Here in Holland there aren't even any patients in ICU with covid anymore.
I'm fully expecting to get it many times. It's just unavoidable. Wearing a mask just reduces the chances of getting what is now a light inconvenience.
For what it's worth I've never even been bedridden by covid. Once I sniffled a bit for a day or two, the one weird thing was that it wasn't in my usual hayfever season. The other time I had a bit of a headache and things tasted funny for a day.
But anyway I do a lot of things in my life that are way way riskier (including from a disease point of view) than getting covid so at this point there's just no more need to worry about it. It's just not in the top 30 things that are most likely to kill me anymore.
I don't worry so much about being overweight, about who I kiss, about exposure to pollution, about climbing steep slopes, about crossing the road even. These things are now way way more likely to kill me or make me sick than covid.
I'm glad I went "full nerd" early and got a PAPR pollution mask.[1] I estimate I'm getting essentially the same 99% protection, except without the hot stuffy sensation.
The CO2 increase is real, despite propaganda to the contrary. This isn't because a mask "blocks oxygen" (duh), it's just because you're re-inhaling a larger volume of exhaled air, beyond the normal mouth/nose+trachea+unused lung volume.[2]
[1] https://www.amazon.com/BROAD-Purifiers-Rechargeable-Respirat...