Where Are We?

 

Where are we with this stupid pandemic--and more importantly where are YOU? When everything started in 2020, I kept thinking to myself there would have to be end. I read whatever I could on the 1918 flu, which seemed to slow down and stop being dangerous after a couple of years.

Well, it's been a couple of years, and we keep seeing variants pop up like popcorn. Are they really milder, like Omicron seems to be?  What do these ongoing variants mean if you take an immunosuppressant? 

Is it just going to be easier to catch in winter months, and less worrisome the rest of the year? 

And here's the biggest question I have: do we need to keep getting a vaccine every six months? Every year? Do we need to keep masking?

Do you wear a mask in public when you're indoors? How much are you socializing? Going to theater or dinners in restaurants (or anything at all)? If a store says you don't have to wear a mask anymore, have you stopped? 

If you're on an immunosuppressant, what are you doing? What about if you have kids who can't be vaccinated yet? If they can, what have you decided? 

Since December (except for one family wedding), I wear masks in every public setting. I had the original two shots in early 2021 and a booster in September. I have no idea whether I need another one or how safe it is to get one. I haven't been at an indoor gathering since last summer (with just a few of my peeps). Otherwise, I will likely stay outside when I connect with friends.

I'm frustrated by the lack of answers, even though the ink on COVID-19 is never ending. We still can't seem to figure out how to get this thing out of our lives enough to live "normally." At work, most people aren't masking, though a number still do in common areas (like me).

Will there ever be a time when it feels right to just go to a store or walk into work without a mask? I wish I could answer that. 

Meanwhile, I'm just wondering. What's it like for you?

Flower face mask photo: Ivan Radic