Mask confusion: required or recommended?

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – If you are embarrassed by a change in camouflage policy, you are not alone.

In some places they require, in others not, so what do you do?

CBS News medical expert Dr. David Agus is adamant that we no longer need to hide everywhere, but everyone needs to weigh their tolerance.

Some aren’t ready to give up masks, while others can’t take them off fast enough.

“On the bus, I usually take the bus home a few days a week, I think somewhere in that case I can put on a mask,” said one of the riders from the port administration. “I personally don’t think I need to say somewhere what I should wear.”

Dr. Agus said the vaccines made a difference.

“They allow us to live with the virus instead of hiding from it,” he said.

He added that all we need to do is identify our own comfort zones.

“I think in places like airplanes where you’re out of control, who’s sitting next to you in a mask makes some sense and gives some protection,” Dr. Agus continued.

The same is true for other enclosed spaces such as buses and trains.

But what if you have a child?

“You have a child sitting inside where you are, you become a buffer for other people,” he explained.

He noted that masks are primarily designed to protect others from you.

“If you wear an N95 or KN95 mask, you will have some protection, but they are hard to wear for a long period of time,” he said.

For many it is a matter of peace of mind, and there are more practical reasons.

“I wear a mask when I don’t look too good,” laughed another Port Authority rider.

While this may seem ridiculous, the cosmetics industry has suffered as we have all been disguised, especially selling lipstick. They are starting to recover, but are still far from levels before the pandemic.

Finally, Dr. Agus said that if you are eligible for vaccination, do it.