DU Poll: Is it time we accept Covid is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives

[BigmanPigman]

81 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes
	35 (43%)
	No
	37 (46%)
	Undecided
	5 (6%)
	Other
	4 (5%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[qazplm135]

1. I don't know if it's here to stay

but it's not going to be a situation where it just disappears either.

I think everyone who is going to wear a mask, is wearing one and everyone who is going to get vaccinated has just about gotten vaccinated.

We've reached the limits of public pressure and probably should transition to other things because the public is going to do it regardless of what we want them to do.

[uponit7771]

17. +1, looking at history its not here to stay in its most lethal forms but its not just going to pack

... up and move to Mars either.

We've reached 85% of adults in the US with at least one shot, the rest to go are children and the people who think something better is coming.

[LakeArenal]

2. I could get on with my life better if the world was 90% vaccinated.

Why should we give up on bullies getting their way?

If there was actual enforcement of people breaking mandates we might get somewhere.

[Mad_Machine76]

34. It would be nice

Unfortunately, we have politicians and judges undermining those efforts seemingly at every turn.

[bottomofthehill]

3. Sadly so

Everyone who wants to get vaccinated has, and forcing others to get vaccinated will not work so we have to learn how to protect ourselves and our loved ones and if the others choose to increase their chance of death, so be it. Their behavior will make it more difficult to protect ourselves, but that is where we are. There is about 15/20 percent of the country who don’t care about themselves and their fellow man. They want anarchy to make the President look bad.

[ColinC]

4. It will pass like everything else. I imagine within the next year or two, it will be close to

completely gone. Might take longer, but it will go away eventually.

[Hoyt]

5. Voted yes, as long as we don't have spikes. But we have to keep up with

vaccinations and masks when necessary. If conditions change, I’ll do what’s best for society.

I suspect most people feel that way, and it would be impossible to go back to strict isolation unless conditions change.

[Deuxcents]

6. I believe many strains of Covid

Are here to stay. I had influenza A a couple of years ago.. never so sick n I think there are many strains/variants of this virus. It’s what we do about it that matters

[LonePirate]

7. COVID was here to stay back in March 2020 when RWers refused to do anything to stop the spread.

Last edited Wed Feb 9, 2022, 08:34 AM - Edit history (1)

They were anti-mask, anti-lockdown and anti-social distancing from the beginning which transformed into their anti-vaccine stand now.

We need to face the reality that we have two groups of people in this country. One group will accept vaccines and reasonable measures to reduce the virus' impact on our lives. The other group will do absolutely nothing to stem the tide or perform even the most basic and common sense activities to fight the virus.

Our best hope is that the virus mutates into something harmless as it tries to infect more people even faster. Or the virus needs to mutate into something that is mostly harmless to the vaccinated but highly lethal to the unvaccinated in order to push the unvaccinated to become vaccinated.

[uponit7771]

18. +1

[zaj]

8. What does "get on with our lives" mean?

Last edited Wed Feb 9, 2022, 02:28 AM - Edit history (1)

If it means join the nutzos and consume anti-science content, start ignoring our safety protocols, and supporting political policies that threaten the health and safety of our family and communities... No.

If it means going out into the world as if things are 2019... No.

If it means leaving the house for the first time in 2 years, then... It's long past due for that.

[AlexSFCA]

9. it's a fact, not even a question. Learn to live with covid for decades.

Compulsory vaccination - without a question, yes. Never ending restrictions destroying an entire generation of kids and mandatory masks for years to come - not a chance. WHO recommends NOT to wear masks for kids under 5. CDC disagrees.

[unblock]

10. Define "just get on with our lives"

I know, I know. That phrase is right-wing mantra for pretend the pandemic is over, no mask, no mandates, maybe they'll let us get vaccinated, but that's it. Back to work everybody.

I've been getting on with my life the whole time. I've stepped up my role at work, I've become a poker pro and studied a ton, I've spent more time with my family, I've found a better sleep schedule, etc.

I chose not to act as if my life was on hold for the duration of a pandemic, because life goes on, regardless.

I don't see wearing a mask as interrupting my life.

And I don't see recklessly endangering myself and others during a pandemic as getting back to normal.

[VarryOn]

11. Those worried over Covid and having received a potential exposure need to get over their fear and...

get over it. There are many who are afraid of the virus and afraid of getting a shot. They need to get over it. A grown woman or man should be embarrassed not to have received a vaccine.

