I am still very COVID cautious. Among other precautions I try to take, I wear an N95 in every indoor situation except for our condo (unless someone unmasked has been in it recently, like a plumber or furnace guy) and my office (where I have an air purifier and don’t let anyone else in there). When outside, I still try to stay as far away from others as possible and often hold my breath if I have to pass people closely or have to walk/run close behind them for a bit.

I am the only person in the Math Department still consistently masking. I am one of a very few professors on campus who is still consistently masking. I see students in masks more frequently than you’d think, which is nice, but the majority don’t mask.

I do it in part because I DON’T FREAKING WANT COVID, but I also do it because I come into contact with hundreds of people a day and don’t want to be responsible for getting someone sick and possibly ruining or ending their life.

Which is why I liked this article. Those of us still masking do not have irrational anxiety or are “stuck in 2020.” A lot of us do it for more than one of the reasons the article’s author listed. If you are someone who is critical of the 2025 maskers, please give this article a read. Maybe it will change your perspective.