Externalities are a thing, and are the main reason why I’m taking any precautions at all. Nonetheless, the same factors which make my own risk small also make my ability to pass it on to others small. This risk is pretty far below the threshold at which I feel obligated to make extraordinary efforts to drive a small risk down to zero, especially as vaccination of the highest-risk populations continues. (I might pass it to someone at the grocery store, but the odds that I give it to someone who suffers serious consequences goes down as the most vulnerable people are vaccinated.)
As others have pointed out, there is definitely some risk, which I don’t deny. The question is: how much? And how much is it worth it to avoid that risk? My answer is “very little” and “not worth the trouble.”
Externalities are a thing, and are the main reason why I’m taking any precautions at all. Nonetheless, the same factors which make my own risk small also make my ability to pass it on to others small. This risk is pretty far below the threshold at which I feel obligated to make extraordinary efforts to drive a small risk down to zero, especially as vaccination of the highest-risk populations continues. (I might pass it to someone at the grocery store, but the odds that I give it to someone who suffers serious consequences goes down as the most vulnerable people are vaccinated.)
As others have pointed out, there is definitely some risk, which I don’t deny. The question is: how much? And how much is it worth it to avoid that risk? My answer is “very little” and “not worth the trouble.”