If you see a mask - wear a mask. Better yet - wear a mask all the time and show us you understand that we're still IN a pandemic. We are depending on you to keep us safe - please don't betray that.
Wearing N95 now haha! I think of myself as a vector of infections for my patients and my parents. Also this idea of “only vulnerable people” blah blah, we are all going to become vulnerable one day!!
Thank you for masking! There's a song from a musical I love that ends with a refrain of 'blah blah blah' over and over again and I hear it in my head a lot when people push back on this very simple and EASY issue. Masking in healthcare shouldn't be hard. It shouldn't be controversial. It's TIME.
It feels wrong to click the heart after reading this.
After my heart transplant, my doctors insisted that I wear a mask in public places for the first year while I was the most immunocompromised - in 2018, before anyone dreamed of Covid. I have caught RSV and that put me in the hospital with RSV pneumonia. I mask not just for Covid, but for all upper respiratory viruses - flu, RSV, rhinovirus, and Covid. It's common sense to me.
I know the feeling - I always feel strange “liking” posts like this. I wish we had a “I support this message!” Button lol.
Thank you for sharing your experience. The fact that there isn’t mandatory masking on transplant wards boggles my mind. Especially considering Covid increases your odds of developing clots which is already a risk post surgery.
I know someone who was having an aortic dissection repair and spent over a month in the hospital - and the vast majority of staff wouldn’t mask for her. I have a friend who received a kidney transplant and upon discharge posed for a photo with the doctors and nurses - none of whom were masking.
An organ is such a gift - it makes me furious that healthcare workers are willing to put that gift in jeopardy. Yet here we are. People will act as though it was unheard of to mask before Covid and that’s simply not true (as you’ve just pointed out).
Thank you for such a comprehensive explanation of the need for masking for vulnerable people. Any healthcare professional who refuses to accommodate this very simple and reasonable request should consider another career path. 😷
You’re so welcome - thank you for reading! I agree and yet sadly I feel like that would leave us with almost no healthcare workers. It seems the majority are refusing.
It’s terribly disappointing a mandate is required to do such a simple thing - but it seems to be where we’re at.
I look back at how long it took for doctors to adopt hand washing - and I weep. They’re not quick to change!
That's what amazes me! Midwives were washing their hands and saving lives! Yet the push back against it by mainly male doctors, not many female ones back then, was ridiculous. Didn't they become doctors to save lives? Why push back and refuse to do something so simple? I'll also mention that misogyny, bigotry, and racism are still rife in the medical community 😕
Right?!?! I swear it’s just because someone else is telling them to do it. Therefore they have to be contrarian about it. It costs lives - and it’s so unnecessary.
We can’t afford to wait 50 years for masks in healthcare. People need to adapt faster.
Thank you for saying all of this. I just had to log out of Tinu's very touching and beautiful homecoming service because I ran out spoons after the first hour. She was an exceptional person and will be dearly missed. She also made a point to say that one-way masking isn't enough. She got infected WHILE WEARING A MASK because she was vulnerable and the people around her weren't masking.
It's unbelievable how even medical professionals won't mask. Such a simple way to protect their vulnerable patients, and the vulnerable people who live with their patients, and the people who don't know they're vulnerable, and... Literally everyone. We wouldn't still be in a pandemic if we'd kept masking. We drove a major family of flu strains into extinction because we were masking for one winter. Imagine what we could do if we kept that up. Even flu kills.
What's almost worse than a hospital with a "mask friendly" policy is my local hospital that still has signs posted asking people to mask, which everyone ignores, and then a box of SURGICAL MASKS in the lobby, despite clear science showing that they do not work because too much unfiltered air leaks out the sides for it to be at all effective.
I’m so sad to have missed her service - my rural internet is so lousy it can’t handle any streaming. I figured this was the best way I could pay tribute to her (and hopefully help with the fundraising as well).
thank you for pointed out she was wearing a mask! When you’re immune compromised AND people are right in your face (as they often need to be in healthcare) … you really need two way masking. Not to mention it’s cruel to expect a sick patient to go without any food or water - but that’s what they’re doing to us. You can’t risk breaking the seal because the new variants infect in seconds. If everyone around you would mask - you could at least have a sip of water.
