by Tony Gray
posted: 29 July 2021

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made mask wearing mandatory last April and that executive order remained in place until about a month ago. For more than a year, New Yorkers had to mask up in public when they couldn't socially distance. Now, the professional worriers are clamoring to bring back masks because of the Delta variant of Covid 19 that is infecting large numbers of Americans.

I never agreed with the mask mandate in the first place. If you remember, CDC's Anthony Fauci initially opposed masks; he said they didn't stop the wearer from becoming infected unless they had N95 or surgical masks and he said medical care providers should get priority for those masks, which were in short supply.

The argument for wearing masks basically came down to two things. First, government officials were grasping at straws because if they didn't do something (even things that were inneffectual like masks, or deadly like requiring nursing homes to accept covid-positive patients) they worried they would lose the next election. Oh, they would deny that, Im sure but let's be honest. We all know that the only thing Gov. Cuomo and his like care about are holding on to their powerful public positions.

Politicians aren't so stupid as to say, "Forget about your liberty and bow down to my authority as I force you to wear a mask to save my job." Most of them are dumb but they're not stupid. So, their spin doctors went through a few iterations of acceptable policy before landing on the idea of caring about others.

The mantra became "Save others by wearing a mask and socially distance." The argument was that wearing even cloth masks might (notice they never said it would, just that it might) help stop the wearer from spreading the virus if they were infected.

We learned about words like pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic as they tried to convince us that we might not even know we were infected and could spread it to others without ever knowing it. We were asked to do our part and look out for our neighbors and co-workers.

Personally, I don't believe the government has the right to tell me to wear a mask. Since it doesn't protect me, I am even less inclined to wear one. Despite all that, it was hard to deny that a lot of people were getting sick and dying from covid so, like most of us, I masked up even though I thought it was both unproductive and a blatant governmental abuse of power.

Covid isn't much more lethal than most strains of influenza but huge numbers of us became infected just because it was a new strain our bodies had no previously stored antibodies to defend against it. It has been 18 months and that is no longer the case.

Do you remember when Gov. Cuomo said masks would only be for a few weeks to help 'flatten the curve' as hospitals were swamped with more patients than they could properly care for? When was the last time you saw TV images about hospital overcrowding in New York due to Covid? Ages, right?

Many people have had the covid and recovered, so they have effective antibodies against it. Even more importantly, President Donald Trump's vaccine program brought three (not one, not two, but three) very effective vaccines to prevent Covid.

I held out against getting a vaccine for more than a year. I'm a normally healthy person with a strong immune system. Getting sick is part of life and I was pretty sure that if I caught the Covid, I would have mild-to-moderate symptoms, like most of the people who got Covid. If it isn't something I viewed as likely to be lethal, I reasoned why put something in my body that didn't need to be there.

When mask mandates were lifted for vaccinated people and the state started offering $20 scratch off lottery tickets, I went for the Johnson and Johnson shot. The joke was on me, though, because only a few clinics around the area were giving the lottery tickets and the county health department wasn't one of them. Thanks for nothing, Gov. Cuomo.

OK, I have this vaccine now that is almost 95 percent effective against getting seriously ill or dying from Covid. Wait, what? You want me to wear a mask again? Are you kidding me?

More than 70 percent of New Yorkers over 18 have received at least one vaccine shot, according to the governor's office. Since vaccines are so effective against getting and spreading the disease, how can anyone justify restoring mask mandates?

The idea that I should restrict my liberty for the slim chance of preventing someone else from getting ill never appealed to me. I have no responsibility for someone else's well being. I look out for me and you look out for you. The corrolary is since I don't expect you to ask me to look out for you is that you shouldn't ask me to look out for you.

People who are at serious risk of infection should take all necessary steps to prevent becoming infected. It's illogical to ask me to alter my life because someone at risk is unwilling to alter their life. If you feel unsafe, stay home. You can order almost everything you need online and have it delivered to your home.

I never would have gotten the Covid vaccination if I thought I would still have to wear a mask. What's the point? I honestly don't know what the mask lovers are thinking. Masks provide an illusion of safety while the real hope for getting completely back to normal life is developing herd immunity through vaccination and infection. If you choose to risk infection, that is your right and I hope you don't die as a result. I imagine most people will opt for the vaccine if they haven't already contracted Covid.

To me, elevating masks over vaccines is only slightly less deadly a policy than Gov. Cuomo requiring nursing homes to accept covid-positive patients.

Stop with the mask madness, already. Please!