Are you vaccinated...and how has your approach to life changed since Covid?

[Omy]

I'm curious about how everybody is approaching life a year and a half into covid...and how that approach is related to vaccine status.

I chose number 3 since I'm still not traveling, using public transportation, going to concerts and baseball games, or eating inside restaurants. I'm comfortable around social groups outside and around small groups of vaccinated family and friends inside. I may lock back down if breakthrough hospitalizations start increasing significantly, and I plan to expand my horizons when cases go down again. I will get the booster shot if/when it is recommended.

[EvenSteven]

Fully vaccinated, no events, no indoor dining, reduced travel and social interaction. I do kid meet ups with other kids in the same daycare class on weekends, and have our first plane ride scheduled for the end of September.

I go to work everyday, and feel comfortable there. 95% vaccination rate with masks and social distancing and good ventilation at work.

[Kris]

Fully vaxxed. Hanging out only with other vaxxed people whom we trust not to be idiots. We were doing some restaurants, but we have stopped that. At this point, I am back to only doing essential  errands like the post office, and will probably only do outdoor seating at restaurants that have good protocols. Waiting for my booster.

[Jenny Wren]

I checked 3, although we did loosen up slightly for a few weeks. I am fully vaxed as is everyone in my immediate circle. With the uptick in breakthrough and pediatric Delta cases, we have returned to indoor mask wearing (which is going to be required under state mandate again come Monday anyway) and will not be dining indoors. We have done and will continue to do open air and spread out events like a farmer's market or art festivals, but are bypassing large and crowded indoor and outdoor events, like the outdoor downtown concerts. Travel is pretty much confined to in-state camping and backpacking, which is more than enough to keep us happy.

Our reasons are in part due to breakthrough cases -- I don't really want to get even mildly ill for a couple of weeks. Our adult son is also a teacher and works with unvaxed under 12s, so if we want to hang out with him he requests we do what we can to lower exposure risk. Depending on how things play out with the variants, we may loosen up a bit more when the under 12s can get the vaccine.

[MudPuppy]

Vaxxed to the max, as my niece says.

I wear a mask to the store again now, but for a while I didn’t. I went to eat indoors a couple times in the late spring but I cut that out again. I have have not traveled for pleasure, but I have visited out of state family due to illness and death and we drove like we normally do. I have not attended any concerts or visited any indoor attractions. My visits to my local family are significantly reduced, mostly because my father is high risk and I don’t want to risk bringing him anything from the hospital. Public transit is not a thing in my suburb, so that hasn’t changed.

I picked 3.

[AccidentalMiser]

I picked 2 but I'm between 2 and 3.  We didn't go out much before and we don't go out much now.  We had tix to see the Eagles in Phoenix in September but we're not going to go now because of COVID. 

If I didn't have to mask when I go to the office, I wouldn't unless I was in a conference room.

[Michael in ABQ]

I voted for 1, but really it would be more like

0. Fully vaxxed and living life as I did prior to covid (not masking)


I have not put on a mask except as absolutely required for the last few months. I had to put one on when flying and I did partially for a National Guard drill a couple weeks ago. I'm an instructor and there's no way I'm going to try and talk for hours on end about military history through a piece of cloth. All the Soldiers I'm instructing are sleeping in a large room and certainly not wearing masks while sleeping - not to mention every single one of us is vaccinated. As soon as the classroom door closed the mask came off so I could be understood.

I own my own business now and it's just my wife and I working in an office. Our office is in a light industrial area and I rarely see anyone around wearing a mask (albeit that's outdoors so when they go inside they may put one on).

Our state just imposed another mask mandate and we're planning a trip to Costco today. I don't plan on wearing one when I go in unless they physically stop me from entering. It's just virtue signaling at this point.

[OtherJen]

Fully vaxxed. I chose #3. We really enjoyed attending a Tigers baseball game in May and having a few restaurant meals and bar cocktails over the summer, but I don't know how much more we'll do until after this Delta wave passes. I haven't been back to a concert or movie theater yet.

