Letters to the Editor: Getting COVID doesn’t have to be inevitable. Just wear a mask

To the editor: Yes, it is getting increasingly difficult to avoid a COVID-19 infection, but it does seem like some of our efforts to contain the spread are more like theater than reality.

I chuckle every time I enter a building where my temperature is taken. I think we learned long ago that many people who become sick do not develop a fever until after they become symptomatic — and sometimes they don’t develop one at all. Now we have dropped mask mandates in most public places.

I recently attended a play at the Segerstrom Center in Orange County. All guests were required to arrive early in order to stand in long lines to show vaccination cards, yet there was no requirement to wear masks inside (and very few did).

It is obvious now that being fully vaccinated and boosted does not mean you can’t get or pass on COVID-19. So why do we continue with temperature checks and proof of vaccination? Masks are our best protection, yet we have kissed that requirement goodbye. Are we our own worst enemy?

Barbara Rosen, Fullerton

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To the editor: Getting infected with the Omicron variant is inevitable? Nonsense.

Hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, would still be alive if they had simply worn masks when going outside. I decided more than two years ago to do just that.

I am 91 years old and, like most people my age, suffer from some health issues. A friend my age decided to get the vaccine and ended up in the hospital for two weeks, so I decided not to get it, a decision that caused my wife and children some concern.

Nevertheless, I decided I didn’t need any more pain and certainly not a week or two in a hospital, so I persisted.

I have worn a mask outside, and often at home, faithfully since March 2020, and I suspect I will wear one for the rest of my days. We all create our own reality, and I feel I made the decision that was the best one for me.

Wearing a mask just seems to be a no-brainer.

Bob Murtha, Santa Maria