[VarryOn]

12. For some reason, it would not let me vote. But, I would have voted "yes"....

Covid is here to stay, just like the flu. Somehow, my vaxxed and boosted wife and I have managed to keep away from the virus. We've been prudent to keep away from the crowds, but we've not been mental about it. And yes, we've been jabbed and boosted like expected. All our close family has abided by the CDC guidelines, too.

We are getting along with our lives, meaning we don't pause to give covid/flu a consideration over what we do. For months we've done so. Now that we've done so, our lives are pretty normal.

If I were fat, old, diabetic, or otherwise compromised, I'd be more cautious. But I'm not, so I take care. I'm glad to see many here in Northwest Arkansas do the same.

I truly believe we are close to Biden's deeming this ordeal over. I can't wait. I'm so over it!

[BigmanPigman]

13. That's odd that it wouldn't let you vote so I tried it myself.

I was able to vote, even in my own poll. Other things have been screwing up when I type on this site for 2 days now. It won't let me type, make spaces, etc. Sometimes I have to try it several times for it to show up the way I intended. Google changed their home page format a few days ago and I think it may have to do with Google. It is very annoying.

[VarryOn]

14. When I click on the thread, and it shows the poll...

It only shows "undo", like I've already before. I have no idea why, so that's why I did a verbal vote. It doesn't appear my vote would have swayed the outcome, anyway.

I don't recall having issues with polls in the past.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. Doctors and nurses and people needing hospital treatment for other issues need to get over it too.

And people who are older, or immune compromised can get on with their lives, or deaths, or whatever.

[electric_blue68]

16. I voted No as frustrated as I am. We still need to maintain some serious actions...

Because that's how we in NYC are almost down to 3% by most of us taking serious action!
Now various neighborhoods (usually along race, and economic, types of jobs lines) probably have some variables. My nabe is mostly Latino with a lot having some AA heritage, and like 92+% are mask wearing still. Yay.

I'm 68. Yeah, I need to lose weight, but otherwise mostly quite healthy so far. I double mask, distance. Got my vaxs & booster. I have to be more careful. 😑

I love to walk about my city - lots of Manhattan - as long as it's not over crowded I kinda love the hustle & bustle of Mid-town, Chelsea, and Lower Manhattan, the often slower pace and often less crowded in some of Brooklyn, some of The Bronx, the West Village, and waaaay northern Manhattan.
My activites have been curtailed by at first 90% - 95% 2020. Now it's between 85% -90%.

To get though the closest lovely big park with low people density I have to go public transit which at least is 2 relatively short rides. Luckily bus in particular demands masking. And it's easy for me to bus ride there.
I'm usually in the parks (2 big ones, and the big plaza then long, wonderful Esplanade along The Hudson River west of the WTC by mid-late April!
It wasn't till Sept in 2020 - once. And ? 2xs in '21. And gloriously I unmasked in the park!💖 I hope to get to the park more: 4x - 5xs.
I have a modest park 3 - 4 blocks away but it's full of kids.

I miss my bopping about!

And I hate most of the anti-vaxxers who've vastly contributed to extending this misery, and death to so many. 😔

[cadoman]

19. there is no choice -- only what the science tells us to do

If the science tells us it's over, it's over.

If the science tells us to mask up and stay indoors, we do it.

If the science tells us we can go outside with masks and up-to-date boosters, we do it.

If science says the masks and vaccines no longer matter and to act like it's 2019, we put out the "Fuck Trump" flags and live it up like it's 2019.

Science is the ONLY way to process this event rationally. Only science is based on facts and reality. Ignore the Putin created propaganda and wait to hear the consensus from Fauci and other scientific institutions.

-- Possible Spoiler Alert --

I think those dumb redneck truckers happened to start their little racist occupation at the exact time COVID was winding down. We'll now have a continental registry of domestic terrorists who should never have another fucking trucking job in their fucking life.

[Hortensis]

20. Agree with Cadoman. And new, significant variants are virtually guaranteed

because so much of the world is not vaccinated yet. We don't know what they'll be. This isn't over.

That said, vaccination has been allowing many to decide to get along with their lives for some time.