It’s all so depressing and unnecessary. As you said we could practically eliminate covid if everyone put in the effort. Clearly the vast majority aren’t willing to DO that - but healthcare should be a non negotiable. Hospital acquired covid has a much higher fatality rate - and too many patients are being harmed. It needs to stop.
Oh thank you! I didn’t know that. It’ll be much easier to watch that way - I can’t even do a 5 min zoom on this crappy internet but a YouTube video is usually ok. It’s the “live” that seems to cause the problems.
Yeah, they made a point of recording it, for those who couldn't make it, those who want to see it again, and posterity in general. I don't know when or where it'll be made available, but I'll let you know when I hear anything, in case you miss it elsewhere. I suspect the issue is transcoding. When you watch live, you basically have to watch at full resolution. Some streaming sites like Twitch can make different resolutions possible on a live stream, but it's expensive. Twitch won't do it unless you're a partnered streamer, and there's still a few seconds of delay. But when you upload a video to YouTube they process it into multiple versions so that it can be watched at lower resolutions, saving bandwidth.
Ah that makes so much sense! Thank you! I get so annoyed that streaming often doesn’t work but things like YouTube or Netflix do (though I do have the lowest quality Netflix lol)
Seems so simple to put on a mask - I simply do not get the rationale for refusing to do so - mandates should not be necessary but there seems no alternative - Bob
I agree - it’s a simple and easy thing to do and especially in healthcare settings - necessary.
Healthcare workers MUST be able to mask. They’re fit tested and trained how to don and doff properly. They’re refusing out of selfish wants and/or because they’ve fallen for the line that masks make you a sheep. Which it’s wrong and has done so much damage.
I'm sure one day we will all look back and wonder why we all had plenty of tools to keep ourselves from getting sick and just didn't bother to use them. How many more people will die or become sick because the masses would prefer to forget and force back to normal? Sorry about your friend.
I hope you’re right. Sometimes I worry that we’ve done so much damage and gone so far into denial that people won’t be capable of ever looking at it critically and realizing they’ve made a mistake.
I want to believe I’m wrong - and that soon people will get fed up with being sick all the time and demand better of our leaders
I just found out one of my local hospitals will be bringing back mask mandates - so that’s a big win.
I'm still surprised that anyone who works with the public in general doesn't mask, FFS! I talked to a friend this weekend and since he had COVID three times last year after getting boosted, he probably won't get this year's vax. His husband is a social worker. People don't get the ramifications of their choices. But, at a hospital, or in a doctor's office, why wouldn't you mask?!!? I will say this, though (unpopular as it might come off): I think our medical folks are dealing with huge PTSD from the past four years. Not an excuse, but maybe an underlying reason for rebellion. Think back to those first two years, the moron we had running the place (I'm in the US) and all the craziness with citizens refusing to get vaccinated or wear a mask, then go into the hospital demanding unproven treatments, expecting to be saved. It was chaos. I followed a doctor on TAFKAT who was in his residency at a NYC hospital in the ER when that wave hit. The things he posted. Then, he moved to Arizona as an ER doc right when that wave hit. It never stopped for him. It never stopped for many. The grief, the stress, dealing with people who made the pandemic political...all day, every day. I started to believe our medical industry would implode because of this. To some degree, I think it has. So many quit. The ones I see all seem so tired. Who would want to be a doctor or nurse now? Still, there's no excuse not to be respectful of people's needs and requests. Wear the damned mask! It's not hard. I've been doing it for 4 years. I have no plans to stop. And, if I have to have my mask off, I will ask for yours to be on (dentist, dermatologist, etc.). Fortunately, they are kindreds and wear theirs without having to be asked. Wonderful post, BBT. I hope this gets through to the stubborn. xo
I don't think it'll be unpopular - they absolutely are dealing with a lot of trauma and I think it's important and compassionate that we recognize it.
Of course my issue is that the patients are ALSO dealing with a lot of trauma - and they're the ones being put at risk against their will.
I fault the hospitals - they could be bringing in counsellors and trying to help staff. They could be adopting clean air. They could be encouraging staff to mask (I've heard from a number of HCWs who said they've been told NOT to). But they aren't doing that - and everyone suffers. It's so frustrating.
I don’t know what part of the country you live in, but when I go to the doctor they still wear masks and require mask wearing (at least the last time I was there). Now, I don’t go that often (I have my own trauma with the medical community), but at least they are still wearing masks. It seems that my husband and I are the only 2 people in the country who still wear masks everywhere we go—he’s got a heart condition and I’m immunocompromised. At least we take care of ourselves.
