Award-winning infectious disease journalist '[knows] this probably isn't rational, but [she's] not ready for' unmasked grocery store shoppers

Sarah D | 10:38 AM on June 01, 2021

Helen Branswell is a senior infectious diseases writer for STAT, a media outlet focused specifically on health, medicine, and life sciences. So she of all people should know that those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID19 don’t really have any reason to continue to mask up.

And yet:

There were unmasked shoppers in my local grocery story today. The cordons for line ups, the desk where a staffer kept tabs on how many people were in the store — gone.
I know this probably isn't rational, but I'm not ready for this. Don't @ me.

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) June 1, 2021

Don’t @ her. Because the last thing Helen needs right now is for people to point out that she’s being completely ridiculous.

Party of science. https://t.co/Jbt5Wu5ja4

— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) June 1, 2021

Senior writer on infectious diseases admits her reaction is irrational, not science-based. https://t.co/1deWPf8nGg

— Jeff Wilson (@jwilson77777) June 1, 2021

"I don't care what the science says!" is just what I'd expect from …<squints>… an award-winning senior writer on infectious diseases. https://t.co/hBsx3OwWja

— #JohnMcAfeeDidntKillHimself (@Crapplefratz) June 1, 2021

If Helen Branswell wants to continue to wear her mask, more power to her. But if she’s genuinely triggered by the sight of unmasked individuals when she knows that being vaccinated is actually a much more effective anti-COVID19 measure than wearing a mask, then maybe she’s in the wrong line of work.