[Morning Glory]

I picked 2 because I relaxed a lot over the summer and enjoyed travel, restaurants, unmasked visits to the store, etc. Now that I've heard more about the breakthrough cases with delta I've gone back to wearing a mask in all indoor public places (even when not required) and avoiding crowded  spaces.

[dcheesi]

I chose 2; could be 1 or 3 depending on what specific activities you're talking about. We shop as normal, still go out to eat sometimes (preferring outdoor, but we've done indoor as well). We even followed through on flights we booked before Delta became a concern, though we scrupulously wore N95 masks the entire time.

The main thing we're avoiding right now is indoor concerts, as the ones we used to enjoy involve too many people standing too close together for too long, plus dancing etc. We went to one indoor concert during that brief window between vaccination and Delta prevalence, and while it was a ton of fun, it also reinforced the notion that there's no way we can really do that safely and still get full enjoyment out of it.

Meanwhile, some changes are just based on our "new normal" and not (consciously) on safety. Before the pandemic, my fiancée would occasionally order delivery from restaurants when we hadn't planned a meal (or we were too burned out from work to cook), but I thought it was wasteful and preferred to either go out or scrounge up food at home. However, I got totally used to delivery during the lockdowns, and now it's become ingrained in our routine. We will casually order delivery when cooking isn't in cards, without even entertaining the idea of going out. We only actually go out to eat when it's an occasion, or when cabin fever gets the better of us; way less often than before. (And before you start with the face-punches, my overall "dining/entertainment" budget is down from before; it seems we're less likely to overindulge when ordering ahead vs. sitting in a restaurant, which more than cancels out any delivery fees etc.)

EDIT: I should mention that our area has been really great about both masking and vaccination rates, which helps with our comfort level. I'm not sure if we'd feel as safe to walk around in stores, etc., if the people around us weren't being responsible as well.

[maizefolk]

I voted for option 1. I keep a cloth mask in my pocket that I put on in I got into a business where I see the employees wearing masks and I keep a KF94 at work I put on when someone who is wearing a mask comes to my office. Otherwise go about my life essentially as I did back in 2019, although it wasn't like I was regularly bar hopping or attending lots of big social events back then anyway, so my #1 may correspond to other people's #2 or #3.

Have had both shots and will get the third shot booster as soon as it becomes available. Don't live with anyone who is in a high risk category or unable to be vaccinated (the co-workers who come to my office wearing masks tend to be those with kids young enough they cannot get the vaccine yet).

Edit to add: I have noticed that while my criteria for wearing a mask haven't changed at all, I'm pulling out my masks (both the good one at the office and the cloth one that goes easily in a pocket) much more often the past two weeks than I did most of the summer as more of the people I interact with are wearing masks of their own.

[Zamboni]

My entire family is fully vaxed. We loosened up a bit in terms of traveling May to early Aug. We ate a few times in restaurants while traveling, but not very often. By the end it seemed like no one around me was masking even indoors . . . and then I ended up with a breakthrough infection. It sucks.

[Chris22]

Zero, but still “taking advantage” of Covid things like WFH and not using public transportation to commute. I don’t ever plan to return to the office full time in my current role which requires a commute downtown. But I carry on each day without a single concern for my health as I’m vaxxed and had Covid and it was a nonevent aside from the PITA factor of quarantining.

[Caoineag]

Almost selected 1 until but ended up doing 3 when I realized that we never did drive thru prior to covid but it's the default now if available. The only place we really go into is the grocery store. That said, no mask at the grocery store unless required since fully vaccinated and we both have good immune systems. Definitely no large crowd events.

[Omy]

My entire family is fully vaxed. We loosened up a bit in terms of traveling May to early Aug. We ate a few times in restaurants while traveling, but not very often. By the end it seemed like no one around me was masking even indoors . . . and then I ended up with a breakthrough infection. It sucks.

What were your symptoms? If it wasn't horrible, it's likely a good thing for long term immunity.

