People who study the field of epidemiology have been repeating the mantra that we need to follow a shape-shifting body of evidence as it emerges. We need to make the best judgments we can with whatever data we have, then study the past and predict our future. Since there is no unerring formula that can be calculated without data yet to be collected, what should we use to inform our decisions for everyday life? Have you been vaccinated yet? Are you two weeks post Shot Number 2? (That means you are fully immunized.) If so, how has it changed your life in Newton so far? If not, how do you anticipate it will change your life? Will you take any vaccine offered or seek out a preferred one? Whose advice will you follow? Do you have empathy for those who lack economic benefits or mental health resources compared to the benefits and resources and consequent choices you might be enjoying? Where do you fall on the spectrum: Spring Break Partier or Hermit?
Great questions and observations Sallee. We have been neither hermits nor Spring Break Party Goers. We both had our second shots more than 3 weeks ago, but still are doing things almost exactly like we did before we were officially protected. But I have to confess that there are brief seconds when I think this war is over when it could still have some very serious twists and turns for all of us. You can’t feel anything but empathy for the millions of underpaid essential workers without unions or benefits who have kept us safe, serviced, fed and otherwise provided for. Many still haven’t even received the first shot.
Several years back, I became aware that a devastating pandemic could cripple the planet, undermine already frayed public health systems and cause immense suffering after reading Laurie Garrett’s “Betrayal of Public Trust” and her follow up “The Coming Plague”. Garrett had disturbing discussions about “mutations”, “variances”, turf wars over vaccines and so many other scary and realistic scenarios that are compounded by more recent evidence that climate change may accelerate the number and severity of these threats. Still, I put my own concerns on the back burner figuring there wasn’t anything I could do about them and that they would probably wait until after I was gone to manifest itself.
During the first few months, Joanne and I were washing down groceries at the kitchen sink or leaving them in the car for 24 to 36 hours before bringing them into the house. It seemed that every analyst had a list of things we were supposed to do and this just led to confusion. Gradually, however, things came into sharper focus when the scientists and doctors started concentrating on the basics that folks needed to stay safe. (1) Wear a mask that evolved into two masks; (2) Social Distance; (3) Constant washing of hands with both soap and disinfectant; (4) Take advantage of senior hours for shopping with a quick in and out exit strategy; (5) Avoid all indoor dining and stores that aren’t adhering to the rules; (6) Wash down all fruits, vegetables etc.
Within these constraints, we felt pretty free to go back to the Y, do quick in and out shopping, go on day trips, do outdoor dining and live as normal a life as possible. Human contacts aside, it is actually easier for older folks like us than for younger people and especially for student age kids whose interconnected needs are greater and whose expectations are rightfully higher,
There’s a sigh of relief around our household.
Our biggest concern for the past year has been my wife who was in multiple high risk groups for Covid. She’s now fully vaccinated so that’s a load off all of our minds. My daughter and I haven’t got any jabs yet. I’m technically eligible for a shot as of this week but I don’t have the patience/perseverance to try to score an immediate appointment. I’ve registered with the state and will just wait until my number comes up or a vax appointment drops in my lap.
So best guess, I’ve got another month or two before I can go back to close talking and licking doorknobs.
My husband is vaccinated because he works in healthcare and I’m in a grey area in terms of eligibility based off my work. I’m about 90% sure I’m eligible so I’m just periodically poking around to see if there are vaccine appointments but nothing yet. But I have an elementary aged kid who I don’t anticipate getting vaccinated for some time.
I think what will happen is once I’m vaccinated, I’ll consider entering masked venues even with my unvaccinated child – like the Y, an arcade, bowling, museums. I think indoor dining and air travel are off the table to us until the experts say we’re at herd immunity. I know people who are jumping on planes and dining inside, and that’s not a risk I’ll be willing to take for a while.
I have to admit that I have been under the strict rule of a very Covid-avoidance medical “counselor” closely related to me. Even though my husband and I are now fully vaccinated, we are still washing and/or alcohol-ing our groceries that are delivered via Instacart. We haven’t gone to restaurants or pharmacies or any other indoor venues (other than emergency hospital stays) in over a year. We have, however, now begun to see certain doctors important to our “geriatric” non-Covid health, in person. We see friends outdoors on our deck, masked, with visiting couples unmasking to nosh snacks, alternating with our doing the same thing. I am in so many high risk groups that I think being ultra-nutty careful has kept me alive. Now, fully vaccinated, I know my Covid mortality and hospitalization risk is minimal, but, I am waiting another month to see whether the data shows that I might be a vector for transmissibility to unvaccinated individuals. My kids (and their spouses) are mostly immunized, but my grandkids are not. So, I need to know that a lot more data says it’s really safe to see and hug them in person before I do so. I dread the possibility that I could be responsible for someone becoming a Covid long-hauler. Until then, it’s Zoom for me inside and masks for me outside!