gall of the complaint is astounding to me. I just siiiggghhh
I have an appointment for my first vaccination in two days. Even after I’m fully vaccinated, I will still be masking and distancing for the foreseeable future.
I will gather with vaccinated friends and family, but I can’t see handshaking in my future anymore. Maybe someday, but the paranoia is real.
I never liked handshaking, nor having someone practically standing on my heels while waiting in line.
Hmm, I thought this story was going to be about anxiety re: taking off masks in small social gatherings where everyone is vaccinated. Which I very much have anxiety about, because this past year has been emotionally scarring and it’s so hard to adjust to feeling safe around others unmasked.
That said, we’re ALL supposed to keep wearing masks in public until like 60-70% of our state/country is vaccinated. So even though I got my second dose, I’m fully expecting to need to wear a mask through the next several months or through the end of the year, and that’s no problem. I’m an anxious person and would have a lot of trouble if I was told after I was vaccinated I could suddenly run around Target maskless, lol. I probably won’t travel until 2022 unless things are miraculously much better over the summer (I have a yearly trip I usually take in October I canceled in 2020 — I’m only *sorta* hopeful it might happen in 2021.)
Once it’s truly safe to stop wearing masks? I’ll still wear them when traveling by train/plane/taxi. I can’t un-think about how disgusting those environments are.
Naomi Campbell was out on social media telling us about travel, wasn’t she?
Me too, even once it’s ok for covid, I plan on wearing a mask during travel, especially on planes. I’ve gotten sick far too many times after traveling.
I get my second shot in a few weeks, but right now only about 25% of my state has even had 1 shot, and I don’t trust anyone. We all should just keep wearing masks until the numbers reflect what they need to.
even vaxxed, I agree and would consider also wearing a mask for portions of travel for the foreseeable future. However, I just heard this story on NPR about how rhinoviruses do not care about masks and evade them quite easily. once schools in hong kong went back in person, with masks and distancing, the schools still managed to have huge outbreaks of rhinoviruses which then clogged the system for tests, teachers out for possible exposure, kids, parents etc, and it got so disruptive that they had to go virtual again, and it was just rhinoviruses, not covid.
I will be fully vaccinated in about a week and half (got the J&J here) and I will absolutely be wearing a mask for the foreseeable future. I’m getting a haircut for the first time in 1.5 years (I can barely get a brush through this mess) and I’m gonna be wearing a mask to keep the stylist I go to, protected! And I don’t want to get sick with a less severe version of the virus if it came down to it either! It’s the least I can do and it is beyond easy. I’m also appreciating masks just because I can be ugly in peace, haha, so I’m not entirely ready to ditch em, and honestly part of me hopes we kinda…don’t? I dunno yall! Just mask!
Also I don’t know if CVS has spots open outside of Texas, but that is how I got fixed up. To anyone out there looking for a spot. I made an appointment online. No line in the store. I was in and out in…maybe 45 minutes. It was eerie how few people were there for the vaccine beside me (seemingly no one, seriously). I’m not sure I’m allowed to post the direct link to the CVS site but I will try anyway in case anyone out there could use it – though I do not think there are openings in every state, and each state is going to have their own guidelines, etc etc, here is the link:
https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
Regardless, yall stay wearing those damn masks!!
CVS here only schedule a handful a day, because the pharmacists still have to do their regular work too, so that might be why you only saw a few for the vaccine. Those appointments have been hard to get here, but it is nice you don’t have to wait long. I waited over 2 hours, but it was well worth it, and unusual for the location I went to.
Oooh okay, thank you for informing me, I’m a dummy haha 🙂 And I agree with its worth! <3
I will be getting my first shot on Thursday. Not being around people for a year I have not gotten one cold and wore my mask religiously when going out to shop for basics and food. It didn’t even occur to me people were going maskless post vaccine shot. I fully intend to keep the same routine until we have reached herd immunity. And the mask covers my double chin so win win. I think a big part of country has normalized mask wear as other countries have when ill. So even years from now with the common cold. If I get sick I will wear my mask when needed.