As for epidemiology struggling to lower death rates from this and future strains, mandates in areas that impose them will continue to get loosened and tightened as the pandemic progresses. Case rates are currently plummeting, but hospitals are packed and deaths are high. Real deaths passed a million some time ago.

There are new treatment drugs that work for the strains we have. When they're actually available, more high risk people will also be able to decide to get on with our lives. And more are being developed.

[OhioChick]

21. It is "here to stay" but we need more people to get vaccinated due to the variants that will occur.

The variants will affect us all.

[Dorian Gray]

22. I clicked "other"

I think what "moving on" means may be different for some people.

I think we are pulling up on 2 years of restrictions.

It's been difficult. I'm moving on a bit this week. I've had a couple of meals out with friends. I am planning a trip to visit my parents in Florida. (My first flight in two years.) So yes, I'm "moving on."

But I also am still taking precautions. I wear a mask in public (unless eating). I think even though NYC is loosening its restrictions, I'll keep doing so. For me, that's easy.

Covid is still spinning around up in there. I don't want to contribute to people getting sick, but I'm not going to live in totally restricted quarantine now either.

Schools should continue to be open. (But I've argued that since Sept 2020. So that position is not moving on.) Should we consider dropping masks in schools? I think we need to come up with a point where it's safe. Data for an "end date." I also think there are a heck of a lot of frustrated parents of kids who are under 5 who would like to get their kids vaccinated. And there are others who aren't interested. I feel for them.

I know there are vulnerable people. I am committed to masking and regular testing. If I get sick, I'm committed to staying home. I have a bunch of boxes of tests now.

So, this is a long answer. I'm ready to start loosening up my personal restrictions. But, I'm also committed to being thoughtful about covid and trying to maintain mitigations.

[dwayneb]

27. Generally agree

The problem with the poll is that "moving on" was not clearly defined.

I follow the science to determine how much risk I take as a fully vaccinated and boosted individual.

The very first thing I do before going to visit family for example (who are all vaccinated and boosted) is to have a look at the local transmission rates, the CDC info below and local transmission/death rates.

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

At the Omicron peak I was taking no chances, even visiting within my family. Now that the case rate is in rapid decline (6X lower than the peak) and approaching the levels we had last summer, I am visiting my vaxxed/boosted family members more frequently. S

In public setting I will continue to mask with a KN95 until Covid is declared endemic.

No matter what you do, it's impossible to have ZERO risk, we are all managing the risk in the most rational way we can.

[Dorian Gray]

43. There are so many factors here

I do appreciate that testing is so readily available in NYC. I have a stack of ten boxes at home to at home test, but I can also walk to a number of mobile vans for a free pcr or rapid test. I know not every place is like that.

I'm seeing a friend tonight. We are both rapid testing first, even though she had covid at christmas. (She also has just recovered from cancer, so the extra precaution feels right.)

I'm happy to test as much as possible. To wear a mask. But I also want opportunities to do the things I love and see the people I love. It's important to me.

Not to mention what my 11 year old needs. She's been in school and doing ballet/gymnastics and guitar in person throughout all this. We've maintained trusted friends for her to see. All intentional bc the first three months of the pandemic had her freaking out/lonely/threatening self harm.

Some risks are worth it for my family.

[Kaleva]

23. "Other". I've been getting on with my life for years now.

Wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer and practicing social distancing when out and about hasn't had any measurable impact on my life.

[NurseJackie]

24. Why are so many here in such a big hurry to die, or kill-off their neighbors?

I know it's just an "internet poll" and the participants have selected themselves to answer (not very random). However, I must say that the number of "yes" answers here is disturbing. It all seems rather selfish to me.

[Mad_Machine76]

36. +1

[Dorian Gray]

44. But that's the thing

we aren't willing to die or kill off our neighbors. I'm vaccinated, I'm boosted, I wear KN94 masks in public, and I test before spending time with friends unmasked. But with declining cases, I am not willing NOT to see my friends or family.

I meant what I said in another answer. I think "moving on" means different things to different people. As someone who cancelled travel plans over the holidays and didn't see family, yes... I'm going to travel and see family now that we are 90% lower in cases in NYC than we were at our peak. I'm doing the same stuff I was doing in October.

But I am NOT killing anybody. I am not participating in genocide. I'm using precautions so that I can go out and live.