[englishteacheralex]

Fully vaxxed, along with my family and all my friends. I'm a high school teacher and I wear a mask all day while I teach.  I have a personal microphone so I don't find it very burdensome to "talk though a piece of cloth" (I wear KN94 masks and find them to be quite comfortable).  Most of my students are vaccinated. There is an indoor mask mandate in Hawaii that has never been lifted. Even still, our positivity rate is at 7.5% right now; by far the highest it's ever been.

Hawaii is a bit unusual--since we are an island, having our hospitals at capacity is an even bigger problem here. Culturally, masks are not seen as that big of a deal. The majority of the population is Asian, and my students used to wear masks to school when they were sick before Covid times.

Because we have small children who have been in in-person school since the beginning of the pandemic, and because I work in an in-person classroom, we try to be mindful of our exposure. Since cases started to spike in late July, we have not gone to large gatherings and do not go to indoor restaurants.

[innkeeper77]

3. Fully vaxxed, but we have a small child who is obviously not vaccinated, we don't want to spread anything, and the large unvaccinated population in our county highly increases risks. I know of at least one fully vaccinated person who caught symptomatic covid- though it was a very minor case.

If we lived in an area with higher vaccination rates we would be less conservative due to the reduced (but of course non zero) community spread risks.

[GodlessCommie]

Fully vaxxed family. My level of worry for the family's health is, basically, back to pre-Covid level. But we don't want to be assholes to others, so we have stopped indoor dining and air/train travel again. Managed two trips before the onslaught of Delta, though. When we meet friends, it's in smaller groups and outdoors.

[Zamboni]

My entire family is fully vaxed. We loosened up a bit in terms of traveling May to early Aug. We ate a few times in restaurants while traveling, but not very often. By the end it seemed like no one around me was masking even indoors . . . and then I ended up with a breakthrough infection. It sucks.

What were your symptoms? If it wasn't horrible, it's likely a good thing for long term immunity.

Oh I could check most of the boxes on the list of COVID symptoms, unfortunately, and some that are not on "the list" but apparently can happen (like substantial numbness in my hands and feet, pain above my back top teeth.) Pulse was up, O2 levels went down during the first week. Thankfully I never vomited or got so low in O2 that I was dizzy or couldn't walk. They gave me Regeneron after a week, as my body was immunosuppressed from something else and they were concerned I was getting worse rather than better. That is in short supply, by the way . . . it is not any sort of solution that will work for everyone.

It would have been better not to catch it for sure. Now I have to wait at least 90 days for the booster, all while I am in a pretty high risk category both in terms of my personal health and my day-to-day job activities. At least I have the extra monoclonal antibodies. Hopefully those stick around awhile.

Meanwhile, hopefully I didn't spread it to too many people while I was out-and-about before I knew I was sick. I try to respect social distancing ideas, but a lot of people don't.
The day before I got symptoms, for example, did the unmasked guy behind me in line at the grocery store catch it from me? I remember being annoyed at how close up behind me he got. I was wearing one of those blue disposable masks and giving extra room to the extremely elderly lady checking out in front of me who was taking super long to pay and get her stuff and move along, but he was breathing right down my neck the whole time. I mean they even still had those big "stand here for social distancing" circle stickers on the floor, but he was oblivious and it was like he thought the old lady would go faster if he was tailgating me and weaving back and forth all agitated like a NASCAR driver. I'll never know if he caught it, or how many people he spread it to if he did. Can't worry about it, but it seems likely that I infected at least a few others.

On the bright side, my household family members kept testing negative, although 2 of them had some milder symptoms that mirrored mine and trailed mine in time. All were vaxed about a month later than I was. . . the vaccine works like it should for most people, at least until it wears off or the virus mutates enough I guess?

[Omy]

Ugh. I'm sorry you had such a rough case...but thanks for sharing your breakthrough experience.

