The Home Stretch

For Americans over age 65, the Covid-19 vaccine really is coming soon. States have varying policies on prioritizing distribution of the vaccine, with some states already giving it to those older than 65 and others planning to get to the over 75 group very soon and the 65-74-year-olds shortly thereafter. In all cases, the expectation is that by April, all older Americans will have had the opportunity to be vaccinated. 

If you are reading this post, you have made it this far—so my message today is don’t blow it now by throwing caution to the winds. The virus is striking more people each day than ever before, and despite the progress in treatment, more people are hospitalized and more people are dying than at any time in the past year. 

The US also has the dubious distinction of being number one in the world in terms of cumulative mortality from Covid-19.  

Tired as we all are of masks and social distancing and of just plain staying home, these are the only strategies we have until we are vaccinated—and even then, we’ll need to wait until most of the population has been vaccinated before we can relax. A more infectious strain, isolated in the UK, is here in the US. It may be far more widespread than we know since public health officials are not routinely testing for it. Just because we haven’t found it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist: it just means we’re not looking for it. 

The implication of all this is that it would be prudent not merely to remain careful, but to increase your vigilance. Writing in the medical news periodical, STAT, several physicians and an engineer argue that we should wear high filtration masks such as the N-95. We should take their proposal seriously. While N-95 masks are primarily restricted to health care workers, KN-95 masks, which are in many cases equivalent, are available from Amazon, some local pharmacies, and a variety of other on-line sources. Most of these have not been tested for effectiveness or reliability by American government regulators, but many have been subjecting to assessment by one or more international agencies. The CDC has made available a list of many KN95 masks and the results of the assessments. 

My recommendation is to start wearing one of the KN-95 masks on this list, choosing one that has a minimum filtration efficiency of at least 95 percent. Wear it indoors in any public space. Do not socialize indoors except with members of your household. Do not take unnecessary risks and don’t let down your guard!