wednesday, I too like the idea of keeping mask-wearing more normal. It can help curb the spread of regular colds and flu. I hope 2020 represents at bit of a cultural change here in the USA -- an awareness of keeping one's germs to one's self!

I’ve been lax for a few weeks but was just saying to my wife that with recent upticks I think I’m going to make an effort to wear them again while shopping. Enough people are still wearing them to where I won’t feel like the odd man out. I actually feel more awkward maneuvering around masked people, trying to avoid them such as not to make them feel uncomfortable.

I need a t-shirt: vaccinated AND masked, like Justin Wilson's belt AND suspenders!

And while we've been just slowly beginning to join smaller groups again, a new issue came up yesterday. Class reunion invitation for DH's class, event that was postponed last year. A no host Friday night cocktails, full party with dinner at a riverfront indoor venue the following afternoon. It was a large class, with always a very good turnout from all over the country and overseas - somehow a class that has stayed in touch and current with each other.

DH is saying only 'maybe'. It's mid September, 8 weeks out. My sister was in that class and has already mailed her reservation.

In the meantime, counties in several states are beginning to reinstate mask mandates. Just yesterday in my own, 'Dr. Ali Mokdad with the institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington", responsible for keeping much of our state's covid data, is saying masks need to be mandated again here. Too many new cases, mostly among the younger population....

I feel like Scarlett Gone with the Wind....I'll think about that tomorrow ;0)

Awhile back I saw a thing that said the "V" sign in WWII stood for victory....in the 70s it was the peace sign and now in 2020s it means "I've been vaccinated!"

I am vaxxed and still masked indoors around large numbers of people. I hve zero interest in hosting this virus, even a short, low drama bout with this pathogen could leave long term scars, no thank you.

What is our future in the coming months? SCHOOLS CLOSING? FINISHING OFF THE SMALL BUSINESSES? REACHING A MILLION DEATHS BY CHRISTMAS? Will we have to worry about Voter Surpression laws in the states with the highest death rates.

Did you read today that Canada is is almost fully vaccinated.

“Did you read today that Canada is is almost fully vaccinated.”

No, I hadn’t heard that. Must have been busy yesterday, because from what I see on the 16th they had just overtaken the US with 48.45%.

My statement corrected

The New York Times July 18, 2021

Canada’s vaccination rate is now higher than the United States rate, as the country has overcome months of production and shipping delays that had left it lagging its southern neighbor.

Over 49 percent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated, and 70 percent have at least one dose as of July 17, according to the most recent figures available through the Our World In Data project.

The United States now trails Canada by about 1 percent among the fully vaccinated, who account for over 48 percent of its population, while only about 55 percent have received at least one dose.

70% doesn’t even equal ”almost fully vaccinated”.

I absolutely wear a mask, and given the rate at which Covid cases are rising, and the the degree to which the Delta variant is contagious, I think I'll be wearing a mask for a long time. In fact, I was thinking of getting some new ones.

I was sitting in the dentist's waiting room the other day, masked, when a man came in, unmasked. The receptionist, masked, told him he needed one. "Why?" he practically bellowed. "Covid is over!" Um, no. It's not.

The receptionist was so polite, apologizing for their mask mandate, and persuaded the jerk to take one from the box she offered him. He sat down and put the mask on . . . under his chin.

The receptionist said to me later, "You have no idea what we have to deal with here." I have a pretty good idea though.

My county and two neighboring counties have vaccination rates ranging from 37% to 52%. And that's not even fully vaccinated; it's one or more shots. This time of year we also have a large influx of vacationers. I have no idea idea what their status is, but I'm not feeling very trusting these days.

"Even the masks that medical personnel use to stop viruses have to be individually fitted and worn properly to be effective."

