Mask here, but not there. Get your vaccine now. Maintain Social distance while in line. Most of us are tired of this and the majority of Americans have been vaccinated with many also being boosted. There are often stark differences when your state is politically blue or red and both will tell you they are right. Depending on the echo chamber you are listening to, the truth is that this pandemic has schooled us in ways that the CDC or scientists haven't been able to. Some of us live in warmer states and spend more time outdoors at restaurants or socially, while others in the North are bundled up and stay indoors to avoid the cold. Naturally, this environment during cold and flu and covid season may see more illness due to the nature of how we live. The NY Times this morning had an interesting article looking at the data which shows some interesting facts. Masking in blue or red states made little difference in the rates of illness in blue and red states. On the other hand, the CDC did recently report that masking helped protect children last Fall with 23 percent lower rates of infection than unmasked students. Confused? Well, that's data and it depends on the quality of your data and the parameters that were used. Closing down schools with online learning appears to have done little for the health of children but it put them behind as it was less effective than in-class schooling. Apparently, red states have restaurants doing better statistically than blue states restaurants located in the cities. Perhaps, part of the reason was the aggressive checking for vaccine cards before you could enter. This has recently been lifted which is good for restaurants. The article further states that there is a strong argument for lifting most or all masking restrictions. The science is very weak. In our offices, we are still required to wear masks in healthcare settings. In my opinion, this is a huge waste as the data is showing. Some doctors are not enforcing these restrictions anymore. In our office, we do what the governor says to avoid becoming a headline. Believe it or not, the governor still wants us to take temperature which nobody is doing anymore as it has proven itself worthless. Masks make it more difficult to communicate and you are breathing in your own air mostly, something that cannot be healthy. One more consideration; our immune systems need exposure to our environment to adequately fight off most potential pathogens through micro-dosing. Masking reduces that which may be partly why this year's cold and flu season was bad although as I predicted months ago, the flu season was very mild. The one thing that did show itself to be safe and effective at reducing severe infection was the covid vaccine. My suggestion is vaccination; the benefits outweigh the risks and Omicron markedly increased herd immunity with its rapid spread throughout our communities. While not mentioned in the article, excessive cleaning has been shown to be unhelpful in the management of covid19. Shouldn't we finally embrace science from both sides of the political aisle? Hopefully, as the book closes on Covid-19, we will know better. Its time to get back to normal. Check out the article below Do Covid Precautions Work? Yes, but they haven’t made a big difference. By David Leonhardt March 9, 2022, 6:32 a.m. ET Daily life in red and blue America has continued to be quite different over the past few months. It’s a reflection of the partisan divide over Covid-19. Consider: In the country’s most liberal cities, many people are still avoiding restaurants. The number of seated diners last month was at least 40 percent below prepandemic levels in New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Cambridge, Mass., according to OpenTable. By contrast, the number of diners has fully recovered in Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, Charlotte, N.C., and Austin, Texas, as well as in Oklahoma, Nebraska and New Hampshire. Residents of liberal cities like New York, Washington and San Jose, Calif., are still spending significantly more time at home and less at the office than before the pandemic began, according to Opportunity Insights, a Harvard-based research group. In more conservative places, the rhythms of daily life have returned nearly to normal. During the Omicron wave, schools in heavily Democratic areas were more likely to close some classrooms or require that students stay home for extended periods. Mask wearing remains far more common in liberal communities than conservative ones. Read more