I sure hope we normalize it! I work shoulder-to-shoulder in a semi-trailer with a crew of people that travel constantly or have young kids where someone is always gross and sick or about to come down to with something. In the last year I haven’t had a hint of any illness and the US has had what, ONE FLU DEATH?!? Wear your masks, especially if you don’t feel great in the future!
I follow the flu tracker app at work. As of last week we have had 2 cases of flu in my city this season. Last year at the same time there were nearly 300. Some of that can be attributed to kids not in school and people generally not going out but masks are definitely playing a roll. I personally hope that when we go back to “normal” people who are ill will wear masks in public. Flu isn’t as deadly as covid but it still kills people.
Lol. I am not going maskless anytime soon.
And by soon I mean into 2022.
I mean for real. Can’t imagine going into public with a bare face for a very long time ! I’m looking out my window right now and I see 3 or 4 construction workers digging holes. They are all huddled together, inches from each other’s face. Not a mask in sight !
My family and friends have all received their 2nd dose thankfully, but I’m still wearing a mask out in public or groups. I’m feeling safer to have those that are vaccinated And in my bubble over for massless gatherings.
And it’s still cold in my state… masks are great to keep your face warm.
The vaccine does not make you immune to Covid, just like the flu shot doesn’t mean you won’t get it. It minimizes symptoms, that’s all it does. This means that a person who might have ended up in the ICU with a ventilator will have mild-er symptoms.
People, WEAR A MASK. We are the virus’ vessel. People not wearing masks are spreading COVID like crazy and you never know how your body will react to it or who you might pass it on to!
Vaccines don’t stop you from getting the virus. They give your body a head start on fighting the virus when you catch it. But how long does that ‘head start’ last? What if you catch a variant the vaccine can’t protect you from? What if you get exposed by 2-3 people in such a short period of time that your immune system is overwhelmed even with the vaccine? We know a lot about viruses and vaccines, but not enough about this specific one. So my mask will stay on even after I get the second shot. Not just to protect other people, but to wait until we have more information.
I’ll be getting my second shot tomorrow, and have already set up three lunch dates, and bought tickets to my first concert in over a year! I will still mask up and basically act like I haven’t been vaccinated, but I have spent most of the last year hiding in my house, and at least I’ll feel safe going out.
I must be the only person who enjoys wearing a mask in public, just in general. Even before COVID I was grossed out by people who sneeze or cough without covering their mouth and a mask makes me feel better protected against viruses and seasonal sickness. Plus I like having my face covered up because I can run errands without makeup. It’s also reduced the annoying symptoms of my allergies, cut down on street harassment and keeps my face warm when it’s chilly out. Its definitely enhanced my experience with being in public.
My pandemic ptsd has really manifested when it comes to one’s distance from me. I feel SOOO much anxiety when someone gets within 6 feet of me even if they are masked or if I know they’re vaccinated. I had a dentist appt a few weeks ago and the entire time the dentist was in my space I was internally screaming “too close!”
Yes to everything in your first paragraph. I love the anonymity and protection of the mask
Ditto! I really hope it becomes standard for flu season; it was so nice not to go through my normal string of head colds this winter. Plus, I can stick out my tongue and nobody knows 😉
@Jamie, you’re not the only one, I like masking too! It just seems so much more considerate, sanitary, and safe to cover up the portals of snot when in public! 😃
All these vaccinated people! I have vaccine envy. Have no idea when I’ll be vaccinated. Definitely have some agoraphobia and depression. Hoping for better days soon.
It’s coming Mrs. Robinson. I really think this will be a good summer.
@mrsrobinson – thanks for admitting this. I have literally sat in my bed and sobbed over how long it will be before I can even try and sign up. only 30% of the 1A people in my county have a vaccine. the appointments are so hard to come by. this is my second birthday in quarantine, I live alone, and I prob wont be vaccinated until fall if that according to my congressperson. seeing other people get their vaccines and go on trips is making me feel like ive been left behind to die alone.that’s probably her dramatic but im so depressed. when Biden said we could start giving away vaccines to other countries in may I literally bawled. where do I have to move to get a vaccine?
