It’s hard to keep up with the latest developments, but let’s see if we can agree on a few baseline facts. 

• A new COVID variant is spreading particularly fast.
• Your recent COVID vaccination helps keep you protected from a serious case but may not prevent you from getting a mild case or spreading the virus.
• At least 70 percent of your neighbors are vaccinated (a percentage that can only increase) while others carry antibodies from catching COVID itself.
• Immunocompromised people, and those over the age of 70, may want to take extra precautions in high-transmission areas. 

The situation described above is true today, will be true in December, and true a decade from now. People can always take extra precautions if they choose, but we need to learn how to return to a normal life.

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | We must vaccinate – AND mask up!

Some are calling for a new statewide mask mandate, even for the vaccinated – the classic “belt and suspenders” justification. The most generous interpretation of available peer-reviewed studies, and even government statements, indicate that cloth masks barely work, and only in limited indoor scenarios. If vaccines are the belt, masks are suspenders made out of well-cooked spaghetti. 

Rather than wearing an ineffective mask, I want to advocate that Coloradans embrace “vaccines” of an additional variety. As with the COVID vaccine, you might still catch a “virus,” but you’re less likely to get a serious case. 

The Fear “Vaccine”: Fear is a virus that spreads within the unknown. Each time we confront the unknown we get vaccinated. Every day since the lockdown was lifted, someone gets a Fear Vaccine by entering a public place filled with people for the first time and lives to tell the tale. Soon, a trip to the store or the school gymnasium is not a dangerous mission into a threat vector. It’s normal life, once again. 

The Isolation “Vaccine”: You feel the shot the first time you shake a friend’s hand, or hug a long-separated family member. We cannot deny, or minimize, the health benefits of human interactions – a hug, a handshake, or that most contagious of conditions: a smile. Masks and lockdowns are barriers to receiving an isolation vaccine. 

The Unreasonable and Unhealthy “Vaccine”: You pass a lone runner, masked, on the open space trail.  “Wait!” you say, as the Unreasonable Vaccine begins to take effect. “There’s no data anywhere that supports the need to mask while exercising outdoors! In fact, it’s really bad for your health – even the World Health Organization says so!” Compared to a lockdown, masks seemed reasonable. But with the vast majority of the population carrying some level of COVID resistance, the cost of compliance far exceeds the risks of noncompliance. 

The Hyperbole “Vaccine”: Did a politician claim their mandates would save lives, but soon you discover that the Free State next door reported the same hospitalization rates? Did you notice that the government just moved the pandemic goal posts without justification, and you know they will again? Congratulations, you got the hyperbole vaccine! (Caution: Side effects include headaches.) 

Masks are more likely to precipitate an outbreak of Fear and Isolation, as well as Unreasonable and Unhealthy behavior. All of these conditions can be cured, but we need your help to stop the spread! Help to inoculate your friends, neighbors, and especially any officials calling for a mask mandate.

A FULLY vaccinated person knows that life is full of dangerous contagions. And we should live it anyway!??

Matt Knoedler is a former Colorado state representative and the co-founder and CEO of CaucusRoom.com, an online community for conservatives to gather, encourage and engage locally.