I just got an announcement today for an industry conference. It’s normally in the spring and has about 300 people in attendance. They now have a date in October and they say they have “high hopes of seeing you in person”. I’ll admit I’m excited for this to actually happen. Fingers crossed.
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I asked my D, and she is still going to her appointment but will likely still want to wear her mask, but wont make anyone else wear one.
My city entered yellow the least restrictive tier. So glad to see life back to normal. I went to TJ today and noticed they changed marking on a floor to remove 6ft social distance lines
I feel like we need an opposite thread now. State ROLLBACKS of Covid protocols. 
And I hope not too many states post on it.
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We were facing a tightening, actually. But the Governor reviewed the data and consulted with public health officials, so it is a pause and see here for the next two weeks. I give our Governor a solid B in Covid management but still a solid C- in vaccinations rollout.
Serious question: Why are rollbacks of Covid protocols a bad thing in your opinion? Most people in the US have access to vaccines if they want one, there are several life-saving treatments available, hospitalizations are down, and bed space is plentiful.
Furthermore, what is the number of cases (should be infections, not cases, but I digress) would be acceptable to you for Americans to “get back to normal”? Another honest question that no one can seem to pinpoint so I look forward to your response.
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I’m in Tennessee right now visiting my mom. She thinks they dropped all mask requirements a week ago.
Where I’ve gone, I’m not seeing any masks. No masks at the Chick-fil-A for instance. None in the gas station.
I think Tennessee has one of the lowest vaccine rates in the country so I have to assume that the people I’m coming in contact with are not vaccinated. They may be, but I will have to assume that they are not.
It’s a bit jarring to be honest. Coming from Michigan where are restaurants are still at 50% capacity. And mask mandate signs on all the businesses even if not everyone is wearing one.
Even though I am fully vaccinated, I’ve worn a mask. Im happy to do so. It’s what feels comfortable to me.
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Different states have taken different approaches. Some have just removed health order, mask mandates, capacity limits, etc. Others have set specific thresholds to be met. Some of those are based on per capita case counts over a period of time (14 days being common). Others set triggers based on percentage of population that is vaccinated.
I have seen various issues where there are polar opposites in terms of views on them. Talking to people about those issues you can get a sense you live on a different planet than other people (tempting to ask about the color of the sky in their world). But those issues tend to be tangential to day-to-day life. Covid is the first issue where people’s day-to-day life are vastly different in terms of the impact. I know people who have literally not left their house since last March other than to go for a walk around the neighborhood or nearby park. No one has visited. And other people who have gone to work every day throughout, gone to bars/restaurants – to the extent they are open which in many parts of the country they have been since last June/July. Other than mandated restrictions (such as mask wearing, distancing, things that are closed, etc) their lives have not changed. And people everywhere in between.
And the impact of the virus itself is skewed towards the older population. Some young people have gotten very sick or died or had long time complications. But its more likely older people will (big reason we prioritized older people for vaccines). And mitigation efforts are more likely to impact younger people. In terms of economic impact, some have been devasted (lost jobs, businesses closed, etc). Other people are doing better than they did pre-covid. And everywhere in between.
As a result of all of that, I am not surprised at all that Covid is polarizing. And no matter what back to normal timeline you set, a lot of people won’t be happy with it.
Just heard about new attendance and protocol for Yankee and Mets games starting sometime this summer (forget when). They will have vaccinated and non vaccinated sections. Vaccinated sections will be allowed to be more crowded (would make me want to sit in the non vaccinated section as I’m vaccinated and I don’t like crowds…but I digress). Everyone will be required to wear a mask.
This whole masking issue is becoming ridiculous (in my opinion). I’m fine with those who want to continue waring masks forever if they chose. Doesn’t effect me in the least. But why would a fully vaccinated person, sitting next to other fully vaccinated people, in an outdoor venue need to take any more precautions than they would have pre-covid? Where is the science behind that? The risk factor of getting seriously ill (needing hospital care and/or dying ) are so low - like 0.01%. Even if were were the extremely unlucky ones and got sick to the point I needed inpatient medical care, there would be virtually no stress tot he system which is what the whole concern was in the first place. That doesn’t exist in the US anymore. Why would we treat this differently than any other illness or risk factor? When it began, we didn’t know much about it. Now we do. If our actions aren’t going to overwhelm the hospitals, than who cares. The odds of me facing harm via covid in that setting are likely far less than getting harmed in a transportation accident to the stadium, getting harmed by getting hit by a foul ball at the stadium, choking on a hot dog during the game, passing out in the heat, or anything else you can conjer up. Again, if others want to wear their masks during the game or forever, I DON"T CARE. Have at it. I wasn’t overly concerned about more exposure to common colds, flu, allergies, prior to covid. Why would I care post covid? That’s the whole point of getting vaccinated (and I intend to get every booster they recommend as soon as available).
