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Despite RSV, COVID-19, and the flu putting more pressure on schools and hospitals we’re hearing only recommendations that we go back to wearing masks.

And every indication is that we have collectively agreed on voluntary measures only because we learned our lesson. Even though the involuntary measures kept our death rate among the lowest of any state, the social and educational cost was too high.

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Plus masks had some people on the verge of overthrowing not just the government but the entire medical profession and maybe even civilization itself.

So, for this wave, we’re on our own, and I’m fine with that. Because this time we have all the tools.

We have vaccines, so many vaccines. I admit I’m a big fan of vaccines because I can’t see any other reason why, even though I’ve been going to shows, visiting relatives, standing in TSA lines, flying coast to coast, and working in person, I haven’t gotten infected.

I’m such a fan of vaccines that when I showed up at the neighborhood pharmacy to get the latest vaccine and handed over my paperwork, I was told I’d already gotten the latest vaccine, and they kicked me out! Yes! I’ve been vaccinated so many times I’m to the point of forgetting I got them!

So, I feel I’ve done what I can, and all that’s left is to mask up when I feel in doubt. Which is easy to do. I have masks in just about every pocket, and every glove compartment, plus a lot of businesses have them at the door. It’s easy – and free – to protect yourself if you want to.

And I want to. Because the last place I want to end up is in a hospital, especially now.

Check out the – smaller hospitals in some areas are on the verge of closing, bigger ones are short-staffed, and emergency room wait time is on the order of waiting for your plane to be de-iced.

You’d be crazy to do anything that might send you to a hospital whether it’s driving too fast or breathing too deeply near strangers unmasked.

Make your choice, enjoy the freedom, but at the same time, be prepared to own it if you end up choosing wrong. Because it sounds like – even for the middle class – the safety net is starting to rip.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. on ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.