No Mask, No Service… No Problem

There are many people out there who still maintain that COVID-19 is a hoax and refuse to wear masks.  Despite the rising death tolls, and the mountains of evidence that this is a very real problem (including overloaded hospitals, full ICUs, people with non-COVID related medical problems have delayed care with significant consequences, and surviving patients with long term disability), people still refuse to believe what they see in front of themselves.  Or, they are just tired of all of these changes, and want things to go back to normal.  Well, we’re really coming down the home stretch right now.  The vaccine is available.  People are starting to get it.  And while it feels like the vaccination process hasn’t been going particularly well so far, we’re actually doing better than most of the world in vaccines per 100 people.

We have new plans coming to help coordinate the national vaccination effort, and it’s looking like maybe, just maybe, by the end of the year COVID may not be such a problem anymore (I know, here I go predicting things again).  It’s been a long road so far, and it’s still not over, but we can see the end from here.  The main thing is, don’t catch/get sick/die from COVID before we get there.

There are really only three things that we need people to do: wear a mask, wash your hands, and maintain social distance.  You’ve heard me talk about it at length on the podcast.  But getting people to do it isn’t easy.  Even in Massachusetts, it’s still not easy to get people to do something as simple as wear a mask in public.  My teenage niece works at an ice cream shop on the North Shore (yes, we still eat a lot of ice cream in Massachusetts, even in the winter), and it’s gotten so bad, that they’ve begun keeping a list of all of the excuses that customers give for not wearing a mask (BTW if teenagers are making lists of ways you’re behaving badly, you know you’re doing something wrong).  Here’s just a sampling of these nonsense excuses:

1. Why do I have to wear a mask? I’m a kid.  Kids don’t get the virus.
2. I’m not the one ordering.
3. I’m not getting anything – I’m with them.
4. Air is for breathing.
5. I didn’t know I needed one.
6. I’m so over this mask BS.
7. I legit don’t care about anyone but myself.

Yet somehow, these brave kids trying to make some spending money find the courage to stand up to the people who refuse to wear masks.  From “no ice cream for you” in line with store policy to calling the police for aggressive behavior, they’re able to stand up for what’s right in the face of pressure. We should all be able to as well.

So please, be safe.  Wear a mask.  Wash your hands.  Maintain social distance.  And maybe, we’ll all get back to normal soon.