I work in a hospital and my plan is to stop wearing a mask only after they stop requiring it at work. I’m kind of in a catch 22 though. I don’t want to stop wearing a mask until my maskne has cleared up but my maskne won’t clear up until I stop wearing a mask. I’m so sick of my skin being a wreck. I’m practicing good mask hygiene but between facial sweat and the weird fiber in surgical masks I have it way worse than I did in my teens 🙁 I have some places where I think it’s going to scar.
I’m about to buy some more masks, here. I’ve been fully vaccinated, and I’m still double masking and keeping distant from people, bc…I don’t trust them. I think people have varying levels of comfort with risk. I went to a car dealership to get my oil changed, and there were people talking on the phone (massless, and eating). I moved to the sales side of the dealership, and half of the sales staff weren’t wearing masks. I just wrote a letter to that owner of the dealership asking him to enforce mask wearing. People exhaust me.
I am getting my first of two shots today. Even after I get my second one, I will continue to wear a mask in public places unless I am outside where people are safely distanced (I don’t wear one walking my dog, for example, because it’s easy to stay ten feet away from everyone while doing so).
I live in Texas where our idiot Governor is allowing things to open up too soon, so I don’t want anyone who’s been bar-hopping breathing on me. I also like not getting colds.
BUT it gets very, very hot here starting in April/May so I will probably cut back some at that point, taking it on a case-by-case basis. I have already flown twice during the Pandemic. They are being very strict about the protocol in airports and planes, at least in my experience. Also, the planes have been half empty, which helps.
I feel like I’m going to be socially awkward when/if I return to normal things like going into the office. It’s going to take me years to process all that has happened. I think others must feel that way too.
I think the continued mask wearing is more about the fact that in public you don’t know who is vaccinated and who isn’t. I think the US as a whole is approaching 30% who’ve had one shot and maybe 10% ish that have had both doses. The majority of people are not fully vaccinated yet. I believe we will get there though.
I am getting my 2nd shot tomorrow and I’m worried – I hope I don’t feel like crap after. Everyone reacts differently. My arm was very sore after the first and I felt achy. I have been unemployed since last September and I don’t go out often; I hate wearing the mask and the cold weather makes my nose run and I have to keep wiping my face. Sometimes I will go stand by myself for a few minutes without the mask – grateful to get sun on me and take a few breaths. Otherwise, I always wear it. I have taken the subway and everyone is compliant- but I tend to avoid trains for the most part. It’s been a rough year – best wishes to everyone!
Hey just think of it this way. You’re so lucky to be getting vaccinated right now. As a Canadian, I am jealous !
I had a hot flash or something the other day in the middle of a store, and so badly wanted to rip my mask off! That’s the way to do it though if you need a breather, get outside and away from others.
Yes, it’s true everyone reacts differently. The good news is your reach in brief.
Once the vaccine is done teaching your immune system how to fight off covid, you’ll feel better. Only take Tylenol if you get a high fever. At most, you are looking at somewhere around 36 – 48 hrs of feeling like crap.
I was achy and totally exhausted after my second shot. My husband just had a sore arm and a minor headache after his recent first shot (he’s over 60). And my spawn (they both work part time in community hab for an agency that provided all their employees with the vax) had little to no symptoms other than a sore arm following both shots. We all had Moderna.
I just had the first Moderna shot also. Only side effect was a sore arm.
It’s going to be very strange. Although I am thrilled about being able to share a meal with my adult children soon! But that doesn’t change public behavior as far as masking at all.
I’m fully vaccinated but I still wear masks. I’ve stopped double masking, though. I have hugged and kissed my parents, my Granny and an aunt, which was nice. But…I don’t trust the greater public. I live in an Atlanta suburb and yeah, I saw too many yolo fools last weekend to trust people outside my circle.
Wearing a mask even after fully vaccinated. Too many people still think COVID is a hoax and some states are opening up for all adults to get vaccinated because too many who are eligible for the vaccination passed on it. Plus they said we won’t be approaching herd until kids get fully vaccinated anyway.
