Doctor Is In by Dr. Adil Manzoor OP/ED
The Masks have become so part of our lives; it is very understandable that many people still wear them around even after being fully vaccinated, and the CDC essentially removing the mask mandate for vaccinated individuals. In fact, according to the CDC regulations, there are instances where even unvaccinated people don’t have to wear masks.
Masks are one of the souvenirs the coronavirus brought when it visited planet earth in 2019. And mask-wearing has persisted ever since then. After months and months of waiting, it seems people are finally ready to move on and return to “the old normal,” if that even exists anymore.
The journey of mask-wearing has been weird, to say the least. First, it was met with rejection, which degenerated into reluctance, before moving into the stage of majority acceptance. Then came politicization. Now that I think of it, I really don’t get how people thought mask-wearing was a political statement. It is literally a mask – just a piece of fabric used to protect ourselves from a deadly virus. Nothing more.
What am I driving at? While the mask mandate was imposed to protect us and limit the spread of the virus, it has gone through quite a lot, with many not fully accepting it. So it came as very little surprise to me the joy that accompanied the removal of the mask mandate in virtually all states of the country, particularly from the same set of people that think the vaccine is harmful and dangerous.
You might already know my opinion on the removal of the mask mandate for all. But to be perfectly clear, I don’t like it one bit. Mask-wearing should be one of the last measures we remove, not one of the first. Seriously, I get that the vaccination rate is going up, and the cases we are recording are drastically falling, but we are still recording cases. People are dying. New strains are still rearing their heads. We still don’t have enough people vaccinated to even start thinking of herd immunity. So why exactly should the mask mandate be removed?
Many schools already have, and many more will resume operations as normal. I mean, resume into physical classes. I am hoping that schools still have a bit of respect for the virus and require masks.
I understand this will be more difficult to achieve with elementary and lower-level schools, but the focus should still be on keeping the masks, not removing them. I don’t think there is any excuse I can accept for higher-level schools and institutions not to enforce mask-wearing. I’m not getting my hopes too high, though, because knowing America, they’ll probably come up with something, and many will just ride along.
We all need to understand that the war is not won yet. The finish line is still a long way out, although, to our credit, we are moving very fast towards it. I cannot bear to imagine what will happen if another more transmissible and deadlier strain of this virus emerges – one that is resistant to the current vaccines we have.
I’m sure no one wants this, which is why we have to keep all hands on deck for as long as we need to, at least till when viable herd immunity discussions start surfacing.
We have worn a mask for about 15 months; we can wear it for a couple more. Get vaccinated. Stay Safe.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
