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Comment by reducesuffering | Hacker News Reader

The data shows masks aren’t helping much, Covid is endemic, tested cases are barely up ( https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ debate on where it lies between confirmed cases and actuality) the vaccines and boosters help serious cases prevent death but arent really preventing spreading, and Covid wasn’t affecting young (40-) people much anyway. It’s also true that there are people who have taken things too far by wearing masks while they’re alone in their own car. There really isn’t much for the reasonable person to do anymore. Whatever you do, it’s not moving the needle much, besides being a healthy individual by normal means of diet and exercise.

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Tested cases are barely up because testing is at a small fraction of what it was even a year ago. Wastewater data, hospitalization rates, and deaths are all rising. Wastewater levels are currently about half of most previous peaks(https://biobot.io/data/covid-19), and that data lags by at least a few weeks.

Regarding masking in cars - best practice for good mask wearing is to put it on, ensure a good fit, then leave it on until you're done with it. If someone is running errands, it's better to just put leave it on instead of donning and doffing it repeatedly, making it more likely to cross contaminate or ruin the fit.

Look at wastewater COVID load estimates, most places aren't even trying to get reliable estimates from testing anymore: https://biobot.io/data/

Pardon me, but can we clarify what you mean by saying that "masks aren't helping much"? Do you mean that masks are not effective in stopping the spread of COVID on an individual basis? Or do you simply mean that as a matter of policy, mask mandates have failed to stop the spread of the virus throughout the population in general?

Honest question - I know exactly where the "mask in the car" trope came from and why you're repeating it here but: why does it matter and why is it germane to this topic?

I think the point people are trying to make is that general masking behavior has not been guided by rational consideration of where it is likely to be beneficial. So, it's a warning to slow down and think about it.

I'm still missing it.

If we were talking about alcohol consumption "slow down and think about it" absolutely makes sense: I might be having fun in my 20s binge drinking but there are very real negative consequences of that behavior long term.

But in the scenario where someone is in their car with their mask on I'm missing the "slow down and think about it" rationale. (Again, I've heard the talking points on this, so I'm looking more for a real answer).

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