I am somewhat in agreement as to the first bit - being overly protective against germs and so on works against having a robust immune system capable of dealing with a range of diseases, but even with the lockdowns hugely reducing the circulation of other respiratory diseases we still had individuals coming into work with colds, etc. especially later on when most measures socially had been relaxed but we still had measures internally at work which worked. Unlike most colds/flu though COVID can infect the body on a much larger scope with the virus able to get into many major organs and so on - which is a much bigger deal than coughs and colds being a fact of life.
Short of a full respirator system individuals wearing a mask aren't afforded that much protection in a range of every day circumstances - while even basic masks can make a significant dent in reducing transmission.
Personally I wear a mask as appropriate and probably not as much as I should/could, mostly I avoid situations where I'd be in close proximity to other people for prolonged periods and try to maintain a bit of distance between myself and others in a social setting. There is only limited benefit as an individual when more people than not have given up on any measures.
!
and noticed at checkout both the people behind and in-front of me had loaded up on the cough medicine and most of the shelves of cold/flu medicine were cleared out. Seems to be a pretty nasty flu variant going around at the moment which is leaving a lot of people with a deathly cough.
