I am sympathetic to the feelings expressed here, and was a diligent masker and social distancer myself in the core years of the pandemic. However, I am not con

I am sympathetic to the feelings expressed here, and was a diligent masker and social distancer myself in the core years of the pandemic. However, I am not convinced that evidence has shown at the population level that more restrictive countermeasures will help. See for example this summary of a large study published in Lancet, showing essentially no impact from state-level policies around masking in public gatherings. https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-major-study-argues-floridas-covid-death-rate-compares-favorably-to-californias/ https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-major-study-ar... Original study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00461-0/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...