Wrong. It will be effective -- just not fully effective. Effective isn't an on/off switch - there are degrees of effectiveness. To be maximally effective (to the 95% state), yes, they must be properly fitter. But unless you're wearing them wrong, they'll still be significantly effective, maybe even mostly effective. As for cotton masks.......As long as there is more than 1 layer, it too will be effective, because even if a droplet carrying a virus particle passes through one layer, it will likely be stopped by further layers. Again, it's not an all or nothing thing: The more layers and the tighter the weave, the more effective. Not as effective as an N95 or even surgical mask, but, yes, they are effective.

The world has shades of gray - it's almost never either black or white.

I could have sworn I wrote a response to this post, but it looks like I didn't. Yes, I'm fully vaccinated and I still wear a mask indoors at work or elsewhere......it's the law. I don't wear a mask when I'm outside, even passing people on the street.

"Over 49 percent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated, and 70 percent have at least one dose"

As of Sunday night, Canada has 56.5% of those over 12 fully vaccinated, and the number is just over 60% in Ontario.......it's going great! Restaurants are allowed to offer some indoor dining now.

Wrong Toronto Veterinarian,

Yes, the masks that medical personnel wear to protect themselves from Mycobacterium and any smaller organisms such as all viruses must be fitted and properly worn.

Effective = the contagion cannot pass through / Ineffective = the contagion can pass through

It is a on/off or yes/no situation.

No. Unless it is mandated like medical buildings.

No, Raye, Toronto Vet's explanation is quite correct.

It has been over a century since simple gauze masks were proven to significantly reduce the transmission of disease... and those were nowhere near the effectiveness of today's materials and construction. Before N95s came on the scene, before modern meltblown procedure masks, medical personnel did experience protection from TB and other respiratory/airborne with cotton masks - just not protection to the degree possible now. .

You are making a false extrapolation from the practice of fit testing N95 masks for personnel who will be in close physical proximity and contact with infected patients, in small rooms, in order to have the maximum protection currently available, to the assumption that this means that there is no reasonable effectiveness otherwise. And that is simply not correct.

I am fully vaccinated and still wear a mask in public places. What worries me however, is that almost my entire family either claim they had Covid or are unvaccinated. I haven't worn a mask when visiting, still try to keep some distance. I may have to start wearing a mask around them again. I'm sure I will be the object of their ridicule, but I don't really care at this point.

YES.

Just remember that ridicule will not kill you.

If you are part of the small percentage of vaccinated people who get Covid you can pass it on and since you probably will have minimal effect you might not know you have it. I feel that masks are a small price to pay for trying to make sure you dont pass this on. I personally know people who this would mean something to. And then there are the kids. Cant we wear masks for the kids?

"Effective = the contagion cannot pass through / Ineffective = the contagion can pass through

It is a on/off or yes/no situation."

If you believe that, then I guess you don't use any medication, and you've never had and won't have any surgery, because those things are not 100% effective in 100% of people either, which for you means ineffective. And I guess you don't bother with education or think your children or grandchildren should bother with going to school, because since students don't learn things fully, 100% correctly, then schooling is ineffective. I'm sure you won't get vaccinated against Covid and are not in favour of ever vaccinating anyone for anything, since they're not 100% effective either, which for you means ineffective. And I'm sure you never get in an elevator, since elevator safety systems have been known to fail, so they're obviously not 100% effective i.e. ineffective.

Yikes, we are fully vaccinated. Last week, we drove from Ontario, canada to visit our (fully vaccinated) daughter in Chicago. Ont, has been in serious lockdown for awhile now, and what a relief to be free, so no we did not wear masks. Ont. case loads were very very low and ottawa had 0 new cases for a few days.

DD’s roomates/friends that we met are also fully vaccinated. We just returned home a few days ago. Guess what, one of her fully vacc.friend just tested positive. Unfortunately, yesterday, we had dinner with family and 90yr old parents before finding out this am. Thankfully, Everyone is FVacc. We tested Neg. before crossing border. .

Back home for 4 days, No symptoms at this point. CDC states no need for tesing if no symptoms. We will feel beyond horrible if we pass this onto vulnerable family members.

