Is the pandemic over?

[intrepidity]

Hadn't been anywhere for a couple weeks, and went to the grocery store last night. Was shocked and dumbfounded that literally *nobody* but me was wearing a mask! Every other time I've been in this store, >90% had masks on.

This is in Sonoma county CA.

I truly must be the only person left who is still behaving as though there is an issue.

[SoonerPride]

1. It will never be "over."

Covid is here to stay.

Your personal level of risk tolerance will dictate what precautions you take and how often you go out in public.

But the idea that the pandemic will be over is now clearly never going to happen.

For most Americans, being vaccinated and boosted has allowed us to return to a pre-pandemic life.

I haven't worn a mask since January except in the very rare instances where a business asks me to.

The vaccines are doing their job of keeping people out of the hospital.

If you are less comfortable with not wearing a mask, that is perfectly fine. You are more than free to wear one as long as you want.

For anyone wearing a cloth mask, IMHO that is merely performative anyway. The only masks with any true efficacy are real N95 masks. If you aren't wearing one of those why bother?

[intrepidity]

4. Well, there's something else

I have not been "sick" since Jan 2020. That was the last time I had a cold. No flu of any kind, either.

I must say, I quite liked that. If nothing else, then perpetual masking and hand-sanitizing should continue that experience.

Plus, I've gotten so used to the mask "masking" various expletives and facial expressions that I don't think I can be safely set loose unmasked in public again....

[RKP5637]

11. Same here. I've not been sick once. I was just thinking that the other day, no flu, no colds

nothing like that at all.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. There are 2 versions of America now

One has a pandemic still that is still raging in the unvaccinated population.

The other is the vaccinated population where if someone does get Covid it's unlikely to be serious. Almost everyone on DU falls into this group.

Unfortunately, the people who most need to be masking (The unvaccinated) aren't. Mask if you think you need to still, but you're mostly just protecting the unvaccinated idiot population.

Cases have been flat for about a month, but they aren't really dropping either anymore. Deaths have been falling steadily since the end of January, but the dead and dying are almost all unvaccinated idiots.

Bottom line, if you're vaxxed and boosted, you're 4 to 5 times less likely to get Covid and 97 times less likely to die of Covid. Do with that information what you will, but for me, we're at only a couple vaxxed and boosted people dying a day right now, that means the pandemic is pretty much over as long as you're vaxxed and boosted. If some virus was killing a couple Americans a day only, we wouldn't even have heard of it.

The unvaccinated morons? Let them die, the pandemic is their problem now.

[SoonerPride]

9. This essentially sums up my viewpoint as well.

Thank you for the cogent reply.

It is appreciated.

[Johnny2X2X]

10. Thanks

And that's not to say I am not vigilant still. But right now, it's time for people who are protected to not really worry about it. It could come back and be something for even boosted people to worry about again, but right now it's simply not.

And I do still consider those with compromised immune systems, they deserve to be protected, but I think they're protecting themselves for the most part, just like they do every flu season.

I think some on the left have had a hard time accepting that if you're vaxxed and boosted, the pandemic is at least taking a break for you right now.

According to the latest CDC numbers, if 1,000 people die of Covid in the next few days, you're talking about 920 of them being totally unvaccinated morons, another 70 or so of them being 1 or 2 shots of vaccination, and maybe 5-10 fully vaxxed and boosted. I care about the 920 exactly 0 now, let them die. If you have 1 shot, get another, if you have 2 shots, get boosted.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. "let them die"

Here in Philly we only have 28% of eligible 5 - 11 year olds "fully vaccinated" (both shots) and only about 1/3rd (33%) of 18+ boosted.

With today's numbers, we just hit the "3rd" of 3 criteria supporting re-imposition of the mask mandate - i.e., "hospitalizations above 50" (they reported the data 3.5 hours late today and indicated that the hospitalizations have now crept up to 54).

Link to tweet

Philadelphia Public Health
@PHLPublicHealth
April 12, 2022 COVID-19 update:

156 average new cases per day
278,570 Philadelphians diagnosed with COVID-19
5,018 Philadelphians have died from COVID-195
54 hospitalizations

For more information: http://ow.ly/oD5Q50F9ZpR
Image
4:21 PM · Apr 12, 2022

And from yesterday (vax data) -

Link to tweet

Philadelphia Public Health
@PHLPublicHealth
April 11, 2022 COVID-19 vax update:

76.9% of residents 18+ are fully vaxxed
76.0% of residents 12+ are fully vaxxed
28.4% of residents 5-11 are fully vaxxed
33.4% of residents 18+ are boosted
31.9% of residents 12+ are boosted

For more ➡️ http://ow.ly/Kkqn50F9Zr0 #VaxUpPhilly
Image
1:01 PM · Apr 11, 2022

We had started bottoming out around mid-March and now are back on the upswing again.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. No, it's not over. It's just catching it's breath.

Reported cases are way down where I live, but I've heard reports of rising numbers in other locations. I believe I read that Philadelphia will reinstate an indoor mask mandate. I will continue to mask, social distance and avoid crowds.

