Who Was That Masked Man?

- jim Young

“You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” - Abraham Lincoln

Two of my childhood heroes wore masks that they refused to take off in public. The Lone Ranger and Zorro wore masks in their fight to save lives.

The Lone Ranger and Zorro
Although I am no superhero, for over a year now, I too wore a mask in public to help save lives. But I’m ready to take it off now.

50% of Canadians have received their second dose of vaccines to protect themselves against Covid-19.

80% have received at least one dose and are partially protected from the virus.

It stands to reason that the 30% difference have likely signed up and are in the process of getting their second dose. Or maybe they're not. That's up to them.

But it’s estimated that the remaining 20% of Canadians may not get vaccinated - ever. Half of those are anti-vaxxers that will exercise their right not to be vaccinated. That’s their choice.

The other half are either undecided, lazy and just haven’t gotten around to it, or for one reason or another are procrastinating.

So 80% Canadians vaccinated may be about as good as it’s going to get. This leaves us approximately 10% short of what we need to achieve herd immunity. That sucks, but are we going to live the rest of our lives in bubbles? 

We’ve been told all along that wearing masks does not protect us against getting Covid-19. The purpose of wearing a mask is to protect other people that we come into contact with from getting Covid-19 if we happen to be carrying the virus.

I was happy to do my part and wear my mask to protect others and I am grateful that they did the same in return for me when we all needed this protection.

But I don’t need protection now. And, like me, neither does everyone else. Either that - or they don’t want it. You can lead a horse to water...

So who are we still wearing masks for? Now that vaccines are readily available to all and everyone that’s going to get one has, wearing masks in public should be optional, not mandatory.

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