I don't know who needs to hear this, but Covid-19 is NOT over.

We are in the middle of another surge (perhaps the 2nd largest of the entire pandemic) with two new Omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5, which are much more transmissible and have a higher rate of breakthrough infections for the vaccinated than the prior strains. Covid vaccines and boosters (I've had all four) should protect most people from death, but staying infection-free should be the goal. Long Covid is real, affecting millions of people with symptoms long after the initial infection has cleared up. What's that old saying? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

I believe we should all be wearing KN95 and N95 masks (a KN94 mask isn’t bad either) when out and about, especially indoors, where air quality is at its worst. Please do it for yourself, your friends and family, and the community, including the immunocompromised. You never know the details of someone else's health situation (like cancer, organ transplant recipient, etc.) or covid infection status. It's probably best in this latest surge to assume you are running into someone positive daily. That's why I wear a KN95 or N95 mask whenever I leave my home. I'm still very particular about where I go (rarely indoors) and don't do crowds (masked or unmasked). Is it a little inconvenient or lonely at times? Yup. But as luck would have it, I fall in that immunocompromised category, so being less vigilant wasn't an option for me. So after two and half years, I've managed to remain Covid-19 negative, even after a week-long stay in the hospital for my back surgery.

The Advoc8te masked up at the hair salon.

I'm 45, semi-fabulous, and god-willing will live for the next 30, 40, or 50 years. I prefer to do so without the added challenges of long-covid symptoms or other covid-related side effects. Wearing a properly fitted KN95 or N95 mask seems like a minor inconvenience if it maximizes my quality of life down the road.

In addition to coronavirus, there is Monkeypox (also on the rise), colds, the flu, or any other nasty respiratory ailment that a proper mask can help prevent. Just because coronavirus isn't getting the front-page headlines, Tweets, or TikToks like it used to doesn't mean it's still not a concern. I'm in the press; we constantly drop coverage of important stories. Just because we've changed the subject doesn't mean the risk has changed. And don't get me started on government messaging. Did you know that the DC government had $50 million dollars in federal funding for struggling homeowners and that they forgot to get it out of the door until a few days before the deadline?! Who forgets or doesn’t prioritize $50,000,000?! So are you allowing underpaid civil servants and overly motivated marketing managers to convince you to spend all weekend packed like sardines at maskless parties and festivals and not get infected? Come on! We know better! I'm not saying, "don't go," but wear a KN95 or N95 mask before you go. Coronavirus is airborne; think of it traveling like cigarette smoke. Imagine if everyone in your office, restaurant, classroom, etc., was smoking. What would you do? Speaking for myself, I would try to diminish the amount of smoke I had to breathe in and open a window. Think of masks as your protection against second-hand covid, which works better when the protection goes both ways.

BA.4 and BA.5 transmission rates make dropping coronavirus infection protections seem very unwise - particularly in already under-resourced communities. In addition to "Covid-fatigue," peer pressure is causing a lot of people to ignore their common sense. Now compare that to other health mitigations we take as a part of everyday life.

We wash our hands before we eat.
We put on seatbelts when we get in a car.
We wear a helmet when we bike.
We use protection when we have sex.

There has never been a time limit or caveat on the above. It's what we do when we value our health and the health of others.

The question is, "how much do you place a value on that?"

THE ADVOC8TE SAYS | Why I'm still masking, and why you should be masking too