Protect yourself with masks

Three similarly-themed articles caught my eye this week and instantly raised my ire, given their click-bait tone and hubris. All engaged in armchair psychology and claimed that normal human behavior was somehow pathological.

The first was by Rosa Silverman, who denigrated caution as Covid anxiety syndrome, a maladaptive response to coping with the stress of the pandemic. Cognitive behavior therapy was recommended.

A CNN article carries this theme further, referring to anxiety in a post-pandemic world and quoting psychiatrist Dr. Hector Colon-Rivera, as "It's like suffering from a form of PTSD or trauma that will make some people hyper-vigilant.

Id hardly say that we are in a post-pandemic world. While cases in the US pale in comparison to India (or earlier in our waves) there was a 7-day average of 46,603 cases, 40,287 hospitalizations, and 701 deaths yesterday, per the NYTimes. In the South, only a thirdhave received even one vaccine dose; in the Northeast, that rises to 55-60%. That means large swaths of the population remain unvaccinated, putting themselves and others at risk.

Finally, in my venturing into what seemed like a parallel universe was Emma Greens, The Liberals Who Cant Quit Lockdown. She mistakenly attributes being careful with Covid-19 restrictions to overestimating the diseases risks and being distinctly anxious.

Green continues, misattributing liberals motives as an expression of political identity, and asserting that liberals have veered away from scientific evidence. Insultingly, she chides that we are eroding trust in public health.

Zachary Loeb had a perfect response to this misdirected rebuke:

Do not direct your frustration

at those who continue

to dutifully wear their masks

after all you are still surrounded

by many who refused

to wear them in the first place.

Im not alone in feeling angry, particularly about being called unscientific and irrational. Here is one exchange on Twitter:

Dr. Tara Smith (@aetiology), an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist with impeccable credentials, responded to my concern about variants, Yes. I think we still have a lot of unknowns. We're doing well and, in most places, better every day, but this isn't over yet.

Tara Haelle @tarahaelle), a well-respected science journalist, and others were also angered by the suggestion that this was PTSD. Its inappropriate to attribute a health-seeking behavior to a real and serious mental health condition that many of us may have but which is not necessarily related to our decision to continue being safe and courteous by wearing a mask. Overpathologizing is just as problematic as trivializing PTSD or making it sound like a negative character trait as opposed to an actual condition that reasonably arises out of traumatizing circumstances.

I appear to have hit a nerve in asking virologist Angela Rasmussen, PhD (@angie_rasmussen) to comment.

There are a TON of COVID pundits who are trying to add a psychology degree to their armchair epidemiology and risk communication credentials. It's not "irrational" to be cautious, particularly when the pandemic is not over. Although it's great that cases are going down in the US and immunization is going up, the 7-day average for new cases nationally is still higher than it was this time last year to the tune of 20,000 cases. And we've seen state governors of both parties reopen prematurely only to get hit with surges in cases. Making educated personal risk-benefit calculations is both scientific and highly rational, and we are not making it any easier for ourselves or our communities by shaming people who might be reluctant to take their political leaders' word for it that policies are aligning with the most current and reliable evidence.

Rasmussen was also angry at the suggestion that left people were overzealous in their precautions because they were reflexively doing the opposite of what Trump was saying. Maybe that's true in some cases, but there's no evidence to support that and overwhelmingly many of those people were correctly not listening to Trump and instead following guidance from their local health officials (or the many experts quoted on the topic telling them to use cautions.

I wholeheartedly agree with all of the sentiments expressed above.

Particularly with the risk of variants growing, I think we have good cause for concern. The more the pandemic remains uncontrolled overseas, the greater the risk of mutants evolving that might pose greater dangers.

Also, we have so many people who have refused to wear masks throughout the pandemic and shown poor judgment and reckless disregard for others well-being. Why wouldnt we want to continue to wear masks in public?

Far too many people deny the reality of Covid-19 and assume an ostrich-like stance, while millions die.

Ostrich burying head in sand. Ignoring problems

Furthermore, individuals don't know whether theyve had an adequate immune response to the vaccine. While most people do, many who are elderly, diabetic, or immunocompromised may not have had a protective-level response.

Information about the virus is evolving and some messages to the public have been handled poorly. It would be one thing if the risks of illness were trivial, but they are not. Many people die and at least 10% become long haulers, with chronic and debilitating illness.

So, there is nothing irrational or unscientific about people still choosing to be cautious. We all have to make our own risk calculations based on our health and that of our families. That is neither unscientific nor hysterical nor crazy. It is a sign of being careful and at a different point on the continuum of comfort.

Zachary Loeb said it well in The Plague Poems:

It is not that

I am living in fear

but that

I am living

in a pandemic.

Read the original:
Wearing A Mask For Covid-19 Protection Is Scientific And Perfectly Normal - Forbes