BretCB speaks his mind: Please wear a mask in public places

(Warning: cross-posted from bretcb.substack.com; this version may be glitchy)
I wear a mask in public places to prevent catching and spreading ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ. Below, I explain why, and hope to convince you that it’s a good idea, too.

I also recommend you read Bill Comeau's article, “The Case for Mask Mandates”. Any claim I make without its own footnote is pulled from that article.

Why do I wear a mask?

Honestly, I hesitate to add my personal non-science perspective because I cynically worry that you might read it, not relate to my situation, then conclude that none of this is relevant to you. I decided to put cynicism aside and include it anyway.

In short, everything I’ve written below motivates me. The medicine and science tell me ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ is a disease to be concerned about, and that a mask is a simple response. It’s more than that, though. I knew people who died of ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ, and I know people who are still disabled by ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ. Wearing a mask means peace of mind that I won’t put anyone else through that, and won’t bring that risk to my family. People I know have been seriously sick and struggled through ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ. Wearing a mask means peace of mind that I won’t make my loved ones struggle. My wife, and others I know, have chronic medical issues, which increases the chance of a ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ infection being quite bad[2]. Wearing a mask gives me peace of mind that I won’t make them sick, or worse. I have responsibilities and people who depend on me. Wearing a mask gives me peace of mind that I can continue to meet those responsibilities.

That’s why I choose to wear a mask. I hope some of my personal reasons, and/or the some of the scientific reasons below, resonate with you as well.

ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ is still causing illness and death

It’s no longer hot news, but ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ is actually still causing just as much illness and death as it did when public health insisted we wear a mask.

As of 6 December, in Ontario, every day
- 36 817 new infections happen,[3]
- 478 people are hospitalized,[4]
- 21 people are placed in intensive care,[5]
  with 115 people already there,[6]
- 18 people die (132 total in the week previous).
In 2022, 18 160 people have died of ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ in Ontario as of 6 December
- In 2021, 14 130 people died; in 2020, 15 746 died

If the situation’s not really any better, I think it still makes sense to wear a mask.

Symptoms may be mild, but that’s not all, folks!

Symptoms may be mild[7], but they also may not.[8] 21% of people infected will still need to go to the hospital.[9]
ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ can damage or effect the function of virtually all organs and systems in your body.[10]
That damage might not be immediately apparent, but can make you quite ill later.[11]
Nearly 1 in 3 people admitted to hospital for ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ were readmitted later for respiratory, cardiovascular or other diseases.[12]
Everyone can suffer some damage, even young and/or low-risk people, with 70% of infected people showing at least one impairment 4 months after a ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ infection.[13]
Getting ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ a second time doubles a person’s chance of dying and triples the likelihood of being hospitalized.[14]
The more infections you fight, the more likely you’ll be hospitalized, suffer significant organ damage, or die.[15]
Existing medical conditions are complicated and exacerbated by ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ.[16]
Omicron variants are up to 3 times more transmissible than Delta variants[17], and Delta variants are twice as infectious as Alpha variants.[18]

What about everyone else?

Were you thinking about yourself so far? And you’re not too worried? OK. Consider your family, friends, and colleagues. Consider that it’s possible to infect others before your symptoms appear[19], and that around 32% of infectious people never have any symptoms at all, but are still infectious[20]. Everything I talked about above is equally true for everyone you know (and who you don't know). I might do OK with a ᴄᴏᴠɪᴅ infection, and I might escape organ damage, but I could easily pass it to someone I care about, and they might not do so well. If I'm never infected, I can't pass it to anyone else. To me, the minimal trouble of wearing a mask is worth it to protect the people I care about.

I’m not keen to infect a stranger either and make them suffer. Maybe I’d never know it, but I don’t like the thought. And, we’re all only 6 degrees separated or less. The stranger(s) I infect could circle it back to my family and friends very quickly.

No mask mandate ≠ Mandate for no masks

Finally, a key note for me is that no mandate to wear masks is not the same as a recommendation to not wear masks. Most doctors and and health officials continue to recommend that we wear a mask in public settings, and I’m happy to take their recommendation.

Ottawa Public Health
“… it is strongly recommended that individuals wear masks in indoor settings …”[21]
Dr. Vera Etches, chief medical officer of health of Ottawa
“OPH is strongly recommending mask use in all indoor public settings and crowded outdoor settings …”[22]
Dr. Kieran Moore, chief medical officer of health of Ontario
“I am strongly recommending that all Ontarians, not just those at high risk, wear a mask in indoor public settings.”[23]
Dr. Lindy Samson, chief of staff at CHEO
“We are asking our community — if they care about our kids […] — we all need to step up and rally behind them.”[24]
Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, Glebe family doctor and OCDSB trustee
Kaplan-Myrth said the province failed children by not implementing a mask mandate in multiple public settings[25]
Dr. Tara Moriarty, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology
“… even if you're not worried about catching COVID yourself, about half of people in Canada are medically at higher risk from COVID”[26]
Dr. Kashif Pirzada, ER doctor at Brampton Civic Hospital
“We have good evidence throughout the pandemic that masks can slow down the spread of these pathogens.”[27]

Where to get a mask

An N95, or better, mask is recommended, but any mask is better than none.[28]

(None of these links are affiliate links.)

My favourite is the black Vitacore CAN99e. $58.99 for 30 masks at 99% filtration - it’s effectively an N99 mask.
Vitacore is a Canadian company which sells several mask styles, including N95s
Canada Strong is another Canadian company which sells N95s and other styles.
Many pharmacies have them for sale, as do many of your favourite big-box grocery and retail stores, online and in-store.
Some businesses even still offer free surgical masks at their entrance.