The masks are coming off. States are reopening. Vaccination rates are still rolling. The level of infection is low. Deaths are down. News outlets, like Axios, are nixing their weekly COVID maps because thereâs no need. The pandemic is over. The New York Giants recently announced the stadium will not only be operating at full capacity, but there will be no mask requirement, no negative COVID test requirement, or proof of vaccination. Tailgating will also be allowed. Itâs key since if one organization is going to do it, they all will. Look how long it took for Yankee Stadium to announce full capacity after the Islanders opened up  Nassau Coliseum.
Yet, as we burn our masks, the experts are plotting a new scheme to make us keep wearing them, or at the very least have them handy.  Why? Because we could see a resurgence of flu-like viruses (via Boston Globe):
Since the stateâs mask mandate was lifted at the end of May, face coverings have started to come off â and stay off. But according to infectious diseases doctors, the return of facial freedom might come with some downsides, like a resurgence in cases of the common cold and the flu.
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So far this flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported just one influenza-associated pediatric death nationwide, compared with 199 the previous season. And a study published in September in the CDCâs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report revealed a staggering 98 percent decrease in flu activity in the first months of the pandemic.
âMost of us in infectious disease really attributed that to masks â not just masks, but the combination of masks, people working largely from home, social distancing, all of those measures that have been in place for the last year,â said Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious diseases physician at Boston Medical Center.
But as vaccination rates increase and such precautions are slowly scrapped, other viruses will start to resurge, starting with colds and other viruses later this summer, and the flu come fall and winter.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory about increased cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, across parts of the southern United States â something they hadnât seen since April 2020, when cases âdecreased rapidly.â RSV is a cold-like respiratory illness that produces symptoms similar to COVID, and can cause severe illness in older adults and young children.
Since late March â about the time COVID vaccines began to be widely available â cases of RSV have been on the rise in the South. Though the trend hasnât yet reached the North, where the public was slower to unmask en masse because of lingering restrictions, experts predict that it will.
For the past year, precautions taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 also helped stop the spread of other common viruses.
But as restrictions loosen, these viruses will reemerge, starting with colds later this summer, and the flu come fall and winter. https://t.co/4vYCdgUxF6 pic.twitter.com/cvPpdu9kWh
â The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) June 14, 2021
The return of viruses could be somewhat mitigated by the continuation of public health measures in schools this fall.
Masks are among the most effective ways to avoid virus transmission, said @HelenChuMD. https://t.co/4vYCdgUxF6 pic.twitter.com/JUcsv4tdtu
â The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) June 14, 2021
.@jabarocas said heâll be keeping his mask on in situations that present a higher risk of cold or flu transmission â like a large gathering or crowded bar.
âWearing a mask is such low hanging fruit that Iâll probably do it in a lot of social situations.â https://t.co/4vYCdgUxF6 pic.twitter.com/DmCWALlMYC
â The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) June 14, 2021