So when people say things like "Why are you in a rush to kill people"... honestly, I kind of roll my eyes. Nobody on this board is in a rush to watch their loved ones choke to death bc of covid. Nobody here thinks it's a hoax.

[NurseJackie]

46. I guess everyone has different priorities. Some are willing to make sacrifices, others aren't.

[Dorian Gray]

55. This is

sanctimonious nonsense.

Sacrifice for WHAT END? We've all sacrificed a hell of a lot over the last two years. Every single one of us.

A person is not superior if they stay quarantined indefinitely at this point. Get vaccinated. Get boosted. Buy a good mask. Make individual decisions that are within your own personal risk assessment comfort zone.

If you're in an area where hospitals are still over run? Stay in until they're under control.


There is a shift in the narrative happening in the US and Europe. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/end-coronavirus-restrictions/621627/

[NurseJackie]

62. I guess some of us have more stamina than others.

Make individual decisions that are within your own personal risk assessment comfort zone.

That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm very realistic. People who continue to live in denial about the dangers and risks of Covid won't be able to live in denial forever, if you know what I mean.

Sacrifice for WHAT END? We've all sacrificed a hell of a lot over the last two years. Every single one of us.

Yes we have. And it's not over yet, is it? Why pretend like it is? Stand by... there's MORE to come!

I'm also making choices that consider MORE than just myself, my feelings, my boredom, my loneliness. I'm not selfish enough to be willing to DIE in order to relieve my boredom or restlessness. Nor am I willing to do things (or encourage others to do things) that only prolong the misery.

This new "movement" somewhat reminds me of how many people will break out their fun springwear and bathing suits on the first sunny day in late February where the temperature reaches anything over 40 degrees. They're tired of winter and the long cold nights. In reality, it's actually STILL winter and there are STILL many cold days ahead... but they're trying their best do deny reality and to convince Mother Nature that it's actually spring so that she'll start behaving as though it's spring.

Clearly we see things differently.

[Dorian Gray]

68. Clearly

I think you have the idea that "MOVING ON" means simply one thing. (Pretending covid doesn't exist). When for me it means traveling to see my parents whom I haven't seen in two years. (While testing and wearing a mask.) Oh, and seeing friends who are vaccinated and boosted and willing to test first. And maybe going to a movie while masked bc I haven't been in a movie theater in two years.

I know that's all super selfish. lol

[NurseJackie]

72. Everyone has their priorities, don't they.

I guess with everyone spreading Covid at movie theaters, and airports and airplanes... this thing will just continue indefinitely. More variations, more mutations... on and on and on.

And maybe going to a movie while masked bc I haven't been in a movie theater in two years.

Oh, I know. Isn't that just AWFUL?

I know that's all super selfish.

No comment.

[Arazi]

79. I'm with you on this post 100%

Being careful personally but yes, definitely starting to socialize again as I was last fall.

With the free at-home tests I now have another layer of protection so I’m not infecting friends or family.

[JanMichael]

25. When we say "to stay" I'm not sure what that means. The rest of our lives?

100 years 200 years? As weird as this particular pandemic has been the damn thing may just turn into stuffy nose only in 2 weeks. Or I could just vanish. So basically I don't know.

I personally can't answer that question. Probably the idea that we are past being completely overwhelmed by COVID/variants in hospitals, and people having to be quarantined for days after exposure, may in fact be over or almost over. Maybe as soon as March or April or May. That would certainly help businesses and government function better.

On the other hand the Frankenstein variant may come out in a month and we will be back to square one. Frankenstein doesn't care if you've had Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson. If that happens I think I'll just start a business making resperator headgear for activewear and dating.

The thing that I think may happen is that a good part of the population including myself will probably continue to wear a mask in public areas where I don't know the people. Like the grocery store. I'll probably go to bars but I'll sit outside. Honestly I don't know. But I do know is that it is still a thing. Hopefully a thing that will chill the fuck out shortly.

Remember Delta was a surprise. Omicron was a surprise. Any more surprises?

[tanyev]

26. We could have "gotten on with our lives" a long time ago if there weren't so many fools

refusing to get vaccinated and wear masks.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

28. Monmouth poll, 70% of Americans agree it's time to accept, get on with their lives, read that one?

http://monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_us_013122/




Lots more questions to explore in there


"Americans still concerned about virus, but lose faith in federal measures"

[BeckyDem]

29. Politicians don't get to decide when a pandemic is over.

It is beyond irresponsible to remove mask requirements in the next few weeks.

