The masks are off.

Yep, no question.

If you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, that is the guidance from federal officials, state officials, local officials.

And if you are not vaccinated, what are you waiting for? I mean, really? Please, follow the science.

But we’re forgetting about something.

Grass pollen.

It is my kryptonite, not that I ever claimed myself to be Superman. That’s clearly a column for another day.

Grass pollen shuts me down.

I remember watching Cape Cod Baseball League games on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and finding myself gasping for breath. My throat was on fire. My mouth was so dry I could have had a bottle of water every inning. Instead, there I sat with a Coke, making it worse, I suppose.

And then there is the runny nose, the watery eyes, the sneezing.

And I’m not the worse victim.

Since moving to Iowa, I have discovered something: If you don’t like the weather, just wait because it’ll change.

This past weekend the humid and hot conditions we were battling through transitioned to cold and windy. Suddenly, it was winter again. Baseball and softball weather turned into football. That’s late season football, by the way. Ready to spend some time in the garden. I don’t think so. For me, it was fireplace time.

And still, pollen season carried on.

I have a daughter whose hands puff up due to the pollen tossed into the air. Touch your face with those hands and look what happens. Scratch your arm or your leg, and pretty soon you have it crawling all over your body.

Tree pollen, the stuff that falls out of the trees and can cover your car with a yellow powder, is first. Then comes the grass pollen, followed by ragweed.

This week, we’ll have both tree and grass pollen. Oh, lucky us. Pollen levels are forecast by weather.com to remain at a high level all week long, and you can figure on tree pollen reaching a very high level and grass not far behind. It’s a significant one-two punch.

So, what to do?

Taking a daily allergy over-the-counter medicine helps.

I guess we could hold our breaths … until the end of July.

But then, I was thinking, the mask.

If it works for COVID and really helped with flu infections this past winter, why not pollen?

You know what? I’m masking up.

For me and the grass.

Paul D. Bowker is a sports and news writer for The News.