This document is a description of how I\u2019m feeling about COVID and what precautions I take to avoid catching it.<\/p>\n
This is a snapshot in time, last updated in November 2025. My feelings and approaches have changed somewhat over time, and will likely change again in the future. If you\u2019re reading this more than (say) six months after that last-updated date, it may (or may not) be somewhat inaccurate.<\/p>\n
This document isn\u2019t intended as an argument, and I\u2019m not interested in arguing about it. This is a description of where I\u2019m coming from and what precautions I take. Some parts of it might be useful to others who are COVID-cautious, but my main reason for posting it is to describe where I\u2019m coming from, not to advocate anything.<\/p>\n
Also, this document isn\u2019t intended as a request for advice. Please don\u2019t give me advice about it.<\/p>\n
I want to reduce the likelihood of my getting Long COVID, and so I take various precautions to avoid catching COVID. Some of my precautions are based on science; others are more based on anxiety. In general, my precautions involve:<\/p>\n
Much longer version follows.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to get COVID.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s primarily because I don\u2019t want to get Long COVID. I\u2019ve seen some of the effects that Long COVID can have, and I don\u2019t want to go through that.<\/p>\n
And any COVID infection can have long-term negative effects, even for people like me who are not immunocompromised.<\/p>\n
(Some other diseases, such as flu, can also have sequelae; but as far as I can tell, some COVID sequelae are more common, much longer-lasting, and much more severe than most flu sequelae.)<\/p>\n
So I take precautions to avoid getting infected.<\/p>\n
As far as I know, I haven\u2019t yet had COVID. It\u2019s certainly possible that I\u2019ve had it without knowing it. But I\u2019ve been much more cautious about avoiding exposure than most people, and I\u2019ve been lucky and privileged enough to be able to do things like work from home. And I\u2019ve been using high-quality (\u201cNAAT\u201d) home tests for a couple of years now, and I\u2019ve gotten vaccine shots whenever eligible. So I think I can say, with significantly more confidence than most people, that I probably haven\u2019t had it.<\/p>\n
I feel like there are two main parts to where I\u2019m coming from; one of them seems pretty science-based to me, and the other is less science-based and more about my anxiety. Both of them affect my approaches.<\/p>\n
The more-about-anxiety part: Even though I\u2019m not at high risk, I generally mask outdoors, at least when it\u2019s reasonably likely that I\u2019ll be encountering people who haven\u2019t tested negative in the past few hours. My impression is that in most outdoor contexts, there\u2019s enough airflow that the risk of infection is relatively low (though still high enough to be an issue for immunocompromised people and others at higher risk than me); but I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and I\u2019m often quite risk-averse. Staying masked means I don\u2019t have to make a bunch of decisions over and over again (such as \u201chas the density of people suddenly or gradually increased to the point where I feel like I should put on a mask?\u201d).<\/p>\n
This is one of the things that my less-cautious friends most often find surprising\u2014\u201cwait, you even mask outdoors?\u201d they ask. But it\u2019s where I am right now, and I\u2019m not particularly interested in trying to change this right now. Especially because for me, there\u2019s little downside to wearing a mask.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There are a bunch of different kinds of masks, and different masks do different things. There\u2019s a widespread idea that masks don\u2019t protect the wearer, but that\u2019s not true. It\u2019s true that a loose-fitting surgical mask with big gaps at the sides may not do much other than reduce the likelihood of your coughs and sneezes hitting other people. But a well-fitting mask that does good filtering, such as an N95 mask that fits firmly around your mouth and nose with no gaps, protects both you and the people around you.<\/p>\n
So when I say \u201cmasked\u201d below, I\u2019m referring to well-fitting N95 masks. (The ones that I use are Halyard N95 respirators<\/a>, the ones that look like duck bills. I use those because they\u2019re the most comfortable-to-me of the ones I\u2019ve tried.)<\/p>\n In most contexts, wearing a mask has no downside for me. Wearing one doesn\u2019t cause me any physical or mental distress. And it has positive effects; for example:<\/p>\n The only disadvantages I\u2019ve encountered from my wearing a mask (none of which are a particularly big deal) are:<\/p>\n Some items and approaches that help me maintain my protocols:<\/p>\n High-quality home tests, specifically NAATs. (I currently use Metrix tests<\/a>.) These are essentially lab-quality tests (like PCRs) that you can do at home; they\u2019re a lot more expensive than single home antigen tests, but they\u2019re a lot less expensive than PCRs. (Metrix tests cost $25\/test, plus a one-time expense of $50 for the test-reader box.) They take about half an hour to run.