It has been over a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Face masks, social distancing and hand sanitizing have become new norms. While we are all exhausted from practicing these safety precautions, it does not mean we should stop anytime soon.

Beyond COVID-19, we also need to deal with another pandemic: people who do not believe in wearing a face mask, also called anti-maskers. This stance not only jeopardizes the health of others but also lacks common sense and respect.

We are all familiar with former President Donald Trump’s backward views on the pandemic and how to approach it. He not only initially rejected the safety precaution, but he also mocked those who cared for protecting themselves and others.

These careless actions are a big reason why we had, and continue to have such a hard time addressing the pandemic. Furthermore, his disregard for safety precautions dangerously led to more people following in his footsteps.

Those who are in strong opposition to wearing a piece of cloth on their face for more than five minutes tend to feel they are being oppressed. However, it actually shows that they refuse to acknowledge the necessity of the precautions to avoid further deaths. They are far from experts and have no excuse to act entitled.

I think it is incredibly ridiculous for anti-maskers to make a necessary precaution so political. Face masks are not urged for no reason.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even suggests that fully vaccinated people still wear face masks. This precaution is in place to protect people so researchers can continue to monitor the vaccines’ full effectiveness against COVID-19 and its variants.

We have all heard the excuses that come out of these peoples’ mouths, from religious exemptions to medical conditions. These can be valid excuses. However, most of the time, the people that use them do not actually have any exemptions. Such poor excuses, if you can even call them that.

The pandemic is dragging, and life may still feel monotonous, but we all share a desire. We all want the face mask mandate to go away, to return to some normalcy. Wear your face mask, so we can hopefully do that soon enough.

If you want to reject wearing a face mask, you’re entitled to your own opinion. Just don’t kill others in the process.
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