Opinion: With COVID-19 mask choices, let's show patience and grace

2022-05-29 11:35:10 By : Mr. Michael Ma

You’re fully vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says you don’t need to wear a mask during routine outings. So you head to the grocery store with a bare face for the first time in more than a year. This is one of those moments you've been looking forward to. 

But the employees are wearing masks. Most of the customers are, too. And, boy, do you feel awkward.

You don’t want fellow customers to think you’re an anti-masker. You don’t have a sign around your neck that says you were injected with a second dose of Pfizer weeks ago. You don’t want to make others uncomfortable. You fear now being on the receiving end of dirty looks.

So maybe you pull a mask out of your purse or pocket and put it on. 

On your way home, you stop at a garage sale. No one is wearing masks, so you don’t, either. 

This is what a transitional period looks like. And transitions are frequently difficult. Just a few months ago, the people we saw not wearing masks were rejecting pandemic guidance. Now the ones not wearing masks may be vaccinated and following guidance. 

More:Love it or hate it? Why some Iowans support the new Iowa law banning mask mandates and others worry

Please, everyone, have a little patience and grace during this time. We generally have no idea where strangers are in their mask-wearing lives. 

They may be fully vaccinated but required to wear a mask while working. They may be fully vaccinated but have cancer or other conditions that compromise their immunity and they don’t feel safe. They may not be vaccinated and don’t want to wear a mask. They may be too young to qualify for a shot right now. 

We don’t necessarily know. And that's OK. At this point, we will, collectively, gain more from deference than from confrontation. 

What we do know: Those of us who are fully vaccinated are well protected against serious illness and death from COVID-19.

More:Iowa passes a law banning mask mandates

The Cleveland Clinic recently reported preliminary data showing 99% of the 4,300 admissions to the hospital between January and mid-April were patients who had not been fully immunized. 

Another set of data looking at hospital employees found pretty much the same thing. Four months after a COVID-19 vaccine was offered to hospital workers, 99.7% of infections happened in unvaccinated employees.

“This vaccine is highly effective to prevent our community from getting sick, not only our caregivers but the community. We have data on both. It cannot be more clear the message that vaccines work, and it’s the key action that we need to do to get back to our normal lives as they were before coronavirus,” said Dr. Eduardo Mireles, director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit.

More:Faced with hostility and even vandalism, Waukee bowling alley gives up its mask requirement

Vaccinated Iowans chose to listen to doctors and take a precaution that will help save our own lives, prevent us from contributing to the development of new virus variants and protect those we come in contact with, including our children and others in the age group too young to vaccinate at this point.

We are largely safe resuming much of our pre-pandemic lives. That includes not worrying so much about who is wearing a mask and who isn’t. 

Let’s just buy our groceries and keep washing our hands.