I'm in Canada - where are you located? Canada and the UK seem to quite bad for masking in hospitals right now... US depends a lot of location.
That said I just found out that my local hospital network will be bringing mandatory masking back at the end of the month in response to outbreaks. It's frustrating that we continue to be reactionary instead of precautionary - but I'm still grateful my winter appointments will involve masks!
Yeah, we’re in California and we go to Cedars Sinai for health care. I don’t think they REQUIRE patients to wear masks everywhere but they seem to have them available at Dr’s offices. I always wear my own and the Dr. always wears one.
I'm beyond frustrated. Though I did hear my local hospital network will be bringing mandates back end of October. They're having too many outbreaks. Strikes me as odd to delay the masking given patients are currently being infected - but at least they ARE bringing them back.
Amazing courage. I am not a writer just like to express myself. But, you did it expeditiously for me. I’m also immune compromised having autoimmune disease disorder since taking vaccines. Now, I’m told not to take any covid shots. Dah! I wear a mask everywhere and luckily retired so no hassle. Never gave it a second thought of others wearing mask 😷 in my presence. But thank God here in America (California) we all keep our distance and don’t have to worry about it. Everyone here are loco/paranoid so they stay clear away keeping safe distance from me wearing my mask. I hate wearing mask but, have saved me from getting infected. Head Colds also can put me in a hospital which I avoid because I’m allergic to them. Yuck 🤮. So, I keep my mask on, keep safe distance and being old and crippled I do get the space I need to get around. I live in a very rural area and though people are polite they aren’t friendly.
I’m glad people have been good about you masking - that’s really important! Hopefully they’re willing to mask in hospitals where you may have to remove yours.
I’m also sorry they are saying you shouldn’t be vaccinated - do you know about Novavax? Some patients have been able to tolerate it when they couldn’t tolerate mRNA. Perhaps worth asking your doctor?
Wearing N95 now haha! I think of myself as a vector of infections for my patients and my parents. Also this idea of “only vulnerable people” blah blah, we are all going to become vulnerable one day!!
Thank you for masking! There's a song from a musical I love that ends with a refrain of 'blah blah blah' over and over again and I hear it in my head a lot when people push back on this very simple and EASY issue. Masking in healthcare shouldn't be hard. It shouldn't be controversial. It's TIME.
It feels wrong to click the heart after reading this.
After my heart transplant, my doctors insisted that I wear a mask in public places for the first year while I was the most immunocompromised - in 2018, before anyone dreamed of Covid. I have caught RSV and that put me in the hospital with RSV pneumonia. I mask not just for Covid, but for all upper respiratory viruses - flu, RSV, rhinovirus, and Covid. It's common sense to me.
I know the feeling - I always feel strange “liking” posts like this. I wish we had a “I support this message!” Button lol.
Thank you for sharing your experience. The fact that there isn’t mandatory masking on transplant wards boggles my mind. Especially considering Covid increases your odds of developing clots which is already a risk post surgery.
I know someone who was having an aortic dissection repair and spent over a month in the hospital - and the vast majority of staff wouldn’t mask for her. I have a friend who received a kidney transplant and upon discharge posed for a photo with the doctors and nurses - none of whom were masking.
An organ is such a gift - it makes me furious that healthcare workers are willing to put that gift in jeopardy. Yet here we are. People will act as though it was unheard of to mask before Covid and that’s simply not true (as you’ve just pointed out).
Thank you for such a comprehensive explanation of the need for masking for vulnerable people. Any healthcare professional who refuses to accommodate this very simple and reasonable request should consider another career path. 😷
You’re so welcome - thank you for reading! I agree and yet sadly I feel like that would leave us with almost no healthcare workers. It seems the majority are refusing.
It’s terribly disappointing a mandate is required to do such a simple thing - but it seems to be where we’re at.
I look back at how long it took for doctors to adopt hand washing - and I weep. They’re not quick to change!
That's what amazes me! Midwives were washing their hands and saving lives! Yet the push back against it by mainly male doctors, not many female ones back then, was ridiculous. Didn't they become doctors to save lives? Why push back and refuse to do something so simple? I'll also mention that misogyny, bigotry, and racism are still rife in the medical community 😕
Right?!?! I swear it’s just because someone else is telling them to do it. Therefore they have to be contrarian about it. It costs lives - and it’s so unnecessary.
