Newsletter: You’re done with masks? That’s too bad, because COVID isn’t done with us

Good morning. I’m Paul Thornton, and it is Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. Let’s look back at the week in Opinion.

I’ve heard it recently — twice, actually — and there’s a good chance you have too: “I’m done with masks.” And I can empathize, but only to a point. As we close in on three years of living with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to grow weary of the inconveniences and safety measures that no longer seem necessary.

Because hey, you and I are still alive, right? I mean, who actually turns around and goes home from the store anymore when they realize they forgot a mask? Never mind that the virus has killed roughly 1 out of every 300 Americans since March 2020. Or that so-called long COVID remains a potentially life-altering complication for some who survive infection. Or that roughly 400 Americans still die every day from the virus.

And that’s before the possible uptick in deaths that may come from this emerging surge, which already appears to be a doozy in Los Angeles County. Writing on the op-ed page, Dr. Eric Topol explains why the emerging dominant COVID variant may evade the immunity we had collectively built up from vaccination and prior infection. After reading Topol’s piece, you might want to reach for that mask:

“Why is this happening yet again, after 13 billion doses of vaccines have been administered and after more than 650 million confirmed infections? Shouldn’t enough people have enough immunity to stave off a wave of infections at this point? Unfortunately no, principally because our immune system protection against the virus wanes over time, especially as it evolved to Omicron and its multiple subvariants. By four to six months after vaccination or a booster shot, there is a substantial drop-off of neutralizing antibodies and protection against hospitalization — though that protection is largely restored by a new booster shot.

“A second factor is that mitigation measures have largely been abandoned. Few people are masking, especially with N95 or KN95 masks, and there are more indoor gatherings occurring because of colder weather and the holidays. Testing is no longer as common to screen people who are exposed to the virus. Little to no attention is being paid to ventilation or air filtration. The pervasive attitude is that the pandemic is over.

“It is not. Denial of circulating virus will not make it go away or reduce its toll of ill effects.”

And before you dash off an email repeating something you heard about masking never actually having been shown to reduce transmission, let me just say this: Masking works. It just does. I don’t know how else to respond, but what I have noticed is that people who would just rather not wear masks cite the disclaimers, caveats and qualifiers mentioned by highly regarded scientists such as Dr. Anthony Fauci and run with them — while ignoring that these experts strenuously favor masking (with high quality, well-fitting, easily available N-95/KN-95 respirators) when transmission is high.

At least the people declaring “I’m done with masks” own up to their impatience without pretending the evidence is on their side. Because it isn’t.

A big thanks, once again, to Georgia’s overworked voters. Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won reelection against Republican challenger Herschel Walker, a man so unfit for office that his candidacy could have been comic relief if the stakes weren’t so high. (And one of our letter writers expressed shock that Walker got as close as he did to power.) The Times’ editorial board welcomes the newly buffered Democratic majority in the Senate — which was already put to use with Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s departure from the party Friday morning — and urges Congress to shore up voter rights after apparent suppression efforts in Georgia led to long lines at the polls on election day. L.A. Times

This is really bad. In last week’s newsletter, I expressed hope that the future is finally getting a little less dim for democracy. Comes now the U.S. Supreme Court, which may give legal cover to a nutty far-right constitutional theory and wreck our elections in the process. UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky writes: “The case concerns the so-called ‘independent state legislature’ theory, which posits that the legislature of a state gets the final word on how elections to Congress are conducted and state courts are powerless to do anything even if the legislature is violating the law. It is a theory of recent vintage, never having been accepted in American history. If adopted by the Supreme Court, its implications are ominous.” L.A. Times

California needs more solar and wind power. Where can we get it? To meet its climate goals, California will have to quadruple its ability to generate wind and solar power. That could mean the devastation of vast stretches of sensitive desert habitat and disruption of offshore marine ecosystems, outcomes that essentially defeat the purpose of reducing emissions. The editorial board suggests less disruptive ways to generate renewable power, such as more urban rooftop systems or covering the state’s aqueducts with solar panels, which has the additional benefit of reducing evaporation. The board also invites ideas from readers. L.A. Times

Fentanyl means the end of “harmless” recreational drug experimentation. Columnist Robin Abcarian doesn’t like anti-drug hysteria, but now that she’s raising her preteen niece, she says she’s terrified by the recent spate of fentanyl deaths among young people. “Because of fentanyl, the era of ‘harmless’ drug experimentation with pills or powders is over,” Abcarian writes. “The street drug supply is poisoned. We have to make sure our social-media-savvy children understand — really and truly— that one pill can kill.” L.A. Times

Democrats should use their Senate majority to expose Republican corruption. With the incoming House majority promising to burden the Biden administration with endless investigations, Kurt Bardella urges Senate Democrats to righteously respond in kind: “Let’s be very clear here: This is not a ‘both sides’ situation. If Democrats in the Senate pursue this kind of oversight agenda, it would be based on facts.... It’s worth noting that unlike Ivanka Trump and [Jared] Kushner, Hunter Biden never served in the federal government in any capacity. The investigations Republicans are about to launch are conspiracy-theory-driven nonsense.” L.A. Times