Like you mentioned, I didn’t get my usual sinus infections and colds since I started wearing a mask. I’m a believer. I think I’ll keep wearing them and keep cleaning my hands vigorously… maybe forever.
for those of you who’ve recently started your vaccinations or are scheduling them now, please consider registering at https://VSAFE.cdc.gov
“V-safe is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Through v-safe, you can quickly tell CDC if you have any side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Depending on your answers, someone from CDC may call to check on you and get more information. V-safe will also remind you to get your second COVID-19 vaccine dose if you need one.”
all the side effects you report via V-Safe will be shared with the FDA and the manufacturers to improve safety surveillance (& it’s probably easier than navigating to the manufacturer’s website and reporting there)
Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s helpful for you and the CDC. If you want you can use it as a reminder system to get your second dose.
Absolutely right about V-safe. I’ve been doing that since I got my first vaccine. I had some wicked joint pain and “covid arm “with the second one and a cdc person actually called me.
that’s interesting they actually called.
I had 13 hours of nothing after the second dose and then wham at 10pm I got totally aches, body shaking like ive never experienced before, freezing freezing, I slept in a hat and polar fleece, horrible headache at 3am, weird dreams, took meds at 5am for my screaming pounding head, felt hungover the rest of the day, and then the next morning I was doing my usual workout. Was all worth it though. definitely got the mini-version of the rona from moderna vaccine.
Huh. I’m one of the very few who had an anaphylactic reaction to the covid vaccine (probably one of the preservatives). I registered on v-safe and never got a call. I’m also livid my state is dropping the mask mandate in April and where I teach is following suit. It’s a very red state so I’m not surprised. Sad. But not surprised.
@Pottymouth – I signed up w that right after my first shot as I was waiting to leave. Maybe it’s because I have been isolated and lonely, but it was nice to be checked up on!
This is so well-put, Oya. My parents have been vaccinated and are getting their life back. I am thrilled for them and can’t wait to rejoin them, but wearing a mask and washing hands kept me from getting sick this year and I may keep up the habit, especially during travel.
I’m getting my first dose on Friday. Has the question been answered of how long the vaccine actually lasts?? Do we even have enough testing to know? Is it something we’ll need to take on a yearly basis like the flu shot because people are acting like it’s a one and done thing.
I heard it will probably be an annual shot like the flu shot.
Wow, all these people already vaccinated. I live in a large metro area and there isn’t enough vaccine and appointments are really hard to get. Somehow everyone I know in rural areas of our state are already vaccinated and if I want to drive 300 miles I guess I can get vaccinated there, but honestly, it’s starting to make me mad. I understand they are trying to be “equitable” about this but come on, please send more vaccine to where people actually live and it’s more dense, hence, greater chance of getting it? All the mask deniers in rural areas – it’s now very easy for them to get vaccinated whereas I’ve been trying for weeks and can’t get an appointment (I have an underlying health condition that sort of makes me eligible? Our state is such a mess I don’t even know anymore). People are starting to get super annoyed and I’m tired of all these “get vaccinated” ads – I would have gotten vaccinated weeks ago if I could find an appointment! I’m very jealous of all you folks who are vaccinated. At this point, it’ll probably be June. And don’t get me started on the g.d. Baby Boomers who all got their vaccines and are now happily vacationing and posting their pics on Facebook. I don’t care if they are old, they’re still annoying. Rant off.
Same. I live in a large metro area and the only people I see getting vaccinated are white folks. Meanwhile, I haven’t left my home for almost two months because of the anxiety and no-maskers and being in such a high-risk area and demographic. I just want to know when Black people and BIPOC can get vaccinated.
I think that even when everything returns to ‘normal’ it would be a good idea to adopt the practise of wearing a mask when you have a cold or flu to reduce the likelihood of spreading it to others.
