WHY YOU SHOULD STILL WEAR A MASK IN 2024: a comprehensive guide to (Long) COVID, masking, disability justice, and more!
From the account @ACT_UP_MASK_UP | Linktree
From the account @ACT_UP_MASK_UP | Linktree
WHY YOU SHOULD STILL WEAR A MASK pamphlet - Google Drive
QUICK FACTS: [ 1 ] WE ARE STILL IN A PANDEMIC. COVID IS THE FOURTH LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE US. Over 3.3 million US COVID cases have been reported in 2024, leading to 280,000+ hospitalizations and 30,000+ deaths. The Economist cites US excess deaths so far in 2024 as closer to 100,000, noting that “COVID-19 has led to the deaths of far more people than official statistics suggest,” especially given that many official tracking and testing measures have been silently shut down.
[ 2 ] COVID = AIRBORNE, VASCULAR DISEASE THAT CAUSES LONG COVID. COVID can spread outdoors — it travels and lingers in the air like cigarette smoke. And, even a "mild" COVID infection can cause lasting brain, lung, heart, and/or immune damage. Associated post-infection symptoms (e.g., fatigue, brain fog, difficulty breathing) are labeled “Long COVID.” Each COVID infection brings a 10-20% chance of developing Long COVID, and this risk increases with every new infection. In the US, over 17 million adults and nearly 6 million children have been disabled by Long COVID. There is no known, safe, universal cure or treatment for Long COVID.
[ 3 ] RESPIRATORS (MASKS) WORK. Vaccines are a necessary, useful tool (we should all stay up-to-date with Flu and COVID boosters!) but we do not yet have a sterilizing COVID vaccine. Widespread masking is one of the BEST tools we have to prevent the spread of airborne diseases like COVID. KN95 & N95 masks are >95% effective at filtering out viruses & small particles like dust & allergens. Cloth or surgical masks are significantly less effective, but still better than wearing no mask at all, if you don’t have access to more protective options.
BEST MASKING PRACTICES
NEITHER VACCINES NOR PREVIOUS COVID INFECTIONS GIVE 100% IMMUNITY. VACCINES ARE ONE LAYER OF PROTECTION. AND, IN FACT, PREVIOUS COVID INFECTIONS CAN WEAKEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, MAKING YOU MORE VULNERABLE TO ADDITIONAL INFECTIONS! WEARING A MASK ISN’T A GUARANTEE YOU WON’T GET SICK, BUT IT IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL TO HELP PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS.
[ 1 ] CHOOSE A HIGH-QUALITY RESPIRATOR (KN95, N95, ETC.) Cloth & surgical masks are not nearly as protective as respirators. Try to find a “NIOSH-approved” respirator.
[ 2 ] FIND A STYLE THAT FITS YOU Unfortunately, many masks have been designed and tested assuming a white male adult user. Some respirators’ head straps may be challenging to use if you have curly or thick hair, if you wear your hair in locs, braids, or an Afro, if you wear a hijab, etc. A well- fitting mask covers your nose & mouth, & should have NO gaps for air to escape on the sides, top or bottom. Test a few different styles of masks until you find one that seals well on your face and feels comfortable!
[ 3 ] WEAR IT! A mask is only effective if you wear it — anytime you are in public or around other people. Keep the mask ON while you speak, cough, and sneeze. Make it a habit to grab your mask every time you leave home.
DISABILITY, GENDER, RACE & QUEERNESS: OUR LIBERATION IS CONNECTED Consider... Who has the privilege of working from home? Who can afford tools such as masks and rapid tests? Who can afford to take time off from work? Who is more likely to be believed and given proper treatment by medical providers? Who is more likely to live or work in high-risk, crowded environments? In a Nov. 2023 poll, 72% of Black respondents said they were taking COVID precautions (avoiding large gatherings, travel, or indoor dining; masking in crowded places; taking a COVID test), while only 39% of white respondents said they were taking any of these same precautions. Data also shows that “white people feared COVID less after learning other races were hit hardest.”
Bisexual, trans, disabled, Black and Hispanic adults are the groups experiencing the highest rates of Long COVID. Women are significantly more likely than men to experience Long COVID. And infants (<1 yr) often have the highest COVID ICU rates among all age groups. ALL of us suffer because our healthcare system has abandoned masking/protecting its patients altogether. The government has shown its disregard for queer lives during the (ongoing) AIDS epidemic, and history is repeating itself. Queer, trans, Black, disabled lives are lives worth living and worth protecting! Mask up! Tldr: public health is a collective responsibility. Wearing a mask is an act of community care & resistance against the fascist forces of eugenics, ableism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, biphobia & transphobia.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT It’s okay if reading this information makes you feel scared, angry, confused, or defensive. It can be difficult to examine our complicity, and we have all been subjected to constant messages aimed to convince us that “COVID is over,” that we should simply resume our “normal” lives of unrestrained consumption. Remind yourself: each new day is an opportunity to make new, better-informed decisions. EVEN IF YOU STOPPED MASKING, YOU CAN ALWAYS DECIDE TO START MASKING AGAIN!