[NorCal]

Fully vaxxed.  I had loosened up quite a bit in late May - July, but tightened back up when the delta variant became predominant.  I've been on public transit a few times, and I'd be fine getting on an airplane if I had to.  I guess I'm just mostly fine with re-joining society, but I have to have more of a reason to go out than I did previously.

I also have two kids that are too young for the vaccine, so my willingness to do different things varies highly on whether I'm with the kids or not.  Hopefully the vaccine will be approved for younger kids before these anti-vax idiots shut down the school too many times this year.

[Taran Wanderer]

We loosened up and we’re basically a #1 in June and July while cases were down and before the Delta spread. With Delta spiking, we’re back to #3. We’re vaccinated and prior to that, we suffered through “mild” cases…  least “mild” thing I’ve ever done in my life, but at least it didn’t involve hospitalization.

[deborah]

I’m fully vaccinated. Where I live is in lockdown currently, so the only option is 4.

We have 102 positive cases in our entire territory (state). The average age of those with it is 19.5, and in NSW (the state where it’s worst) children (even toddlers) are in hospital and dying. Yesterday Australia had more cases in a day than we’ve ever had, although it’s probably a smaller number than you’re used to.

[MayDay]

Fully vaxxed and really the only thing we aren't doing is going to crowded indoor events like concerts. We are traveling.

We do eat outdoors when we can, and we only are avoiding international travel, mainly due to the risks of getting stuck somewhere.

Our daughter is too young to be vaccinated but also too young to likely have a severe case, and the extended isolation of last year was very harmful to her mental health, so at this point we are more or less back to normal.

[TempusFugit]

Fully  vaxxed and back to normal activities.   I live in part of the country being hit very hard by the delta wave because only about 40% of my fellow citizens have availed themselves of the vaccine.  Our hospitals are being overwhelmed, we are told, though the local media reports don't actually clarify that it is almost entirely unvaccinated people. 

I live in a blue county in a red state, so in my area it is predominantly minorities who are refusing to be vaccinated, though i certainly know some who are either classic anti-vaccers or the newer more political anti-vaccers.  I find all 3 types to be quite tedious and pitiable. 

While i feel bad for anyones suffering and i hope for the best, I have done my part and they made their choice.  I accept that there is a small risk even to vaccinated people, but I am willing to live with that risk just as I live with the other risks that we have all learned to set aside so that we can live our lives.   

[SunnyDays]

Fully vaxxed and the mask mandate is lifted here except in health care settings or if private businesses require it.  But I still wear them and avoid unnecessary indoor crowds, such as movies, restaurants etc because Delta is just becoming dominant here, so not taking chances.  I have a 90 year old father to protect.  Cases are pretty stable at about 30/day, but expect numbers to rise when school starts in a few weeks.  I’m going to wait and see before relaxing my vigilance. 

[PDXTabs]

I'm somewhere between 1 & 2. I'm fully vaccinated, lower risk, and do basically whatever I want. But public transit is depressing right now and I have a bike and in practice I go days hanging out alone in my house. Also, as much as I'm not worried about a breakthrough infection I am worried about doing anything that would put me into an overloaded hospital. So to some extent I modulate my risk level (in general, not just COVID) based on how overwhelmed the hospitals are.

[Freedomin5]

Fully vaccinated but still try to minimize being in crowded places and indoor public spaces, not because we are afraid of getting COVID, but because it’s a hassle to don a mask (it’s the law here and you could get arrested/face a fine in some places for not wearing a mask as you are seen as jeopardizing public safety), have your temperature taken, and show your health code every time you enter a public space. Also, it has always exhausted me to be around other people even in pre-COVID times, and I think I’m partially using COVID as an excuse to justify and express my natural introversion.

[gatortator]

fully Vaxxed but have under12s at home.  they are back in school in a district with a mask mandate.  we volunteer with a youth group- outdoor, fully masked meetings last year and this year. we have been and continue to be very conversative in order to keep both our kids and the kids in the youth group safe.

