“Without wearing any mask we are conscious of, we have a special face for each friend”—Oliver Wendell Holmes

Last Thursday at work my hand kept reaching for a mask every time I got up from my desk to greet a patient, only there was no mask to be found. On Thursday 05/11/23 the public health emergency was officially over, and with it the mask mandate at our institution. It was weird to see people walking maskless down the hospital corridors. Seems like only yesterday we were scrounging for N95 masks and reusing them often several times because of the PPE shortage. The idiocy surrounding the mask debate also comes to mind. Crazy how a simple mask was weaponized by politicians to create discord and divide people. Bonkers how some people would risk their lives and that of others around them in defense of “their rights!” And what about people’s right to live? Citizenship, The common good.

Only a few times in the history of our nation have we been asked to make sacrifices, think of the American Revolution, the Civil War, the World Wars, and 911. Americans didn’t flinch to serve their country in those trying times, yet when our generation was only asked to wear a mask to protect ourselves, our families, and neighbors, a good many declined and even took to arms (think Michigan). Wearing a mask was not a big ask! We were not summoned to land on Omaha Beach under a rain of bullets! Nonetheless politicians saw this as an opportunity to score political points, and in the process debunk science, and expertise!

Will I miss wearing mask? Probably not, nor will it be the last time I gown up and wear PPE. A small price to pay to stay healthy and stop the spread of infectious diseases, but that’s just me, a poor country neurologist.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.