I’ve conceptualized my masking as a sort of “Six Degrees of Separation Swiss Cheese Model”. Which is to say that I broadly don’t mask for “my” sake; I mask because I’m trying to see from the perspective of a COVID-conscious immunocompromised person, right?

Imagining for a moment that I am immunocompromised: I have my personal connections as my last line of defense from disease, right? And my personal connections’ personal connections are then my second-to-last line of defense; and their personal connections are my third-to-last line of defense; and so on, up to my sixth-to-last line of defense — that is, my very first line of defense — which contains the majority of the planet. Only six lines of defense is not many at all, though, is it? I have to wonder how many safety mechanisms things like nuclear reactors have by comparison.

Now in real life, I am not immunocompromised, but I am bound to be part of the second-to-last, third-to-last, fourth-to-last, and fifth-to-last lines of defense for maaany immunocompromised people around the world, and assuming we believe in Six Degrees of Separation, I’m going to be the sixth-to-last line of defense for all the remaining immunocompromised people on the entire planet. Also in real life, many immunocompromised people cannot rely on even their very last line of defense to actually consider their needs or do anything to stop disease transmission, and many immunocompromised people lack access to quality healthcare, which makes it even more important to strengthen their second-to-sixth-to-last lines of defense, right?

That’s how I understand things, at least.

Which I suppose is to say that I’m fine with masking in crowded indoor spaces for basically the rest of my life, even if the COVID pandemic is declared wholly and unquestionably over.