Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd rather be sick for 2 weeks than wear a mask every day. Surveying those around me I'd say 98% came to the same conclusion.
Being sick two weeks is a very clear cost. Less clear are the long-term costs associated with long-covid. How would you characterize the costs associated with wearing a mask most of the time when in public?
How would you characterize the costs associated with wearing a hard hat most of the time when in public?
Talking about cost without normalizing for probability of prevention is meaningless yet you want to frame the discussion to be purely about (low) cost of wearing masks.
We had a year of a pretty tough lockdown, most people wearing masks, distancing in grocery shops, restaurants and "non-essential" shops and companies closed, no public events, work from home, most people staying at home etc.
And yet people were getting sick with covid, even those wearing masks.
Masks alone won't protect you from covid. Even pretty hard core isolation might not protect you.
We basically have no idea how effective just wearing masks is. It surely reduces the probability but by how much?
Feel free to wear masks and hard hats but don't pretend you know for sure it's a rational choice.