Let's get back to the old normal.

Post vaccination mask mandate is an oxymoron.

The question is, does the vaccine works or not? If it works, and we are now treating the disease as endemic, why are we still mandating the wearing of masks?

If the vaccine works, at worst, most infected people will only get a mild fever. Death, if any, will only occur to people with comorbidity, same as with any other pulmonary diseases that are endemic.

Majority of people will be OK when they get the flu, common cold, and other pulmonary related diseases. A tiny few will die, most probably from complication of secondary illnesses. That's what endemic means, at its most basic real life implication.

Based on the statistics of these existing endemic diseases, we do not go around wearing masks in our daily lives. Even when our work colleagues or family members have the sniffles of the nose, we do not react. We do not suddenly order everyone to wear masks. We do not even order them to go home. In fact, in a normal workplace, we give the guy the option whether to take medical leave or continue working with the sniffles, depending on the severity of their sniffles and workload situation; basically, their choice. We do not run away from them like they are carrying the black plague or some zombie virus.

It should be the same with CoVid19 when we say we are treating them as an endemic. That is the real life implication when we say a disease is endemic. We should stop fearing them like we do not fear the flu and the common cold. Even before vaccination, more than 99% of the population are not affected, and I include those that are asymptomatic and/or has only mild fever and do not need breathing assistance.

Post vaccination, the number is higher. In fact, the fatality rate now is very, very low, almost negligible, and certainly are able to be managed by our healthcare infrastructure. In fact, majority of severe symptoms and deaths are now people who are not vaccinated (and the numbers of cases are low and manageable).

I respect the freedom of choice of those who do not want or are not vaccinated for whatever reasons. They have made their choice. They have to live by that choice. They have chosen to live with that risks. I respect that.

We cannot continue to make policy based on those people who, for whatever reasons, are not vaccinated. Now that 90% are vaccinated, we should open the country fully. And I mean fully. 

Interstate travel, no physical distancing, dine in, back to office, recreation & sports, everything. No mask mandates. 

If people want to continue wearing masks, let it be their personal choice, but no mask mandates from the government. Also no vaccine passport for citizens moving within the country. (The only "vaccine passport" that I may agree with is foreign tourists & workers from other countries, but with an expiry limit of implementation, maybe for 1 or 2 years, or until 90% of global population are vaccinated. The point being, it should not be a permanent thing. Also, no need for quarantine.) We have defined herd immunity as 90%. This is an accepted scientific conclusion. If this is true, then we should make policy based on this conclusion.

We should stop fearing CoVid19. Having immunity does not mean you will not get CoVid19. It means if you have it, your survival rate is very, very high. It's the same as chicken pox vaccine. You are vaccinated when you are a baby, but when you are 10 years old, you still get chicken pox. But the most important thing is that, the disease did not cause brain damage to you. Chicken pox become just like the common cold. People do not fear chicken pox anymore, even though, at its worst, you could die or suffer brain damage. (Just google "can you die from chicken pox?".)

It should be the same for CoVId19. 

So, I say, open up everything.

No mask mandate.
No physical distancing.
Come back to the office.
Go to the gyms & parks.
Restart the economy.

No new normal.

Let's get back to the old normal.

Salam.