[Zamboni]

We’re vaccinated and prior to that, we suffered through “mild” cases…  least “mild” thing I’ve ever done in my life, but at least it didn’t involve hospitalization.

Word.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Recently transitioned to fully #1. For those worried about the breakthrough casedemic in the vaccinated, see this and feel somewhat better.

[OtherJen]

Recently transitioned to fully #1. For those worried about the breakthrough casedemic in the vaccinated, see this and feel somewhat better.

It's more that I know 4 fully vaccinated people (three of my friends, one of husband's coworkers) who've had breakthrough infections since early July. None of them were anywhere near sick enough to need medical care, including my friend with severe asthma, and none transmitted it to their vaccinated immediate family members. The vaccines absolutely did their job in that regard. Still, all four were unwell for at least a few days, with extreme fatigue. I have a full-time managerial position and a nonprofit board presidency. I don't have time to be sick in bed if I can avoid it by masking and minimizing my exposure to crowds of people with uncertain vax status.

[lost_in_the_endless_aisle]

Recently transitioned to fully #1. For those worried about the breakthrough casedemic in the vaccinated, see this and feel somewhat better.

It's more that I know 4 fully vaccinated people (three of my friends, one of husband's coworkers) who've had breakthrough infections since early July. None of them were anywhere near sick enough to need medical care, including my friend with severe asthma, and none transmitted it to their vaccinated immediate family members. The vaccines absolutely did their job in that regard. Still, all four were unwell for at least a few days, with extreme fatigue. I have a full-time managerial position and a nonprofit board presidency. I don't have time to be sick in bed if I can avoid it by masking and minimizing my exposure to crowds of people with uncertain vax status.

And I don't fault anyone who wants to play it safer for whatever reason. I am baseline low to very low risk and with vaccination (10-20x severe disease reduction, per MMWR), consider the risk of covid far less than that of a typical flu. At some point, we will have to accept that covid will be endemic. In fact, outside the US at least, there is some honest talk about the benefits of being exposed to Delta versus the push for booster shots: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-58270098

[Zikoris]

Unvaxxed and doing most things I used to, but I feel like that implies a LOT more risky behaviour than I actually do. I never really did most of the high-risk stuff to begin with - restaurants, big group things, parties, etc. I've never been a super social person, and always did most socializing outdoors anyways, going on hikes, bike rides, or hanging out in parks. I'm still working from home, though that's more because I like sleeping in and wearing elephant pants rather than safety concerns. I guess the only thing I purposely avoid is travel - my last overseas trip was December/January 2020.

[yakamashii]

Just got my first shot last week (very slow rollout in Japan), and I'm 7.5 - very little in-person socializing, no concerts or sporting events, no eating out since January 2020. I've gone to the grocery store, the library, and the dentist/doctors' offices, and that's it. Entirely WFH even before the pandemic, so no change there. I'm not afraid of getting or spreading COVID as I was never a social butterfly anyway, and I'm jonesing for some sushi and yakiniku, but every time I ask myself, I answer that it's just not worth it until the vaccination rates are higher here.

[Metalcat]

Fully vaccinated, and I change my behaviour based on whatever the restrictions are in my region. Masking and social distancing here are still mandatory indoors and virtually everyone I see is still following the rules.

I voted 3 because I'm not willing to travel until it's predictable to do so. That's not so much a covid infection concern as it is a quality of travel experience concern. I don't want to end up somewhere that gets locked down, or have any risk of difficulty getting home.

We're taking a trip, but just to a nearby region and staying in the woods.

[Sibley]

Fully vaxxed, life as normal (plus masks in stores). However, it turns out my usual life is already fairly socially distanced.

[RetiredAt63]

Fully vaccinated, and I change my behaviour based on whatever the restrictions are in my region. Masking and social distancing here are still mandatory indoors and virtually everyone I see is still following the rules.

I voted 3 because I'm not willing to travel until it's predictable to do so. That's not so much a covid infection concern as it is a quality of travel experience concern. I don't want to end up somewhere that gets locked down, or have any risk of difficulty getting home.