<\/p>\n My current rule of thumb is that if someone tests negative on a NAAT, then I consider them unlikely to be infectious for the next several hours.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Here are examples of some things that I\u2019m currently OK with doing and some things that I\u2019m currently not OK with doing. These are not comprehensive lists.<\/p>\n And I may sometimes not be entirely consistent over time, even with items on these lists; there\u2019s a certain amount of variation based on gut feelings, and on the degree to which I\u2019m willing to be flexible when I don\u2019t think the other people in question will accommodate me, and other intangibles.<\/p>\n \u2026Also, I\u2019m fine with audio and video calls. I spend quite a bit of time on calls with friends; usually anywhere from about three to about ten hours a week, with half a dozen different people, most of whom live far away so I wouldn\u2019t see them in person much anyway. (And I interact with many more people on social media.)<\/p>\n I mention this because I\u2019ve been told that I obviously must be super lonely and isolated because I\u2019m COVID-cautious, and I keep having to explain that that\u2019s not true. (Note: this isn\u2019t meant to devalue the feelings of people who do<\/em> feel lonely and isolated due to trying to maintain COVID protocols\u2014trying to maintain COVID protocols can<\/em> be super isolating. Different people have different needs around how much time they spend with other people in person.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n These are a couple of things that push my risk boundaries but that I sometimes do anyway for various reasons.<\/p>\n Attending conventions that don\u2019t have strong COVID protocols in place. (Note that guidance like \u201cattendees are encouraged to wear masks\u201d isn\u2019t a strong COVID protocol; in my experience, most people interpret phrases like that as meaning \u201cThere\u2019s no need for anyone to wear a mask.\u201d) (For more about other kinds of conventions, see below.)<\/p>\n This is a little sad; I used to go to Worldcon almost every year, and occasional other conventions. And I do often like conventions. But on the other hand, they also cost me a lot of social energy, and a lot of my sf-reading and -writing friends haven\u2019t attended the cons I attend in a while, and I\u2019m no longer as interested in a lot of the usual convention programming as I used to be. And the online parts of conventions can be pretty good. \u2026WisCon is the one con that I\u2019ve heard about that has consistently had COVID protocols that I like; for more about that, see below.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n It seems entirely plausible that at some point I may end up catching COVID. My actions are not 100% risk-free. If that happens, so be it. But until there are good treatments for Long COVID, I expect to continue to be very cautious, both before I catch COVID and after.<\/p>\n (I\u2019ve read that each time you get a COVID infection, that increases the risk of Long COVID; if that\u2019s true, then it\u2019ll be worth continuing to be cautious even after I get infected the first time.)<\/p>\n If we reach a point where Long COVID is easily curable or preventable, then I\u2019ll probably stop using most of the above precautions. (Though, as noted above, there are other good reasons for masking besides avoiding COVID\u2014especially helping keep environments usable by immunocompromised people.) Various researchers are working on Long COVID, and I hope that they find answers and solutions.<\/p>\n But if that doesn\u2019t happen, then yeah, I do expect to keep this up for the rest of my life. There are lots of things that I expect to keep doing for the rest of my life to avoid bad effects; this is one such thing.<\/p>\n A useful (albeit imperfect) analogy that helps inform my thinking: comparing COVID to STDs, and masks to barriers. (Note: the below includes a bit of info about my sexual practices; if you don\u2019t want to see that, then skip this section.)<\/p>\n Some examples of aspects of that analogy:<\/p>\n Again, this isn\u2019t a perfect analogy; for example, STDs aren\u2019t communicable through the air, and \u201ceveryone makes their own decisions\u201d isn\u2019t a good systemic public-health solution. But even so, I think it\u2019s an illuminating comparison in a lot of ways.<\/p>\n\n
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Tools<\/h2>\n
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Some specific examples<\/h2>\n
Some things I\u2019m OK with doing<\/h3>\n
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Some things I occasionally and reluctantly do<\/h3>\n
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Some things I\u2019m not OK with doing<\/h3>\n
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Some things I\u2019m not currently sure about doing<\/h3>\n
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Might I catch COVID anyway?<\/h2>\n
But surely I won\u2019t keep this up for the rest of my life<\/em>???<\/h2>\n
An analogy<\/h2>\n
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