August 26, 2024 – On a warm July evening, Raleigh Rivera, 29, attended a band playing a backyard show in East Los Angeles. The audience – around 40 people – wore KN95 or N95 Maskswere previously tested for COVID and agreed that in the event that they needed to remove their masks for any reason, they’d apologize from the remainder of the gang. Before their performance, the band showed visitors their negative test results and asked for permission to perform without masks. They were illuminated with far-UV light, which can also be the case been shown to securely kill airborne viruses.
This may sound like a scene from three or 4 summers ago, when most health officials, policymakers and community members encouraged adherence to COVID precautions — but that's exactly what happened this summer. For Rivera and the remainder of the gang — who describe themselves as COVID-aware — life hasn't gotten “back to normal” prefer it has for thus many others.
Rivera and other COVID-vigilant people have cause for concern: In early August, the proportion of individuals testing positive for COVID reached its highest level since January 2022 CDC data. The health department Wastewater test tracker has “high” or “very high” virus levels in most U.S. states.
Many studies have shown that proper masking provides additional protection against COVID. But Rivera, like others within the COVID-conscious community, is often the one person wearing a mask in a given setting.
“Continuing to think and live like this feels like living in an alternate reality all the time,” she said. She has POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), a chronic blood disorder that may cause your heart rate to extend whenever you arise. Not only do Rivera and her husband wear masks wherever she goes, they’ve air purifiers throughout their home and use one saline nasal rinse and a antimicrobial mouthwash before going outside.
Despite her vigilance, Rivera contracted COVID in the autumn of 2023. She immediately took Paxlovid but was struck by crushing fatigue that sidelined her for just a few weeks, she said. After she recovered, her POTS symptoms — which might include fatigue, lightheadedness and nausea — worsened. Almost a 12 months later, she is just beginning to get her appetite back.
“Everything is still a risk calculation wherever I go. But with this show I felt like my body could finally relax,” she said. “I felt very present and part of something in a way I hadn’t been able to experience in a long time.”
Local governments in places like New York City and Los Angeles have considered imposing it Mask bans — particularly in response to protesters wearing masks at rallies to cover their identities — despite the spike in COVID case numbers over the summer.
“It takes a lot of confidence,” Rivera said. “It gives up some of my social currency. I know there are places I won't be invited to anymore because [wearing a mask] It’s either driving people crazy or killing them that I’m going to keep this reminder of the pandemic on my face.”
For Rivera and others, much of the responsibility for shielding the community appears to fall on individuals with weakened immune systems. One of their biggest concerns is the dearth of mask requirements within the medical field. While some health systems have done so brought back Since the numbers began rising again, many haven’t done the identical.
Aaron Friedberg, MD, professor and internal medicine physician specializing in long COVID at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, wears a mask in every clinical setting, even when the hospital now not requires it.
“There are still some people who get very sick from COVID, even though it's much less common now,” he said. “For me, wearing a mask is a relatively simple thing I can do to improve their health. It’s an important way to show respect and protect your patients.”
Bernard Camins, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, also understands this concern. The hospital remains to be seeing many patients with COVID, he said, but vaccinated and boosted hospital staff tend to not see transmission of the virus as they proceed to wear proper personal protective equipment.
Olivia Belknap, an associate marriage and family therapist within the Los Angeles area, is COVID-aware and sees many consumers with similar concerns. She said it means loads to be COVID conscious.
These days, many might imagine adhering to COVID precautions is overkill, but Belknap herself (who was also diagnosed with POTS after a COVID infection) and a few of her clients don't yet feel comfortable getting on a plane or outside on the patio to eat in a restaurant. She sees clients who’re unwilling to enter almost anything that isn't their very own home.
“A majority of [my clients] “They sought me out because they know that no matter what precautions they take, I will not punish them or stop them from doing these things,” Belknap said. “It's more about finding meaning and connection in your life while doing things in a way that is safe for you and that makes you feel good.”
Belknap said it's not her job to inform people to be too cautious or too lax of their precautions. Sometimes she works with clients who’re afraid to take the primary steps toward easing their very own restrictions; Other times, she talks to people who find themselves struggling to come back to terms with what it means to have a much smaller social circle for the remainder of their lives.
Although it looks like the remainder of the world has moved on, the priority is for those whose lives may very well be upended by a post-viral response as a consequence of a COVID infection, Camins said.
“Maybe it's not death, but it's still exhausting. You’re alive, but life isn’t fun to live.”
While protecting yourself from life-altering long-term COVID symptoms is greater than justified, Camins says there may be a possible downside for individuals with weakened immune systems: They could turn into sicker than before from other viruses.
“The only thing I'm worried about for this community is that because they're being very careful with COVID, they're unlikely to be exposed to other viruses that their body can build up immunity to,” he said. “At some point, when you let your guard down, you get very sick.”
There are times when Rivera wants to provide up masking altogether, like when she's attending a marriage. She still goes to lots of them and takes the time to placed on makeup, regardless that she knows most individuals won't see her face for a lot of the night. She desires to give you the option to take off her mask indoors, eat indoors or have a drink with friends without worry.
There may very well be a future for Rivera that doesn't involve the identical level of precautions she's currently taking — but that comes with strings attached.
“There are places where I know I will wear a mask forever, like in medical facilities or while traveling,” she said. “But I also know that there will be no more weddings for me if I am permanently and significantly more disabled than I already am, and that is entirely possible if there is another infection.”