The recent lawsuit, Austin v. Pritzker, which established that masks would no longer be required in Illinois schools, caused a rapid divide between those who wear masks and those who do not. 

As two students who chose to wear masks at school before the lawsuit, we will continue to do so, even several weeks later.

The biggest reason for this is safety: the safety of ourselves, and the safety of others, especially those who are at risk.

While both of us are not particularly worried about our own safety or health if we get COVID, we worry about those around us, especially our immunocompromised and at-risk friends, family, peers, and teachers, whose safety is so often disregarded.

Why I Am Going Mask-Optional

Immunocompromised individuals do not get the luxury of protection, and one of their only barriers from severe illness or death is with the use of masks.

The CDC has shown that wearing a mask can help reduce the spread of COVID by 66% just from wearing regular surgical masks and by 88% with an N95 or KN95, and these numbers prove that masks work in protecting others from this virus. 

It seems that the biggest reason for students choosing to remove their masks immediately after the ruling was simply being tired of wearing a mask – it was an apparent inconvenience.

We understand the exhaustion of all the COVID mitigations, and how many want to simply return to “normal.” This idea of COVID fatigue, the general emotional exhaustion from changes due to the pandemic, is very real.

However, as the Omicron variant was still a sure and deadly presence at the time of the lawsuit’s passing, with nearly 5 times as many cases as now, we think that there should have continued to be school-wide masking from the students and staff, regardless of whether you were frustrated with mask-wearing.

We are tired of wearing masks too. But when it comes down to it, we continue to wear them in the hope that soon enough no one will have to anymore. 

We were not yet at the “endemic” phase of COVID, where we would simply have to live with the virus (like a flu). Instead, we were still experiencing a pandemic, and that came with the moral obligation to protect others from infection, especially those that could become gravely ill or even die.

In our community, family, friends, students, staff, and peers are all making their own decisions regarding their mask wearing. Some students decide to wear masks in one period and take it off in another. 

Just this weekend, the CDC updated its guidance regarding masking across the nation. As long as you are in a low-risk county, masking is no longer strongly recommended, like it was at the height of each COVID peak.

However, while the data analysis varies, our county still has a high transmission rate, so masking is still recommended.

New cases, strains, and spikes are always possible, and as we have not fully entered the endemic phase, we both believe that wearing a mask will do more good than harm.

Even if they are not as essential at this time in the pandemic, masks still stop the spread of COVID. Just because they are becoming more of an option doesn’t mean their effectiveness is halted in any way.

A mask really is just a piece of fabric, but it’s a piece of fabric that has the capability to prevent the spread of COVID. This piece of fabric is a simple but very effective way to protect the lives of many.

There is still a risk of COVID, even if largely reduced, and we want to keep ourselves safe, along with our friends, family, and high-risk individuals we may come into contact with.

Each person has their own situations that influence their choice about wearing a mask or not. Everyone is in a different place with their comfort levels. 

While at this point, masks are much more of an option based on individuals’ beliefs, we are choosing to keep our masks on.