Mask Mandates Return, This Time for Those Without a Flu Jab
Just when we thought we were done with wearing masks, it appears as though a new trend in facial coverings could be headed our way.
When the world finally began to crawl out of the pandemic phase of the COVID-19 crisis and into the endemic stage, our faces were finally free. No more sucking air through a cotton covering. No more having to smell our own breath all day. No more adult acne around our nose and mouth.
Life was getting back to normal, and normal felt great for the first time in a while.
But now, after having seen how easy it was to simply install mask mandates, one school in California is now requiring students to don the facial coverings if they don’t get a yearly flu shot.
The University of California, Berkeley has introduced a mask mandate for students who have not taken a seasonal flu shot.
‘Masks are required during flu season if not vaccinated for flu,’ an announcement on the school’s website read.
The guidelines also strongly recommends that all people on UC Berkeley campuses wear masks indoors regardless of their Covid-19 vaccination status.
It didn’t take long for the outrage to begin.
Lawyer and California candidate for U.S. Senate, Mark Meuser, said: ‘UC Berkeley is going to force unvaccinated students to mask during flu season, despite the CDC saying that unvaccinated should now be treated the same as vaccinated.
‘Someone should tell UC Berkeley that they should follow the science,’ he quipped sarcastically.
‘2019 norms gone forever at Berkeley, as university makes masking compulsory in flu seasons,’ another user tweeted.
Other users were in utter disbelief at the decision.
Advertisement - story continues below‘I saw some images of it and doubted it, oh no, it’s real… Never mind a 100-year old consensus masks don’t help for the flu,’ one said.
Another chipped in: ‘Worth asking how we got to this point, where two weeks to crush the curve have become a permanent crusade against seasonal respiratory infections in general.’
Give an establishment an inch, and you better believe that they’re going to take a mile.