We're taking a trip, but just to a nearby region and staying in the woods.

There really isn't a category for those of us in mask and social distance regions.   :-(

[Just Joe]

We had a moment or two of fun earlier in the summer. We're back to COVID careful. Our teen is attending school in person which puts us at risk. They are wearing masks when many of their classmates and school personnel aren't. DW and I are at more risk at work b/c work has brought everyone back. Masked but whatever... I felt safer when we were only a skeleton crew. Red state fun...

[Zikoris]

I voted 3 because I'm not willing to travel until it's predictable to do so. That's not so much a covid infection concern as it is a quality of travel experience concern. I don't want to end up somewhere that gets locked down, or have any risk of difficulty getting home.

We're taking a trip, but just to a nearby region and staying in the woods.

That's the reason I wouldn't want to travel now even if I was fully vaccinated. Restrictions change, borders close, and flights get cancelled at the drop of a hat. Not to mention how crappy it would be trying to sleep on a 13 hour flight wearing a mask. And even when you get to the destination, depending where you go there will probably still be tons of stuff closed and restrictions on what you can do. It really doesn't sound like a fun time to me at all. I don't see booking any travel for a loooong time yet, not until I'm pretty sure it will be s similar experience to my pre-covid trips.

[Metalcat]

I voted 3 because I'm not willing to travel until it's predictable to do so. That's not so much a covid infection concern as it is a quality of travel experience concern. I don't want to end up somewhere that gets locked down, or have any risk of difficulty getting home.

We're taking a trip, but just to a nearby region and staying in the woods.

That's the reason I wouldn't want to travel now even if I was fully vaccinated. Restrictions change, borders close, and flights get cancelled at the drop of a hat. Not to mention how crappy it would be trying to sleep on a 13 hour flight wearing a mask. And even when you get to the destination, depending where you go there will probably still be tons of stuff closed and restrictions on what you can do. It really doesn't sound like a fun time to me at all. I don't see booking any travel for a loooong time yet, not until I'm pretty sure it will be s similar experience to my pre-covid trips.

Exactly. I had no choice but to travel during the worst of covid for medical reasons and it was a miserable process, so I have zero urge to fly anywhere any time soon.

Thankfully I live driving distance from tons and tons of amazing places to visit, many of which I've never seen.

[Shinplaster]

Voted #3.   I'm very glad we did a bunch of travelling between 2013-2019, because there's no way I'm getting on a plane right now.  Not from fear of covid particularly, but because it's become such an unpleasant experience in general.  My nephew was in Aruba in March 2020, and barely got back to Canada.  His was the last flight out for months.   We don't want to get caught in that kind of situation either.

The one trip I will be taking is driving out of town to see my Mom in a few weeks, with one night in a hotel.  We stayed in that hotel a year ago (last time I was able to see her), and know they are doing everything possible to keep guests safe.   I'm willing to take a chance to see her before the residence gets locked down again - when you're 91, a year is a long time.

[Villanelle]

Fully vaxxed.  After my waiting period, I gradually started easing into life again, allowing myself to go into grocery stores (masked) dining at a restaurant (outdoors), etc.  It was a process and took a month or so.  For maybe two weeks, I had gone back to nearly normal.  Not 100%, but close.   But then delta started surging and I pretty quickly put back in place a lot of the protections.  Now I always mask inside, don't go many places I otherwise would, and am generally cautious, but I'm not as locked down as I was.  (I was definitely on the extreme end of Covid precautions pre-vax, not because I was especially worried about myself, but because I could and I felt it was the right thing.  I left the house <6 times in about 9 months.  I can't do that again.)

I'm actually really conflicted about what feels right (from a moral perspective) and I spend a lot of time thinking about it. 