I’m so curious about all of the people on here who are done or almost done with their vaccinations. Wondering about the BIPOC folks since it seems like there’s quite a bit of vaccine apartheid going on in this country. Meanwhile, due to being Black, in a high-risk area and demographic, with people flouting the rules every chance they get, my anxiety level was so high, I had to start anti-anxiety meds which I’m completely off of now that I hired a shopper to get groceries weekly (she’s been vaccinated and wears a mask all the time) and haven’t left my apartment since the beginning of February. And I will stay here and not leave for the next two months if that’s what it takes. I just need to know how a *Black* person can get the vaccine. (And please do not comment that I should look at the CDC or government websites.)
Anna, thanks for this comment, and much sympathy for the anxiety side of it. What I have seen is that access – just like most things in this country – is helped by your network and the sort of ‘tips’ they can give you. For example, a perfectly healthy 45 year old white dude told me he qualified because he has excema (!!!) And therefor an auto-immune disease! Another basically qualified himself as an essential worker by calling the state department and karen-ing regarding the amount of people he was in close contact with on a daily basis. It’s all loopholes and also if you have family/friends that are in medicine or pharmacy work, seriously take advantage of them bending the rules on your behalf because THAT is the majority of what is happening with the <60 people I've heard got it. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing this @ce At the same time, this is so rage-inducing. I am immune compromised but my doctor said it doesn’t qualify. I’m also guessing it’s probably a lot easier for white people to “karen” (it is named after them after all) than for any BIPOC to try to wrangle a vaccine even when we’re technically qualified to get one.
Anna, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I was fortunate to get invited to schedule a vaccine via my state’s Department of Health. But I got my at-risk mom an appointment by basically stalking Facebook groups and Twitter accounts that make people aware of appointment availability. Your state should have a vaccine Facebook group, and there are a lot of amazing volunteers helping people find appointments.
I should note that my state is pretty much working on the honor system, no doctor’s note required. The situation might be different for you.
I got my vaccine because I’m a health care worker. Everyone I know that got vaccinated is because they are also a healthcare worker or over the age of 65. If you don’t meet the criteria in regards to employment, age or medical conditions, I’m not sure how people are getting vaccinated. Unless they are waiting for the remaining shots of the day that would otherwise be thrown out. I’m not sure what determines certain states to get more vaccines then others.
I’m in Illinois and we have mass vaccine clinics specifically for the Black community (and the Hispanic/Latino community) in our major cities. You might also check with your local Walgreens, Jewel Osco, or CVS pharmacy as they are all administering the vaccine as well. It depends which phase your state is in. In mine we are in 1B (seniors, frontline workers, and those with medical conditions that put them at high risk). I work for a local health department — call yours and see if they can help at all. At our clinics if we have leftover doses at the end of the day, we call people in to get them. Ask if there’s a waiting list or if you can wait for an unused dose (if you have the time, I know not everyone does). My experience is that if you come in person at the end of the day, they are likely to let you in.
My vaccine appt is on Thursday and I’m still masking up regardless. There are still variants out there so better safe than sorry tbh. I’m trying to get around my fear of needles, they say think of the plus side of the shot because it helps with the fear of the actual needle.
I don’t think life will be like how we knew it before. I’ve accepted the fact that even going to the movies will be different once things are up and open again.
My vaccine first appointment is tomorrow. I am pregnant and have been having trouble sleeping so I used it to my advantage and kept checking the CVS website every time I woke up at night. I had my husband and my insurance cards by my bed and snagged appointments at 3am. We both work in food service so the stress of having to work with the public and constantly monitoring employees was sky high. I will only take off my mask whilst exercising outdoors after i’m vaccinated because asthma is a bitch with a mask. I also bought a pro vaccine t-shirt off of Etsy to celebrate.
I’m sure this has been pointed out, but nobody should be removing their masks, vaccinated or not. You can be vaccinated and still be a carrier and infect others.
I’ve spent so long indoors abiding by guidelines and trying to keep myself and my family well. The shock will be not having my house walls around me, let alone a mask. We’ll all be wearing masks until we’re told not to, despite having had the vaccine. The biggest shock will be going into a shop. We’ve relied on deliveries and I haven’t been into a shop for 11 months. Can you imagine ever shaking anyone’s hand again?