I’m fully vaccinated and always wore a mask in indoor public places and outdoor crowds. In early November I attended a quiet indoor gathering of 19 friends, all of them fully vaccinated as well, and a few who’d had the booster. We did not wear masks. I stayed only about an hour. Three days later one attendee tested positive for Covid. Over a few more days, 8 more of us developed Covid, including me. I’ve now been sick for two weeks despite my previous “good health.”

If 9 out of 19 fully vaccinated people can catch breakthrough Covid from one small, subdued but unmasked gathering, how is any unmasked gathering safe? That’s a rhetorical question. It’s not safe. I wish I’d have stayed home.