I had a holiday lapse

I am worried that I left myself exposed to COVID, twice over the Christmas weekend. When I went to have dinner with my family, my ride arrived, and I wasn’t quite ready, and when I hurried I forgot my mask. I might have asked the hostess for one. I knew she had them, and I didn’t. Nobody else was masked. Then the next day some guys from high school were going out for dinner, and I hadn’t seen them for forty-five years (literally, and I have a write up about it coming up). We were masked, but it’s impossible to stay masked while eating in a restaurant. The business there was brisk.

These are the first real “weak moments” I’ve had. I’m waiting for symptoms. I’m not going to do anything like that again, not for at least two more years.

Yet, I know it’s possible to do everything right in this pandemic and still get it. COVID-19 is just very good at infecting people. I try to tell anti-maskers that the mask only lowers the chance of infection. In fact, despite all the scoffing and skepticism, masks are actually very good at thwarting COVID. Governor of Missouri commissioned a study to prove they were futile, and instead got a study that indicated, almost conclusively, that they were very effective at preventing infection.

With the rate Omicron variant is spreading, I bet we’re in a completely different world by 2023.