[Mad_Machine76]

35. +1

We can't tell a pandemic to be over. The virus causing the pandemic ultimately decides when it's had enough.

[ForgedCrank]

30. I think what sometimes gets lost

in the noise is some very basic facts.
Covid is a virus, nothing magic or supernatural about it. It will propagate, mutate and follow trends like all others before it on those particular points.
It's effectiveness will likely deteriorate over time (in general), and so will it's propagation patterns that are driven by human behaviors and movements. The rise, spread and demise of each variant is quite predictable and we don't need any new methods for covid specific models for those particular data points.
We have probably broken the standard models a little bit with the massive mitigation efforts though. I'm not sure how that affects the numbers we see at this point.
All that aside, it will follow the same typical lifecycle as all others before it. How deadly it will remain is the only real question.
It is of my opinion that we need to take care of ourselves and family members individually as we see fit and just move on finally. This thing has wrecked most of the planet, and the public overall has grown very weary of anything covid.

[Tom Rinaldo]

31. The question is vague to the point of almost having no meaning for me

The concepts of "accepting it" and "getting on with our lives" obscure a whole spectrum of real life choices that get shaped by changing circumstances. Answering "Yes" or "No" makes no sense to me. I'm usually in favor of "accepting reality'", but not always. Sometimes I favor fighting to change reality. Do I "accept" cancer and heart disease? I suppose so but, to an extent I still want to manage risks. Stay away from carcinogens and radioactive exposures etc.

For me it is more a question of when I should and should not feel it worth the inconvenience etc, to wear a mask. When I will and will not eat in restaurants, or travel extensively. And that all depends on being knowledgeable about relative risks. Covid 19 , even Omicron, still ain't the flu. A bad flu year kills 50,000. Covid is still killing several hundred thousand a year. Like the flu, Covid seems to come in waves. When there isn't a wave hitting where I live, when community transmission is low, I am getting to the point where I will functionally treat Covid like the flu in the sense that I will resume what had been my previous daily life. Get my Covid shots, stay away from people who are obviously sick, etc, but live my normal routines. When we are experiencing a Covid wave though I will take measures to lessen my risk, depending on how high I think the risk of contagion is .

Is that "accepting Covid"? Is that "getting on with my life"? Right now I am still wearing a mask indoors in public, but just starting to have vaccinated friends back over to my home.

[Mad_Machine76]

33. COVID is obviously worse than the Flu

Even on the worst years, it never been close to matching what we've seen in just the past two years.

[Tom Rinaldo]

40. Definitely. Far worse, and the flu is worse than the common cold ...

Prior to this pandemic I suppose I was "living my normal life" accepting as a baseline that both the Common Cold and the Flu were out there in my day to day world. Now Covid is out there in my day to day world also. I previously was more worried about the Flu than I was about a Common Cold. Now I am much more worried about Covid than I am about the Flu. At some point, maybe soon, my day to day life with Covid in the world will resemble what my day to day life looked like with the Flu in the world, but not when Covid is surging.

[NurseJackie]

39. Thanks... you're correct.

I don't completely trust my husband's colleagues, or other friends and family who say they're vaxxed. I know which ones are GOP and Trump supporters... if they're that stupid to begin with, then they're likely LYING about being vaxxed.

[Dorian Gray]

45. exactly

[Mad_Machine76]

32. It's likely to be endemic at this point

However, until the numbers and deaths should need to be dramatically reduced and stop having spikes and fade into the background before we can just "get on without our lives"

[haele]

37. Accept how?

Like accepting there's going to be fools driving about on the streets so you ensure you drive safely with seat belts and a well made, well maintained vehicle yourself and watch for those other idiot drivers (or pedestrians) so your risk of being in an accident is reduced?
Or do you just pretend nothing is wrong and party like it's 2018?
Me, I'm going about any business like I'm driving the 805 northbound from San Ysidro to Mira Mesa every day at morning rush hour and avoiding the idiot lane splitting motorcyclists and truckers from TJ (or the Lexus, Audi, or Tesla drivers who think trucks need to yield to them).
Or for those familiar with DC traffic, getting through the Beltway loop at any hour.