The impact of possibly testing positive will be tremendous...if it can happen to us it can happen to others. Mayb the border should remain closed! The possibility of a 4th wave is scary too..

Covid lives and thrives among us.

likestonehomes, you may want to get tested anyway....a lot of people who are fully vaxed who get covid show no symptoms, but for the safety of those around you, if you are positive, you may want to quarantine.

People don't seem to realize (not saying you're one of them) that even if you have had both of your shots you are not immune to getting Covid. Like the flu shot: you can still get Covid and pass it along. Though symptoms will be milder or none at all just like the flu shot. You can still get the flu after having a flu shot.

An AP story in today's Chicago Tribune says that LA County reported Sunday that it had 1,635 new cases of Covid19, the 10th straight day over a thousand cases. When they lifted masking/distancing June 15, there were 210 a day. They are reinstituting masking/distancing.

In Alabama, the windsock governor (my words) says people should "...use their common sense..." Oh well, hospitalizations in Alabama have only *doubled* in a month, and only a third of the population is vaccinated. (She wouldn't want to offend her conservative base by encouraging the 'common sense' of getting vaccinated!)

In Springfield, MO the mayor says that social media encourages people to talk "...about fears which they have...about what (a vaccine) might do them later on in their lives, what might be contained in the vaccines." Unlike Gov. Ivey in Alabama, he clearly labels this as false information.

If only this were just 'Darwinism at work', but it's not. Nay-sayers and wafflers like Gov. Ivey are endangering everyone else by giving the virus a willing supply of bodies in which to replicate and strengthen by mutation. The virus welcomes the opportunity.

Here's some good info from NPR.org:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/07/17/1017075240/delta-variant-is-spreading-fast-and-new-cases-are-rising-is-time-to-mask-up-agai

"...How much more contagious is the delta variant, really?

Very. As NPR has reported, delta appears to be about 225% more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 strains. One recent preprint study from China found that people who are infected with delta have — on average — about 1,000 times more copies of the virus in their respiratory tracts than those infected with the original strain, and are infectious earlier in the course of their illness....

...If I'm vaccinated, can I get sick with delta?

Yes, but don't panic. The vaccines are effective against the delta variant, and though it's still possible to get infected, the vaccines dramatically reduce the risk of serious illness that leads to hospitalization or death. A study from the U.K. found that the Pfizer vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization from the delta variant after two doses.

For context, the CDC has documented a total of 5,492 cases of fully vaccinated people who were hospitalized or died from COVID-19, among the 160 million people have been fully vaccinated in this country.

It's not clear how many of these breakthrough infections are from delta variant cases, but it has quickly become the dominant variant in circulation.

Though the CDC only tracks breakthrough infections that lead to hospitalization and death, some states are keeping track of every case, even the mild ones. In Massachusetts, there have been about 4,450 confirmed breakthrough cases or about .1% of all vaccinated people, as WBUR reported....

...What about long COVID-19?

While the risk of getting sick if you're vaccinated is very low, if you do get a symptomatic case, it's likely still possible to end up with long-haul COVID-19 symptoms, according to virologist Angela Rasmussen who works with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. She notes the data is still quite limited though.

"Even if you don't end up in the hospital, there's certainly a possibility that you could end up with long COVID," she says. "So, the safest thing to do is to avoid being infected altogether."

Should I go back to wearing a mask in public?

Many health experts say that may be a smart move, especially when you're going to be indoors with people who may be unvaccinated and unmasked.

"I would," says Chu of the University of Washington. "I haven't stopped masking indoors."

For her, the calculus has to do with having unvaccinated children at home and not wanting to put them at risk. "Everyone makes their own risk assessment," she says. But with delta cases increasing, "it would be prudent to start doing indoor masking again," she says, particularly as we head into fall.

Masking may especially make sense in places with rising rates of infection, says Bill Miller, a physician and epidemiologist at The Ohio State University.

