Making a decision for oneself is totally reasonable, but there should be a high bar as soon as someone tries to push that as a conclusion that others should follow.

The problem during the pandemic response wasn't that individuals tried to understand and decide for themselves, its that those who were supposed experts got out over their skis and were forcing decisions and conclusions that weren't backed up by data. What's wrong with someone reading studies and deciding whether they themselves want to get vaccinated or west masks, especially when we didn't have solid data to show how those decisions might impact others' rights?