Masked, vaxxed, and social distancing. Delivery, take-out, outdoor dining, and curbside services. Regular doctor's appointments. Keeping an eye on any viral spikes in the area.
Sucks, but too many people depend on me for at least the next ten years of my life for me to get disabled due to Long COVID or hospitalized/killed by a COVID breakthrough because I ignore the risks.

It's official, Laz and I caught initial COVID 19 back in early January 2020 before it was made public. And he's still neurologically disabled from long COVID. We can't both survive If I get it again and something happens.

COVID is like being hit by a drunk or distracted driver. Most people survive, but it's never without some cost.


Haele

[Emile]

38. It's not over yet. I heard yesterday about a former coworker who just died from covid!

[Blecht]

41. This is right-wing framing

We are fucking lost as a country.

[Meowmee]

42. Not a good poll for this time

Imo. Voted no. Many measures are still needed. Will they be taken, wth knows. My guess is no.

2000 or more are still dying per day. Official count is over 900,000 but we know it’s a much higher than that for the full time so far.

Are we supposed to ignore this and pretend none if this happened and is happening. I remember when the cases were 15.

Even if you were not personally affected that is a bridge too far for anyone who claims to be a good person.

At the beginning so many lies were told- not just by dump et al. Such as masks will not protect the wearer. It is too hard for a layperson to wear a mask properly and more- wash your hands to stop an aerosol transmission which was known as the main transmission.

I just wonder what people are going to say if a new more deadly variant arrives and large numbers of people start dying- in the younger age category, we know something will be done for sure, or all around, will there still be calls that we should just get on with our lives and ignore it ?

[karynnj]

47. Yes, but with some adjustments

For example, at times when I am in a place where there is significant covid or if I am using mass transportation, I will wear a good mask. Also, if I have a plan to see a person more at risk than I am, I will test the day before to reduce the chance of inadvertently giving covid to them. If I am sick, I will stay home. As I am retired this is easy.

None of those actions, unilateral on my part, hinder my ability to do anything. (Other than canceling plans if I am positive.

[Dorian Gray]

58. Exactly

I think your plan is great! And I'm there with you!

[Tarc]

48. I "accept" that I am fully vaxxed, and if the willfully unvaxxed start to die off in droves

then that is something I am fully fine with as well. Tots & Pears.

So if that is what we mean by "accept" then....ayep.

[Towlie]

49. No, We need to force the wingnuts to accept that there's no God-given right to spread disease.

 
?

Covid 19 would be defeated by now if people didn't buy into the cop-out attitude that you're trying to sell.

[Ace Rothstein]

56. I keep seeing posters say covid would be defeated by now if people did X.

How? COVID is in literally every country on the planet and the vaccines don't fully stop you from getting it. We've had numerous posters here who are triple vaxxed, wear masks everywhere and still got COVID? How exactly are we supposed to defeat it?

[Towlie]

74. One of Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin's cartoons:

 
?

[Ace Rothstein]

76. Well, yeah, people should get vaxxed but it wouldn't have ended the pandemic.

Countries with 90% plus vaccination rates saw or are seeing an Omicron spike. Their hospitals will likely fare better than ours.

[Zeitghost]

78. There was never a chance to "defeat" COVID

Once it left Wuhan. COVID was always going to run it's course and everyone will get it. The only decisions we had were to take the vaccine to improve individual outcomes and mask/social distance to slow the spread and keep the health system from catastrophic failure.

It's simply far too contagious and there are too many potential hosts, human and animal, to stop it. Slowing it down was and is the only strategy.

[Happy Hoosier]

50. If it moves to an "endemic" phase....

... then we'll have to live with it. Well, MOST of us will live with it.

[Takket]

51. Not yet. After Omicron

Omicron looks like it has until the end of February to pretty much burn itself out. At that point as long as no new deadly variant backfills behind it, it will be time to ditch the safety protocols.

Everyone who wants to be protected is protected at this point.

[iemanja]

52. Depends what you mean by accept it

If you mean end precautions, I say no. If you mean deal with the fact it's going to last and continue to take precautions, I say yes.

[AntivaxHunters]

53. This is horrific

It ignores all the people who are immunocompromised and who's lives would be in immediate danger of death.
Accepting Covid is endemic (which it's not) exploits the most vulnerable in society for those who are overly entitled & privileged.
This is a very dangerous mindset which will equate to a great more death and suffering.
Our hospitals will continue to fill straining our already broken healthcare system & a lot more people will wind up getting the Herman Cain award.