We can’t afford to wait 50 years for masks in healthcare. People need to adapt faster.
Thank you for saying all of this. I just had to log out of Tinu's very touching and beautiful homecoming service because I ran out spoons after the first hour. She was an exceptional person and will be dearly missed. She also made a point to say that one-way masking isn't enough. She got infected WHILE WEARING A MASK because she was vulnerable and the people around her weren't masking.
It's unbelievable how even medical professionals won't mask. Such a simple way to protect their vulnerable patients, and the vulnerable people who live with their patients, and the people who don't know they're vulnerable, and... Literally everyone. We wouldn't still be in a pandemic if we'd kept masking. We drove a major family of flu strains into extinction because we were masking for one winter. Imagine what we could do if we kept that up. Even flu kills.
What's almost worse than a hospital with a "mask friendly" policy is my local hospital that still has signs posted asking people to mask, which everyone ignores, and then a box of SURGICAL MASKS in the lobby, despite clear science showing that they do not work because too much unfiltered air leaks out the sides for it to be at all effective.
I’m so sad to have missed her service - my rural internet is so lousy it can’t handle any streaming. I figured this was the best way I could pay tribute to her (and hopefully help with the fundraising as well).
thank you for pointed out she was wearing a mask! When you’re immune compromised AND people are right in your face (as they often need to be in healthcare) … you really need two way masking. Not to mention it’s cruel to expect a sick patient to go without any food or water - but that’s what they’re doing to us. You can’t risk breaking the seal because the new variants infect in seconds. If everyone around you would mask - you could at least have a sip of water.
It’s all so depressing and unnecessary. As you said we could practically eliminate covid if everyone put in the effort. Clearly the vast majority aren’t willing to DO that - but healthcare should be a non negotiable. Hospital acquired covid has a much higher fatality rate - and too many patients are being harmed. It needs to stop.
The service was recorded, FWIW. Maybe you'll be able to watch some of it later. But this was a great tribute.
Oh thank you! I didn’t know that. It’ll be much easier to watch that way - I can’t even do a 5 min zoom on this crappy internet but a YouTube video is usually ok. It’s the “live” that seems to cause the problems.
Yeah, they made a point of recording it, for those who couldn't make it, those who want to see it again, and posterity in general. I don't know when or where it'll be made available, but I'll let you know when I hear anything, in case you miss it elsewhere. I suspect the issue is transcoding. When you watch live, you basically have to watch at full resolution. Some streaming sites like Twitch can make different resolutions possible on a live stream, but it's expensive. Twitch won't do it unless you're a partnered streamer, and there's still a few seconds of delay. But when you upload a video to YouTube they process it into multiple versions so that it can be watched at lower resolutions, saving bandwidth.
Ah that makes so much sense! Thank you! I get so annoyed that streaming often doesn’t work but things like YouTube or Netflix do (though I do have the lowest quality Netflix lol)
Seems so simple to put on a mask - I simply do not get the rationale for refusing to do so - mandates should not be necessary but there seems no alternative - Bob
I agree - it’s a simple and easy thing to do and especially in healthcare settings - necessary.
Healthcare workers MUST be able to mask. They’re fit tested and trained how to don and doff properly. They’re refusing out of selfish wants and/or because they’ve fallen for the line that masks make you a sheep. Which it’s wrong and has done so much damage.
I'm sure one day we will all look back and wonder why we all had plenty of tools to keep ourselves from getting sick and just didn't bother to use them. How many more people will die or become sick because the masses would prefer to forget and force back to normal? Sorry about your friend.
I hope you’re right. Sometimes I worry that we’ve done so much damage and gone so far into denial that people won’t be capable of ever looking at it critically and realizing they’ve made a mistake.
I want to believe I’m wrong - and that soon people will get fed up with being sick all the time and demand better of our leaders
I just found out one of my local hospitals will be bringing back mask mandates - so that’s a big win.
🌹🌻🌸💐💚💛💜❤️🌼😍🥰
Thank you for this article!
You're welcome! Thank you for reading.
