I usually only lurk in the silence, but thought I would wade into this one.
I've pretty much gone back to normal with a few exceptions. On airlines when required, of course I will wear a mask. I also wear a mask in some of our factories where it is still required.
I do find myself still giving people a fair amount of physical space, I think this one will be ingrained for quite a while.
There are several reasons I've relaxed my stance as public health guidance has also relaxed. Vaccination rates are quite high in my area, and I have had 3 doses.
The fist is that Covid-19 is never going away. Unless some future pan corona virus vaccine can eradicate this thing, then we're stuck with it just like the other 4 circulating corona viruses.
As vaccines have rolled out and higher levels of infection acquired immunity have arisen, the hospitalization burden has been largely separated from infection rates.
In a post Omicron world it is almost impossible to avoid infection. Prior to Omicron, I knew almost no one living near me who had been infected with Covid-19. After the Omicron waves I know almost no one who did not get infected. Those that didn't get infected had booster shots right at the start of the first Omicron wave.
As boosting everyone every 8 to 12 weeks to keep neutralizing antibody levels high is not a viable strategy, I think almost every one will get infected at some point.
There is still much uncertainty, but I suspect that we're going to see long lasting protection against severe infection due to B-cell and T-cell immune response. We may get infected, but the impact should be fairly mild.
The mask mandates, as implemented, have been mixed at best depending on the data sources you look at. Cloth masks, which are allowed in so many places are not effective.
The studies on one way masking show that a good fitting N95 type respirator can provide good protection against infection. For those that are immune compromised, or work closely with those that are, I think wearing N95's is very prudent, as is getting every booster available.
Long covid is a concern, I suspect I had it as many others did. I had quite a few odd symptoms 2 to 4 months after having Covid, that seem to have gone away in the last couple of months.
Unfortunately this one will be difficult to avoid as people are going to get exposed to this virus. Hopefully additional research can shed light on what is going on here.
We all have to make decisions that feel right for us as the data becomes available. Should hospitalizations start increasing substantially due to reinfection or a new variant, then I'll mask up and start taking additional precautions. I'll be planning for a booster, and a flu shot, in the fall.