Ask yourself. . . Even if you stopped masking, you can always decide to start masking again! Would you rather live in ignorance and denial, or in reality? Are you willing to sacrifice your long-term health, and the health and lives of others, just to eat indoors at restaurants? What is holding you back from wearing a mask on the bus, at work, at the grocery store, to the doctor’s, or to a friend’s house? How can you unlearn internalized ableism? How does the way we allow covid to spread and mutate unmitigated in the U.S. Impact people in the global south? In places like Palestine, where disease is used as a tool of genocidal empires? What does it look like to truly make queer / black / trans / disabled liberation a central motivating force in your daily life?
Sources
1 “Leading Causes of Death.” CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm
2 BNO News. https://x.com/BNOFeed/status/1799937882297368800
3 “The Pandemic’s True Death Toll.” The Economist. https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-estimates
4 “Ten scientific reasons in support of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.” The Lancet.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00869-2/fulltext
5 “Airborne transmission of COVID‐19 virus in enclosed spaces: An overview of research methods.” Zhao et al. 2022.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9349854/
6 “Is the coronavirus airborne?” New Jersey Department of Health.
https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/coronavirus-information/about-the-virus/is-the-coronavirus-airborne
7 “Long COVID.” Better Health Channel. Victorian Department of Health. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/covid-19/long-covid
8 “It’s Official: Long COVID Is a Chronic Disease.” Health Central. June 2024.
https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/coronavirus/long-covid-is-a-chronic-disease
9 “Every COVID Infection Increases Your Risk of Long COVID, Study Warns.” University of Nebraska Medical Center. December 2023.
https://www.sciencealert.com/every-covid-infection-increases-your-risk-of-long-covid-study-warns
10 “Nearly 7% of Americans struggle with Long COVID as infections surge.” Gavi. March 2024.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/nearly-7-americans-struggle-long-covid-infections-surge
11 “Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in Children.” Rao et al. February 2024. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/153/3/e2023062570/196606/
12 “Benefits of Getting A COVID-19 Vaccine.” CDC. September 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html
13 “N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows.” University of Maryland. May 2024.
https://today.umd.edu/n95-masks-nearly-perfect-at-blocking-covid-umd-study-shows
14 “Confused About Face Masks? Here’s the Latest.” https://www.ebgtz.org/masks/
15 “Most PPE not designed for ethnic minority health workers and women, study finds.” University of Southampton. November 2021.
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2021/11/ppe-fit-testing.page
16 “Respiratory personal protective equipment for healthcare workers: impact of sex differences on respirator fit test results.” British Journal of
Anaesthesia. October 2020. https://www.bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(20)30851-5/fulltext
17 “KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor November 2023: With COVID Concerns Lagging, Most People Have Not Gotten Latest Vaccine And Half Say They Are
Not Taking Precautions This Holiday Season.” https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/vaccine-monitor-november-2023-with-covid-
concerns-lagging-most-people-have-not-gotten-latest-vaccine/
18 “White people feared COVID less after learning other races were hit hardest, data show.” NPR. April 2022.
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/04/1090919953/
19 National Center for Health Statistics. U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey. 2022–2024. Long COVID.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm
20 “The short reach of long COVID care.” WHYY. NPR, PBS. June 2024. https://whyy.org/segments/the-short-reach-of-long-covid-care/
21 “‘Brilliant at survival’ — Long Covid afflicts trans and bi patients at highest rates.” Clear Health Costs. February 2024.
https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2024/02/long-covid-challenges-trans-bisexual-lgbtq-patients/
22 “Total hospital admissions, ICU admissions, and deaths among COVID-19 cases in Alberta by age group, 2023-2024.” Respiratory Virus Dashboard.
Government of Alberta. https://www.alberta.ca/stats/dashboard/respiratory-virus-dashboard.htm?data=severe-outcomes#severe-outcomes
MORE RESOURCES
For the extended version of this pamphlet, complete with more info on COVID, vaccines, disability justice, where to get masks, and plenty of external resources, scan this QR code or visit https://linktr.ee/ACT_UP_MASK_UP.
This pamphlet was created by one very passionate (and very tired) queer, trans, disabled person. Please consider sending a tip/donation via Venmo. NOTE: THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE THESE TIPS WILL NOT PROVIDE COMPLETE PROTECTION FROM COVID. MASKING IS ONE USEFUL TOOL IN PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF AIRBORNE DISEASE.