I always enjoyed listening to conservative talk radio, but the universal conservative response to the recent CDC recommendations that everyone wear a mask in public places is one of defiance. People are saying that they are not going to cooperate. Without exception, they see the mask recommendations as government overreach to take away their freedom. They are unwilling to entertain the notion that the government is trying to save lives. Naturally, they prefer to make their own decisions and not be told what to do.
The situation has changed. It was pretty reasonable for vaccinated people to not wear a mask a couple of weeks ago, but right now the Delta Variant potentially threatens everyone. Whereas the alpha variant had an "r" factor of around 2.5, which means that on average an infected person would infect 2.5 other people, the Delta Variant has an "r" factor of 5 to 8. It is also much more likely to infect vaccinated people. The reason for the change in the CDC recommendation is a study that said that with the Delta Variant vaccinated people can have as much of viral load in their nasal cavities as unvaccinated people.
I don't particularly like wearing a mask either, but if it becomes a mandate, I am not going to resist it. Right now, I think that there are good reasons for wearing a mask.
My chess club meets at a Kroger store. I saw an article saying that both Kroger and Walmart were going to start requiring masks for all customers and staff. I called the Kroger to confirm this, but they haven't yet seen the change in policy.
BTW, one of my closest friends in Utah and his wife have caught the Delta Variant of COVID. For them, it is totally debilitating and they are into their third week with no sign of it getting better. My friend is worried that he is going to be one of the people who have symptoms that linger for months.
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