You Ask. We Answer | Is your overall immunity lowered due to mask mandates? If you have a question about COVID-19 or the vaccine, email SHARE61@fox61.com or send a text to 860-527-6161. Author: Amanda Raus Updated: 1:22 PM EDT May 30, 2021 CONNECTICUT, USA — With mask mandates dropping, one viewer wrote to FOX61, “My question is now that mask mandates seem to be lifting and we wore masks for over a year now, is our immunity to any and all germs going to be lower now? Can we all expect to catch any bug that's out there more easily?” “No. Let’s start by saying no. It’s not how it works. Imagine this, being in a certain community for a period of time. What your body does, you have your initial exposure to different pathogens, different germs, so to speak, and you develop that antibody. If anything, over time, initial and subsequent exposure will develop more booster antibodies so to speak. You know like we’re having the conversations about boosters now. So it wouldn’t be a case because I stopped exposing myself to them I just lose all the antibodies, right. Most individuals, their immune systems has prepared them for the environment they most live in,” said Keith Grant, APRN, Senior System Director of Infection Prevention, Hartford Healthcare.