Not so fast. I suppose in places where masks were never mandatory, the new CDC guidelines are no big deal. But in western Washington, chucking the mask is a fresh dilemma. I was at Safeway yesterday morning, and didn't see a single unmasked face, customer or employee. In our zip code, about 80% of people are vaccinated!
Compare that to Hank's grocery store in Twisp, where everyone working in the store was unmasked, in a community where few people (by comparison) are vaccinated. The vaccine map looks a lot like a map of how different areas of the country vote in presidential elections. You get the picture.
But putting things into perspective, in "blue land" it seems like we focus more on bad news and negative data. Gloom and doom. The vaccines are superb. Yes, they happen, but breakthrough cases are incredibly rare out of the millions of doses given. A NYT article said crossing the parking lot to the grocery is statistically many times more dangerous. Maybe time to start worrying about something else?
Costco, Trader Joes and other retailers have already lifted the mask requirement for vaccinated customers. But much as I miss wearing lipstick and seeing real smiles, I'll mask up in those crowded places for a while longer. It's been nice not catching colds.
Speaking of cold, what happened to the weather? The sky is blue, but it's a windy, cold morning here with temperature topping out in the 50's.
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