It's clear that unvaccinated people are not following the recommended indoor-masking guidelines, he notes. "You go into a grocery store and 95% of the people are unmasked when we haven't come close to that level of vaccination," Miller says. This can put people at risk, including children, and people who are immunocompromised.

Miller says he continues to wear a mask in public places, even though he's fully vaccinated. "I know that I am extremely unlikely to get seriously ill. But I also know that if I am exposed, I may become infected and pass it on to others," he says...."

"Covid thrives and lives among us." SO very true. Even with two shots months ago, I might not die if I get it but I don't want to be sick at all or slightly infected and passing it on to little kids.

In the last couple months I am only wearing a mask where it is requested/required like the 2 times I have been to a doctor's office. 95% of retail establishments dropped the mask requirement when the local counties dropped the mandate. I do sill see a lot of workers still wearing them at grocery stores, etc. My son works part time at Walmart while attending college and their policy is that vaccinated associates do not need to wear a mask.

Wearing a mask and distancing seems to have worked for me so far, so I'll continue with a mask when I go in to stores that I will be in for a while even though I'm vaccinated. And even though I'm vaccinated and should be protected, I'm still leary of unvaccinated A-holes who wont mask up...SOOOO I'm just doing me and what makes me feel safe whether proven or not.

Yes, especially with the Delta variant around. We have three granddaughters too young for the vaccines (preemie twins who just turned one year old) and their big sister who will be three near the end of the month. We have worried so about the twins who were both only about 1.5 lbs when they were born that there is no way I will take any chances. now!

From our local on-line paper:

Among the 854 vaccine breakthrough cases [in our state], 393 had reported symptoms of the disease and 150 have been hospitalized. Most hospitalizations have occurred among residents 55 years and older, Boyle told Patch.

Seventeen of the 21 COVID-19 associated deaths among the breakthrough cases were suffered by the oldest population, aged 75 and over. Two were in the age group 55-64, and two were 65-74 years of age. Nationally, the CDC has reported a total of 988 vaccine breakthrough deaths.

Since masks humidify the air as you breathe it they help mucus, one the first defenses of your immune system do its job.

High levels of humidity may help limit the spread of a virus to the lungs. Humidity supports a defense mechanism that removes mucus from the lungs—along with potentially harmful particles, such as viruses, within the mucus. Low levels of humidity can also hamper the immune system’s ability to fight against viruses. This may help explain why people are more likely to get respiratory infections in cold weather.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/humidity-masks-may-lessen-severity-covid-19

Just checked on my county, last hospitalization was one patient the first week of June. Same for deaths, last one was that first week of June, over six weeks ago.

Yes, if I go anywhere. I only go out about once a month. I don't do my own shopping.

Sue

As of this morning, my county is 42% vaccinated. Judging from the number of unmasked people in stores, it would seem the unvaccinated are either not shopping or they're lying.

Oh they are absolutely lying. The anti-mask/anti-vaccine people took this opportunity to pretend to be vaccinated and exposing everyone else to covid. They would rather people die than be slightly inconvenienced with a mask.

"Just checked on my county, last hospitalization was one patient the first week of June. Same for deaths, last one was that first week of June, over six weeks ago."

What is the population of your county? Is it urban/suburban or rural? Where generally is it located?

Alisande - are masks required for unvaccinated people where you live, or just recommended? In my state (Oregon) there are no mask requirements for anyone, except in medical facilities and on public transport.

@Annie, tested Neg. Interestingly, so did DD roommates who were in very very close proximity to individual who tested pos.

Up in Ottawa masks stilll mandatory, vaccine rates over 70% and cases very very low. Infection rate .1% and no one in hosp.

Depends.

I am in a high-vaxxed state. I don't wear mine outdoors (seldom did anyway unless it was where there were people outdoors as well - there were a bunch of us outdoors to watch the demolition of a couple buildings at the center of town that truly needed to be ripped out, I masked for that last summer.....probably our biggest event of 2020.... anything official and social for that year had been cancelled.)