I'm still surprised that anyone who works with the public in general doesn't mask, FFS! I talked to a friend this weekend and since he had COVID three times last year after getting boosted, he probably won't get this year's vax. His husband is a social worker. People don't get the ramifications of their choices. But, at a hospital, or in a doctor's office, why wouldn't you mask?!!? I will say this, though (unpopular as it might come off): I think our medical folks are dealing with huge PTSD from the past four years. Not an excuse, but maybe an underlying reason for rebellion. Think back to those first two years, the moron we had running the place (I'm in the US) and all the craziness with citizens refusing to get vaccinated or wear a mask, then go into the hospital demanding unproven treatments, expecting to be saved. It was chaos. I followed a doctor on TAFKAT who was in his residency at a NYC hospital in the ER when that wave hit. The things he posted. Then, he moved to Arizona as an ER doc right when that wave hit. It never stopped for him. It never stopped for many. The grief, the stress, dealing with people who made the pandemic political...all day, every day. I started to believe our medical industry would implode because of this. To some degree, I think it has. So many quit. The ones I see all seem so tired. Who would want to be a doctor or nurse now? Still, there's no excuse not to be respectful of people's needs and requests. Wear the damned mask! It's not hard. I've been doing it for 4 years. I have no plans to stop. And, if I have to have my mask off, I will ask for yours to be on (dentist, dermatologist, etc.). Fortunately, they are kindreds and wear theirs without having to be asked. Wonderful post, BBT. I hope this gets through to the stubborn. xo
I don't think it'll be unpopular - they absolutely are dealing with a lot of trauma and I think it's important and compassionate that we recognize it.
Of course my issue is that the patients are ALSO dealing with a lot of trauma - and they're the ones being put at risk against their will.
I fault the hospitals - they could be bringing in counsellors and trying to help staff. They could be adopting clean air. They could be encouraging staff to mask (I've heard from a number of HCWs who said they've been told NOT to). But they aren't doing that - and everyone suffers. It's so frustrating.
Completely agree. xo
I don’t know what part of the country you live in, but when I go to the doctor they still wear masks and require mask wearing (at least the last time I was there). Now, I don’t go that often (I have my own trauma with the medical community), but at least they are still wearing masks. It seems that my husband and I are the only 2 people in the country who still wear masks everywhere we go—he’s got a heart condition and I’m immunocompromised. At least we take care of ourselves.
I'm in Canada - where are you located? Canada and the UK seem to quite bad for masking in hospitals right now... US depends a lot of location.
That said I just found out that my local hospital network will be bringing mandatory masking back at the end of the month in response to outbreaks. It's frustrating that we continue to be reactionary instead of precautionary - but I'm still grateful my winter appointments will involve masks!
Yeah, we’re in California and we go to Cedars Sinai for health care. I don’t think they REQUIRE patients to wear masks everywhere but they seem to have them available at Dr’s offices. I always wear my own and the Dr. always wears one.
From my understanding California has had the best masking throughout the pandemic. So I’m glad that’s where you get care!
I would recommend you move here, but it’s so expensive people are moving away. 🤨
Pretty much. No we certainly cannot😷
I'm beyond frustrated. Though I did hear my local hospital network will be bringing mandates back end of October. They're having too many outbreaks. Strikes me as odd to delay the masking given patients are currently being infected - but at least they ARE bringing them back.
Amazing courage. I am not a writer just like to express myself. But, you did it expeditiously for me. I’m also immune compromised having autoimmune disease disorder since taking vaccines. Now, I’m told not to take any covid shots. Dah! I wear a mask everywhere and luckily retired so no hassle. Never gave it a second thought of others wearing mask 😷 in my presence. But thank God here in America (California) we all keep our distance and don’t have to worry about it. Everyone here are loco/paranoid so they stay clear away keeping safe distance from me wearing my mask. I hate wearing mask but, have saved me from getting infected. Head Colds also can put me in a hospital which I avoid because I’m allergic to them. Yuck 🤮. So, I keep my mask on, keep safe distance and being old and crippled I do get the space I need to get around. I live in a very rural area and though people are polite they aren’t friendly.
I’m glad people have been good about you masking - that’s really important! Hopefully they’re willing to mask in hospitals where you may have to remove yours.
I’m also sorry they are saying you shouldn’t be vaccinated - do you know about Novavax? Some patients have been able to tolerate it when they couldn’t tolerate mRNA. Perhaps worth asking your doctor?
Thank you…I will.