[intrepidity]

5. Frankly, I welcomed social distancing since the beginning

It fits my personal-bubble-size pre-covid. I'm going to continue this way indefinitely, I think. Covid just provided an acceptable excuse, lol.

[jfz9580m]

18. Same here tbh

I never feel as secure as I do when masked and socially distanced. I have always had a weak immune system anyway..I am vaccinated and will be boosted soon, but I no longer feel comfortable going out without a mask. I will probably wear one as long as covid is around..which (as others have said upthread) will probably be forever. Getting resigned to that...I should probably just return to life as before but permanently masked/largely socially distanced..works for me..

[RKP5637]

12. Absolutely, it's coming around again. Same here. n/t

[Ms. Toad]

6. Not over.

Lull betweeen surges.

Since we don't know the long-term consequences of having had COVID (even mild COVID) acting like it is over is playing a dangerous game of chicken.

When cases are below the original low community transmission rates (fewer than 50 cases per 100,00 residents over a 2 week period - which amounts to about 20 new cases a day in the entire county), I am less diligent about wearing it on every single indoor occasion. I wear it most of the time - AND - whenever I am in any significant crowd indoors I always wear it. Even at low community rates, concentrated exposure is a whole lot different than hanging out with 10 people in a very large space.

[StarryNite]

24. Exactly what you said...

"Since we don't know the long-term consequences of having had COVID (even mild COVID) acting like it is over is playing a dangerous game of chicken."

[bif]

7. I guess I missed the memo too!

Almost no one is wearing a mask around here.

[hlthe2b]

8. Some counties of CO are having a little omicron beta-2 surge. Grocery store staff are wearing them

and at least 25% or so of customers. Waiting on my car to be serviced nearby, I spent the morning yesterday doing work on my laptop inside a Starbucks-- adjacent to the large open entrance to the grocery store. So, on breaks, I looked up to see who was joining me in masking. It was definitely correlated with gender (more women than men) and age (older more likely). Ironically, the dramatically overweight among the men seemed to be the least likely to mask, regardless of age.

At least they didn't come over to give me shit.

[intrepidity]

14. The store employees being maskless was the most shocking aspect

I felt like that Japanese soldier who spent years isolated on an island post WW2, finding a radically transformed world--but in my case, it was merely weeks, not years.

[VarryOn]

13. I wear a mask when I have to fly...

I’ll feel like it’s over when I masks are no longer required. And hopefully we find out in the next few days that’s over! That will be a happy day!

[Niphu]

15. It's better, but not over

Some people are still getting sick..

[Hugin]

16. It is according to Congress.

They scrapped the COVID funding. (Bipartisan BTW)

The maskholes and antivaxxers won by turning any public health measures into a political third rail with the heaping helping of the mass media.

So, as always, YOYO.

[Kid Berwyn]

17. Shanghai is in lockdown

Town OF 25 million. So, no.

But people wish it were so, so they act like it is.

[ananda]

19. I still wear my mask in stores.

I only don't wear it when I'm 100% sure
everyone around is vaxxed.

[Hekate]

21. I'm in Ventura, & only shop at Costco & Trader Joe's. Winco for odds and ends. I mask up...

I will continue to mask up. Can’t do anything about other people, and it seems to be a worldwide problem, doesn’t it?

However, while filling my cart I do look around a bit, and I’d say we’re at about 50/50 here. Store employees must have been given a choice, as they also are about 50/50.

Anyway, you are not the only one still being cautious. I just hope no one’s taking it upon themselves to harass you. My plan is to look sick and cough if anyone makes a comment. “Yeah, my doc told me I had to go straight home and quarantine, but what does he know.”

[MOMFUDSKI]

22. Hell No it is not over.

I am masking and staying out of restaurants STILL. Have had 4 vaccines and am now watching the numbers go up again in most states. There may come a day when this thing burns itself out but not yet.

[Meowmee]

23. It is not really over

Although many are trying to pretend it is. Translation for we don’t care if vulnerable people get it and possibly die or get severely ill, if people get long-haul Covid from milder cases or if vaccinated people die or if new strains occur.

This country’s handling of the pandemic has been egregiously and criminally wrong from the start, otherwise it never would’ve gotten this bad and we would not have over 1 million people dead now. 500 people are still dying a day. It’s good that the numbers have gone down but positivity rates in my county are going up. I will continue to mask using n95 as long as I feel that I need to. I am long hauler and my father is now gone I’m not taking any chances.

Will it become an endemic, it’s certainly looking that way. Who knows what else is going to happen- nothing is really looking very good even if covid burns itself out eventually. I certainly hope I don’t have to live this way the rest of my life, moving back to Canada eventually will probably help hopefully, assuming we don’t get vaporized first.

[Blues Heron]

25. US Cases are up 22 percent in the last 14 days according to the CDC

Last edited Tue Apr 12, 2022, 06:43 PM - Edit history (1)

New numbers just posted. new cases 36,340, 7 day avg. 30,496.

7 day avg. recent minimum of 24,815 on March 29, 2022

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailycases

[struggle4progress]

26. About 600 dying daily in US from it: so it's below heart disease and cancer

but still a major cause of death