♡ easy COVID precautions ♡

Here are some tips you can use in order to better protect yourself from illness of all kinds - while still having a full and exciting social life! ☆

✿ Wear a mask when going out [always, but especially] to events including drag shows, concerts, markets, and anywhere else there is a potential to interact with a lot of people. My favorite thing to do recently is match my mask to my outfit! I love the protection of a nice, colorful KN95, while also still being fashionable. Get masks through Mask Bloc PDX! ♡

taking public transit
and matching! 

✿ Try to find 'masks encouraged' or 'masks required' spaces and events! COVID Safer PDX made a map to masked businesses to help us find businesses with COVID safety in mind. Their Instagram and Facebook also showcases masks required events in our community.

✿ Encourage others around you to wear a mask, too! Just by wearing your own mask, this opens up the conversation and sets an example to others who see your precautions. This is a task that works best if we all work together to keep our community safe. A really easy way to start this conversation is to remark about how handy or nice your mask is. For example, you could say, "I'm so glad I have a mask" or "I'm not sure why anyone would want to do this without a mask on!" 

✿ Surround yourself with other people who also take precautions. Anarchist groups and events are a good place to start, as anarchists are typically community oriented and therefore should be masking for the public health and safety of their community and the vulnerable folks around them. Many anarchist events also have free safety supplies and lately this has included masks, along with things like first aid supplies, etc. Masks are also a great, simple way to obscure your identity, which can be an important part of anarchy. 

out at a bar for
a drag show!

✿ Be aware of the language you're using regarding illness, 'the pandemic', and COVID in general. Many people have fallen into the mindset of "The Pandemic is over," when in reality, the only thing that ended was the Federal Public Health Emergency. Continue to speak about precautions as if the 'emergency' never ended, and reinforce the idea that COVID and many other illnesses are still running rampant. 

✿ Have a response for dissenters. If someone asks why I'm wearing a mask, my usual response is "I have rabies". But on a serious note, be prepared to face a bit of adversity. This piece of protective equipment has somehow become so politicized in the last three years that the simple act of wearing a mask can incite feelings of rage for some. I have personally never been accosted for wearing a mask but I know folks who have been. 

✿ Stay up to date on your vaccines. There are currently three options for COVID vaccines in the US: Moderna mRNA, Pfizer mRNA, and Novavax protein-based. In regards to COVID, the CDC is not very clear on what an 'updated vaccine' means. However, they do mention that everyone should get at least one dose of an 'updated vaccine' each year. Australia, however, is a little more specific, "further doses [of any C19 vaccine] every 6 or 12 months are recommended, or can be considered, based on an individual’s age and presence of risk factors for severe disease." In New Zealand, 2 doses of Novavax, six months apart (as a booster) are recommended. Don't forget your other seasonal vaccines, as well! 

at our favorite
movie rental store!

✿ Take your lunch away from others if you work in an office or another place where many people share a space. I try to utilize outside when I can! My office has a locked outdoor patio, where I eat my lunch every workday. There are a few coworkers in my office who do not mask daily and I'd rather not expose myself to people who are consistently not taking precautions while I'm eating. 

✿ Advocate for safer practices at work. Especially if you work in a people-facing job such as retail, healthcare, education, etc, suggest masking whenever you can. I'm thankful to have many coworkers who have continued to wear masks, even when the 'mask mandate' was lifted. However, I still mention wearing masks outside of work, especially if my coworkers are sick or if they disclose to me that they are planning to attend an event with many people. I always encourage wearing a mask for reasons other than COVID, too. They are great for protecting against smells you don't like!

✿ Speak to your partner about precautions you can take together and why it's important to you to take precautions. It's important that your partner can respect your safety boundaries, and this includes physical health. A coworker mentioned to me that this is a similar conversation to condom or birth control use as a couple.

✿ Understand that this issue goes far beyond COVID. Taking precautions to preserve your life, especially as a disabled person, a black person, a queer & trans person, etc, is a great way to actively announce to the world that you believe that your life and joy and happiness are worth more than the hell-scape called capitalism that we are forced to live and work in. Staying alive and healthy in spite of all of these hurdles this world throws at us is an act of resistance. You are worth more than your labor power!