I Mask When Asked

But mask fatigue is very real.

Selfie of Pax wearing a mask and a bandage on their upper left arm, just after getting a COVID booster shot.

It has now been three full years since the COVID-19 virus was first identified in Wuhan, China. When the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic in March 2020, my city, San Francisco, was the first in the nation to enter a lockdown. When mask mandates began soon after, I followed them strictly and consistently. And when vaccines became available, I signed up to get them as soon as I was eligible to do so.

I’m now quintuple-vaxxed, having gotten the initial two-dose Pfizer series and three boosters, including the latest bivalent formulation. I’ve yet to come down with COVID (knock on wood). While unlikely, it’s possible that I could be carrying the disease without experiencing symptoms. But so far, all COVID tests I’ve taken while experiencing any possible symptoms have come up negative.

I had stopped wearing masks completely when the mandates were lifted, other than in places that required them. But now I’m wearing them again voluntarily, indoors in spaces where masks are recommended, even if they’re not required. This is not because of fear of getting the virus myself; I understand that the purpose of masking is primarily to prevent transmitting the disease to others. (I wish more people understood this!)