Quote:
Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees
Remind me, which other respiratory illnesses in our lifetime have caused the levels of severe illness & death that covid has ?
When covid becomes endemic and correct me if I’m wrong but the last I knew we were still in a pandemic & when we have cases in the hundreds a day rather than 30,000 a day and when deaths are at the same level as winter flu then I’ll probably stop wearing a mask.
I’d suggest you’re going to be wearing them in certain situations for a while yet, flights etc.
Wearing a mask to protect others isn’t a hardship really is it
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You’re not comparing apples with apples, as I think you know.
We’re not discussing mask-wearing during the novel infection for which there was no natural immunity and no vaccine. We’re discussing mask-wearing in the present context, in which the link between infection and serious illness has demonstrably been broken.
The heightened level of hospitalisation compared to winter flu is overwhelmingly being driven by younger people who thought they knew better and didn’t bother getting jabbed when invited to do so. That will change. We know the vaccines work.
And actually, wearing a mask is a hardship for a great many people. I’m dealing with it week in, week out at church, with a lot of people who have been isolated for a long time, who are craving social contact and who are finding it very difficult to reconnect from behind a mask. Sunday morning worship is also extremely meaningful for them and it’s being hindered by the fact that everyone in Scotland is still meant to be wearing a mask in church even while singing (no masks required on the sweaty dance floor up the road on a Saturday night though). We’re thankful that the masks can at least come off for a few minutes afterwards over tea and biscuits.
There are other things than covid that are injurious to human health. The pandemic has exacted a serious cost in terms of mental well-being and the worst thing we can do now is exacerbate that problem with unnecessary restrictions on daily life.