West Texas–To Mask, Or Not To Mask….

El Paso has done it. Becoming the first city in Texas to reach herd immunity with 75% of its residents that are aged 12 and older having been fully vaccinated. That, and they STILL have a local mask mandate in effect. There are so many information sources out there in this day and age, and they all have varying opinions and "facts" about why you should or shouldn't wear a mask. Medical and Health officials can't seem to come to a 100% consensus on the subject either-some saying they work, others saying they are ineffective and could in fact be detrimental if you wear them. So who's right? Where do you turn for the best information?

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For me, it's a simple matter of statistics. What works? What's helping in areas of the country where numbers are on the decline or the example that El Paso has set with herd immunity? First--we need people to once again believe in SCIENCE like they did back in the 1950s when the Polio vaccine was created--and we need as many people as possible to get the shot(s). Next--if a mask mandate helped in El Paso--would it help here too? Are we "infringing" on your rights to ask you to be protective of not only yourself but others? The only way we're going to beat this is to come together to fight it. Otherwise, we're still going to be having these conversations four years from now. Let's follow El Paso's example. No--there is no State mandate for masks in Texas. But one of our own cities is showing us what we need to do to get where we all want the world to be.