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I don’t mind a slow rollback of covid protocols, but it seems too early IMO to remove everything right now. An incremental increase in capacity of businesses, restaurants, bars seems appropriate if indoor masking is still required. See how one step does for 30 days. If OK, increase some more. Once every adult has the opportunity to be vaccinated - we seem to be close to that now - wait another 4-6 weeks for full immunization and then open up with masks. Eliminating masks will be the tough part. I think that should be the last step. Once everything is open pretty much normally except masks, then remove them and see. It’ll be like ripping off a Band-Aid I’m sure. (Note - this is for indoor places. Outdoors, I also don’t see much risk. The thought of going to a crowded football game unmasked gives me the creeps right now, but I just wouldn’t go until I personally felt comfortable.)
Schools are a bit trickier since kids aren’t eligible, but 12-16 should be by the fall. I’d say to reduce spacing to 3 feet with masks, and have a virtual option in place for those families that aren’t comfortable with in person school. Our district already has that plan in place. I hope once full FDA approval is given hopefully by the 2022-2023 school year), the vaccine will be mandatory.
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My state has begun to reopen. Masks are no longer required outside if the crowd is less than 100. Future relaxation of public health rules is being tied to vaccination rates. Health care workers are going door to door in areas where access to vaccines is difficult (no internet, no transportation, etc). Conversations are happening with groups wary of the vaccine. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we get to the target of 70% for full reopening. I am not holding my breath, because we have a lot of people who still think Covid is an overblown hoax … but I remain hopeful, just the same.
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I want to see how they will enforce the mask mandate. Here in Atlanta in the stadium they kept saying “masks must be worn”, but once at their seat 3/4 of the crowd did not, and what do you do with that many to enforce? They gave up. Now GA has no mask requirements at all, so its moot, but at the time they still did
I do think its brilliant that they are offering vaccines at the stadium and then free tickets to the games. You wont get all the ones who dont want a vaccine right now, but someone who just “couldnt be bothered” might say, heck, why not.
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I’ve never been a baseball fan, so it doesn’t affect me, but I think it kinda stinks that they will give free tickets to those getting vaxed at the game, but not those who did what was right and got them earlier. It’s like punishing the latter group and telling them they should have waited until there were perks.
If there were any place I liked giving away freebies only to those who waited, I’d be far less inclined to give them my business. I have my vax card. I wouldn’t mind showing it.
@cj9623 thank you for your respectful asking question. 
@ClassicMom98 said it pretty well a few posts above this one (769?). Too much too soon. Masks being one of the most effective protocols should be the last removed in indoor places or crowded outdoor spaces.
I realize people can choose to still mask if they want. It disturbs me to see posts of people who the minute they could practically burned those masks.
Rip the band aid off slowly. We invested too much in the last 14 months to take ANY steps back.
Also I work in health care and still hear plenty of sad stories of COVID death, long term effects, etc. PLENTY.
I’m conservative and cautious in my liberal life.
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Unless it’s the one and done J&J vaccine, though, are they going to have to do the same thing to get people to get their 2nd dose?
In NY they are offering the J and J at the stadiums for just this reason.
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These rollbacks are best done after everyone who wants a vaccine has had a chance to be fully vaccinated, so that there are not people who are involuntarily facing COVID-19 risk due to not being able to get vaccinated in time.
It appears that this will occur for adults by mid-June in most places, since vaccine became easily available recently. (But then what about children, for whom COVID-19 is low risk but not no risk?)
However some places were rolling back quite a while ago, while there were still shortages of vaccine.
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Same here in Seattle. Moderna is also on the menu, but I heard that the “one shot and done” option is quite popular among those who decide to take vaccine at the park.
I’m in the camp that believes before we vaccinate children who are at very, very little risk of becoming sick and spreading COVID, we should be diverting vaccines to poorer countries’ high risk populations to help stem the tide of infections globally. Period, full stop.
Also, if most adults are vaccinated, why do kids need to be vaccinated at all?
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Interesting question. If adults are vaccinated and we were the primary concern, then that concern shouldn’t exist anymore (once we’re at an acceptable rate of adult vaccination). If kids get it, they do much better with it.
However, I imagine a reason to get them vaccinated is to not have the virus just staying the course in the general population so as not to allow for mutations to form and infect the adults again.
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