I do wear a mask when I go into nearly any big box store. But if there is practically no one parked outside the Tractor Supply at 8 or so in the morning, I don't wear one. I notice there are fewer people wearing masks in the PriceChopper supermarket every time I go there.

There are some small shops here and there that still require them. Our state rules are that enterprises can set their own rules, now. The weekend before last a friend and I went to an outdoor dance performance, and even though it was outdoors, the venue required us to e-mail vaxx status, and we had to wear masks most of the time. They also set benches 6 feet apart, and they encouraged people sharing a bench to be in a party together (or wear masks).

There are no more Senior/Immune-compromised timeframes for people to go into stores. (Which since the one supermarket that I visit most regularly happened between 6-7 AM, I never managed to make anyway - especially as it takes a good 35 minutes to drive there!)

Am I wearing my mask out of "fear"? No. It's just that is is no biggie to put on a mask for a 30 minute jaunt through a store for groceries. And if someone glares at me because they assume I'm refusing the vaxx, or because they think I'm a "sheeple",I can always stick my tongue out at them, and they'll never know (yeah, a little introverted passive-aggressiveness never hurt anyone...)

PS: Not sure what the winter holds, but I have to admit wearing a mask running from the car to the store and back again when the temps were frigid - I LIKED having a warm face!

My state ranks 5th in vaccinations and my county is ranked high in the 67 counties in PA. However, I still wear a mask in stores, not around family and not outside.

Me wearing a mask protects others, not me ... I have been innoculated plus I have the antibodies. Sorry if that upsets some. I have cancelled my trip next month because of the airline stance on masks.

Terezosa, I don't think PA has a mask requirement, but I if other Pennsylvanians have more information I hope they'll weigh in. The last I heard, it was okay for the fully vaccinated to go unmasked into stores and other public buildings.

My dentist office told me masks are required, vaccinated or not, in all medical offices. I wish the staffs in these offices were required to be vaccinated. I know some in my cardiologist's office are not--and the chairs in his waiting room are not a good distance apart.

"Me wearing a mask protects others, not me ... I have been innoculated plus I have the antibodies."

Partially right........But why don't you care about protecting others from a highly contagious disease that might leave them sick for years and years to come?

Regardless, here's why you're only partially right: Protecting others is also necessary for protecting yourself. The more other people that become infected with Covid, the more opportunity the virus has to mutate. The more the virus mutates, the less likely it is that the vaccinations (and especially natural immunity) will continue to protect us.

I'm sure you can see that's particularly important when it comes to transportation hubs and methods, where people from a bunch of different places with a range of different immunity mix. It's not over anywhere, until it's over everywhere.

Bears repeating: It's not over anywhere, until it's over everywhere.

Sorry if that upsets some. I have cancelled my trip next month because of the airline stance on masks.

First of all, it's not the airline's stance - masks are required on all forms of public transportation. It doesn't upset me in the slightest that you have decided not to fly because it's too onerous for you to wear a mask. Despite being fully jabbed I wouldn't board a plane with a bunch of unmasked people.

^^^ It didn't seem to bother the Texas state congressional democrats that fled to DC.

“Sorry if that upsets some. I have cancelled my trip next month because of the airline stance on masks.”

I guess the trip wasn’t important to you.

^^^^ I expect all of those legislators were fully vaxxed, and assumed that they were fully immune. This just demonstrates that, just like with many vaccines (especially in the case of a rapidly mutation virus), immunity is not 100%; rather, just as the experts have been saying, for any that do become infected in spite of the vaccination, the severity of the illness will be ameliorated.

"I guess the trip wasn’t important to you."

no, it was just a planned vacation out east.

I'm gonna hit some area farm ponds instead, and yeah, I will probably mask my bait ....

Better to face a novel deadly virus with an educated immune system than not....

No