Yeah, that's always my take on wearing masks: it's a decision of risk management. The potential downside of not wearing a mask is just too much larger than that of wearing one, especially when we still have much to know about the virus.

I wouldn't say it costs us "NOTHING".

Most no longer make eye contact. Or shake hands. I can't tell whether someone is genuinely smiling or laughing. Voices are muffled. They're a distraction.

I miss face to face conversations with strangers. I miss talking fast, getting excited, and not having my glasses fog up because I apparently breath fast when excited.

There's an element of humanity that's simply been lost.

EDIT: This isn't a response to what is the appropriate trade-offs for lives lost.

It's specifically a response to the idea that "nothing" is lost when wearing a mask.

So do I. I desperately want to get back to being able to see random strangers, and my colleagues in an office.

I want my newborn to see her grandmother and my family.

I'm just not willing to trade off a bunch of deaths for that.

I do my part and wear a mask in public but I can't wait to stop breathing so much re-circulated CO2... I can practically feel my blood-oxygen levels dropping after prolonged use (perceived or actual)...

I can't wait for them to be gone too, but I happily wear one if it protects the people around me.

For how long?

5 years? Ten years? The rest of your life?

I expect that the pandemic will follow Bill Gates's prediction—the developed world will be back to "normal" sometime near the end of 2021. For at least a decade, I expect it to be socially acceptable to wear a mask. However, I think that we'll be comfortable going to concerts and grocery shopping with no social distancing or masks long before then.

i’m not comparing them but you could say the same for the flu. as there are many people who die from it.

it’s all a matter of where you draw the line of risk/reward

Its also extremely disappointing that we don't treat the seasonal flu more seriously. People talk about this, it just took a pandemic for most people to pay attention.

Folks should be wearing masks when they are or even might be sick with ANY transmissible disease. Its actually pretty insane that pre-covid, folks would go into public and work while endangering who knows how many people (I know a lot of people don't have the option, which is a whole other bag of worms).

I find it extremely depressing that people compare this to other easily preventable deaths (I see it often online and from my own family) and say: "See we handle the seasonal flu pretty horribly, why are we trying so hard with COVID-19?"

My hope is that masks become much more socially acceptable for regular cold/flu after all this.

I heard a stat that in the southern hemisphere's 2019 flu season, the rate of flu tests that came back positive was something on the order of 13%. This flu season, the test positivity rate is 0.6%. Obviously lockdowns and even significant social distancing aren't going to happen for the flu, but I think you're right that we could easily do so much better when it comes to other transmissible diseases, and I hope that at the very least masking sticks with us.

Amen! We should all: - Wear a mask when even slightly ill - Stay home as much possible (even getting another person to pickup food) if you have symptoms - Get the flu shot

Stores, schools, etc. should also really think about circulation, hand sanitizer, and perhaps even nightly UV-C disinfectant.

Company culture needs to change: when sick, people should work from home for a job like programming and companies need give more sick leave for jobs like teaching where telecommuting doesn't work as well. Businesses really need to think about their part to play in protecting their customers.

As a side note, my mother who is older wasn't interested in the flu shot and I always wondered why. Even if it's 60% effective, that's just halving your chances of a sometimes fatal disease for $20 and a fifteen minute visit to a pharmacy. The US in particular needs to figure out how to do public health better.

Our healthcare systems are designed to handle a bad flu season. COVID is different in so far as it's far more deadly, and that it puts a higher burden on the health care systems because the average time spent in an ICU is way longer.

> COVID is different in so far as it's far more deadly

It's not really "far more" deadly. The main problem is the lack of immunity and everyone getting it at once.

Which results in way more deaths.

And flu season hasn't even started.

Covid hit after flu season, so those numbers are probably a better case scenario.

You mean medians don't matter?

What about the people who don't have that luxury to lock them selves away but want protection. The people stocking shelves, picking and packaging your food, delivering your stuff from Amazon

Let's apply that thought process to climate change, condoms, and surgical PPE too! Don't you dare impose reality on me!

> Let's apply that thought process to climate change, condoms, and surgical PPE too! Don't you dare impose reality on me!

Or drunk driving.