[Omy]

Fully vaxxed.  After my waiting period, I gradually started easing into life again, allowing myself to go into grocery stores (masked) dining at a restaurant (outdoors), etc.  It was a process and took a month or so.  For maybe two weeks, I had gone back to nearly normal.  Not 100%, but close.   But then delta started surging and I pretty quickly put back in place a lot of the protections.  Now I always mask inside, don't go many places I otherwise would, and am generally cautious, but I'm not as locked down as I was.  (I was definitely on the extreme end of Covid precautions pre-vax, not because I was especially worried about myself, but because I could and I felt it was the right thing.  I left the house <6 times in about 9 months.  I can't do that again.)

I'm actually really conflicted about what feels right (from a moral perspective) and I spend a lot of time thinking about it.

Your approach has been very similar to mine. Most people I know are much less careful than I am, so it's interesting that over 50% answering the poll have chosen number 3. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since this group is likely more careful and introspective than average.

[ChpBstrd]

Fully vaxxed. No indoor dining, parties, crowded places, etc. Occasional outdoor meet ups with a small subset of friends.

My "approach to life" is to wait for the virus to infect or kill all the misinformed conspiracy theorist netizens around me, and to be one of the few people with undamaged lungs after the pandemic passes around my little island. I read Edgar Allen Poe's The Mask of the Red Death to maintain discipline.

[MudPuppy]

Okay that last sentence gave me a real life laugh

[alsoknownasDean]

Until the latest lockdown here I was probably along the lines of 10 with a bit of 11. I'd often be the only one using hand sanitiser when getting off the train, for example.

My first vaccine dose is scheduled for tomorrow.

EDIT: Now partially vaccinated, but we're in a lockdown. I suspect the end game once I'm fully vaccinated and restrictions ease will be #2. Wearing a mask on public transport and using hand sanitiser in crowded public spaces just seems a reasonable precaution.

[dang1]

fully vaxxed since May, feels great. Apparently, booster hopefully available next month- looking forward to that. Generally an introvert, I've been happily using the pandemic, as an excuse / to be less of an ahole, in turning down social interactions, especially to annoying big mouths who talk too much and never shut the f up. I preferred to avoid most people before the pandemic, nothing's changed now - glad avoiding is more normal. Not taking international vacations, seems like a hassle these days. Loving the roadtrips to remote places, well except drive to Vegas recently for Bruno Mars concert, lol. Though drove through some spectacularly desolate Mojave desert scenery

[jrhampt]

From May to about mid-July, I was hot vax summering, balls to the wall, brunching like it was my full time job.  I was at home 4 days the entire month of June.  I traveled domestically from Minnesota to North Carolina to Maine.  I was only hanging out with vaccinated friends and family, but I returned to indoor dining and wasn't too worried about it.  Was hoping for international travel later in the summer.  I went back to the gym.  Then delta hit and case loads everywhere started increasing, and it was like flipping a switch.  One day I went to the grocery store and >90% of people were wearing masks again.  I postponed a planned trip to Texas because of unvaccinated kids in my sibling's household back in school (I have to fly there and don't want to get stuck there when the kids get covid), I know people with breakthrough infections, and I've gone back to outdoor dining only, wearing masks around elderly relatives (and inside businesses).  My community is highly vaccinated (~80%) and although we have no mask mandate, most people wear masks at local businesses again.  I haven't quit the gym yet - it is my highest exposure activity.  They limit the number of people, but there's no vaccine requirement so I'm relying on the high vaccination rate and hoping for the best.  I still plan to go to an event at Lincoln center this fall - they are requiring masks and proof of vaccines there - started doing that before NYC announced it would be city-wide in most indoor businesses/events.  International travel is out for a while longer though and I'll reconsider travel to TX when their outbreak eases again. 

[YttriumNitrate]

I'd say I'm trying to be #1 but ending up a bit like #3 because of other factors. For example, I'm avoiding going to the movie theaters, not because of Covid19, but because the selection of movies for the next year or so looks a bit sad. I've gone to a few big places with large gatherings of people (zoo, amusement park, etc.) in the past few months and they have tended to be overcrowded and understaffed so I'm not keen on going again until things get more back to normal.