I don’t feel any re-entry anxiety at all. I masked and social distanced throughout. From November to mid-March I went to work after everyone else went home. I’ve been fully vaccinated since March 3rd. Tomorrow I’m going to the movies. Tuesday I begin rehearsal in a 100 person community chorus with no masks and no social distancing. If circumstances change and protocols are re-introduced I will follow them.
1 Like
I went unmasked to the a couple of stores nearby yesterday and today, because they allow that for fully vaccinated people. Many people are still wearing masks, though we have a very high vaccination rate. It feels weird, like I’m walking around without my shirt on.
10 Likes
Well, in our state, masks are still required indoors, so we are seeing most folks comply. Masking sure seems to have reduced all sorts of infections, along with distancing and more cleaning.
1 Like
I like your idea in theory. In practice, in our area with high anti-mask feelings and low vax rate, it would likely provoke confrontation. For example, an architect we considered hiring refused to abide by the state mask mandate when we requested a meeting last year and specifically mentioned masking. So we didn’t meet. He has since posted quite a few comments on social media mocking people who don’t share his views. He also posted a photo of himself last year with a new client, a politician, in which both were unmasked and bragged about how much business he continues to get while not “giving into fear.” 
I’m in the same boat @helpingmom40. It’s becoming a real challenge, and I’m not looking forward to being back in the office in the fall because of it. DH may be able to continue working from home (fingers crossed).
2 Likes
My face feels funny, with no mask!
Frankly, I kind of like traveling incognito in my mask!
10 Likes
I feel like I would feel if there had been enormous danger outside my front door, like a giant nest of vipers (I’m terrified of snakes), and then one morning they were gone or not right there. But…where are they really? Can I go out and not encounter one here or there? I’m wary. Not really scared but not looking for a surprise either.
7 Likes
I can see this with my daughter. Now that her life is mostly back to normal, I see clearly how scared, worried, lonely, isolated, anxious, stressed, unhappy my daughter was for most of the pandemic. Having a little bit of PSTD from that, which makes reentry difficult, is completely understandable. Luckily, she was vaccinated early, and has had a little adjustment time, before all her friends were vaccinated. She was fine this weekend on the subway and hanging out with a group of friends. However, she was still pretty skittish only a few weeks ago. And she is still wearing her mask a lot.
4 Likes
I liked the quote from my introverted grown daughter last year, “I’ve been training for Covid my whole life”.
It’s hard for me to make any judgement on reeentry since many other variables. During Covid isolation I retired and lost my mother and started worrying a lot about my father 2000 miles away.
2 Likes
Ha! My OCD daughter said a similar thing.
Because our family was extremely cautious throughout, the first steps I’m taking are what was the norm for the majority–going into stores and other buildings still masked. Outdoor dining, but not indoor. That’s enough liberation for me for now.
I have had a few social meetups with friends, but since I’m not unmasking indoors at public places, that limits them. Pretty much sticking to my introvert ways.
My big step is going to a baseball game in a couple weeks. Sitting in the vaxxed section, so I feel pretty confident about it–and overall, outside still feels much safer than inside.
1 Like
Outside is much safer than inside in terms of airborne virus transmission. Of course, if you are vaccinated, the risk is much lower to begin with, unless you are one of the unlucky ones with weak or no immune response to vaccination.
2 Likes
Yup, I much prefer outside to inside and our few meals with others have mostly been outside. Our state is great for outdoor dining anyway.
H and I and all eligible folks in our extended family have been vaccinated as soon as we could be. For H and me, that was back in February, but it’s sure been nice not getting sick from others for all this time. This is the longest stretch H and I have avoided infections in decades, literally!
3 Likes
Yes, some COVID-19-vaccinated people may be hesitant to go back to COVID-19-riskier activities like crowded indoor gatherings because of airborne contagions other than COVID-19 that there may not be (good) vaccines for.
2 Likes
Yup, the “common cold” which is fairly innocuous to most can really do a number on some of us. Some of the respiratory patients end up in the hospital from catching what would be a 48 hour ‘bug’ to others.
1 Like
It’s great that reopening coincides with the outdoor dining season, with wonderful June weather (most days; we’ve had some really hot days and Memorial Day weekend was cold and rainy until the day of). I love that restaurants in NYC have tables set up on the sidewalk or street, with open wooden structures and tables inside. I feel comfortable enough to eat inside if it’s too hot or cold, but outdoor dining is lovely.
2 Likes
I also love the trend to keep the extra outdoor seating. A few times we have been at indoor restaurant seating when opportunity to see family when weather did not cooperate, but we are more at ease outdoors.
1 Like
It appears that RSV is running amok in the south. One more thing to add to our list of concerns.
1 Like
Yep, my 2.5 year old granddaughter has it!
My son had RSV when he was 8 weeks old. The pediatrician said he probably caught it from his six year old sister who likely caught it at school. She barely had a cold while he was gravely ill. What a nightmare. He’s 27 now and has various health issues including asthma which he no doubt would have had anyway but the RSV didn’t help. I thought I heard that there’s a vaccine for RSV now.