[cemaphonic]

54. I think it's more of a matter of risk assessment than a binary yes/no thing

On both an individual and societal level. We definitely need to accept that Covid is here to stay - It was probably always going to go endemic, so those that argue that we all need to become hermits until/unless it is eradicated are just as delusional as the "it's just like the flu" types. And both Covid and the responses to it have stretched a number of important systems, such as healthcare and education to the breaking point.

So yes, we need to get on with our lives. And yet there are plenty of things that people can do, such as get vaccinated and continue wearing masks in close quarters, that mitigate the risk, with negligible costs to individuals or society at large.

It's like driving - You're safer not ever driving or riding in a vehicle, but there are severe costs to doing so in our industrialized world, so people accept the risk, and most responsible people do what they can to make it as safe as possible (wear seatbelts, follow road rules, etc.)

[Dorian Gray]

59. Nuanced answer

and I like it. Thanks for understanding it's not a zero sum game at this point.

[Emile]

57. I wear my mask to make a political statement!

[Dorian Gray]

60. That's pointless then

I wear my mask to avoid getting covid.

To each his own.

[Emile]

61. Me too.

I should have used the sarcasm tag

[Dorian Gray]

63. Sorry

I'm usually cued into sarcasm but this day has got my brain in humorless mode. Mea culpa. Please accept an apology heart from me.

[Emile]

67. +1 thank you

[Ace Rothstein]

69. There were plenty here who said that last year when mask mandates went away.

[NurseJackie]

73. Ha! Good one!

I've literally heard people say that they refuse to wear a mask as a "political statement" against tyranny. That's an amusing way to twist their logic.

[fishwax]

64. the lockdown measures could have contained it before it became endemic, but

that ship sailed when conservatives resisted to all of those measures, thus giving the virus time and space to develop on its own. I'm not an expert by any stretch, but it seems to me that it is here to stay, but hopefully in a less immediately deadly form. We'll get annual (or perhaps more frequent) vaccine/boosters to deal with expected variants as we do with the flu. Now and then, perhaps, a strain will break through to the point that some locales will reimpose things like mask mandates, whereas other locales will let it run its course.

[Ace Rothstein]

70. How would lockdown measures have contained it?

Other countries have tried that and it hasn't worked out.

[fishwax]

75. I dunno--I suppose I'm just speaking theoretically based on what I heard from experts at the time

that the best-case scenario of the lockdown measures (by which I mean a variety of strategies from closing businesses to mask mandates) would be to slow its progress enough that we could get vaccines and treatments before it became endemic. We tried such measures (in a patchwork fashion), and other countries tried varying sets of measures, but it was not to be.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

77. What I heard at the time

was that the lockdowns were meant to "flatten the curve"...initial estimates were that vaccines would take years, so the idea was that yeah, millions will be infected, but if we can spread infections out across a longer time frame, the healthcare system wouldn't be as stressed.

[beaglelover]

65. Absofuckinglutely!!!

[Bettie]

66. It will probably be around for a while

and there are some who are working hard, every day to keep it mutating.

So, the sane among us can't really get back to pre-pandemic normal, because there will still be new waves.

I'd love to not have to wear a mask, but I do.

Maybe some day it will be over or we have to accept that we will never be back to "normal".

I miss going to movies and going out to eat. I cook at home, but sometimes, it's nice to get a meal someone else cooked.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

71. I voted yes

But then again, my life is pretty much back to normal. I'm vaxxed, but had COVID in early January...mild case, and I isolated for the required period and made sure I was fully recovered before returning to work.

We go out to dinner once a week, hit a movie theater every now and then (didn't go to a lot of movies pre-COVID either), go to the grocery store, go to work.


The only things that are different for me now is that I have to wear a mask at work until I get to my office and close the door, and I telework two days per week, which isn't mandatory but is a choice that I enjoy.

[Zeitghost]

80. Same here

Almost everyone in my daily life (work, home, friends) is vaxxed and 90%+ have had COVID, almost all of us in the last 60 days and outside of household members, none of us got it from each other. I'm not sure what anyone expects me to do at this point. We all did what we were supposed to do, we almost all still got COVID and survived. Continuing to avoid places and people I love seems ridiculous at this point as it would serve no purpose.