We have the tools to make this holiday season much better than the last.
 | By Alexandra Sifferlin Senior Staff Editor, Opinion |
The future in the pandemic may be uncertain — but there's good reason to believe that we're looking toward brighter days, at least once we get through this winter. |
Given the combination of growing vaccine eligibility, the likely authorization of new treatments and the unfortunate fact that the United States has high levels of prior infections, experts are cautiously optimistic that the most recent Delta surge was the last extreme spike in hospitalizations and deaths for the United States. |
Covid is not going to vanish — there will likely continue to be ups and downs for a long time, especially in the winter (the virus is with us for good) — but as we head into the holiday season, it's reasonable for the fully vaccinated to think beyond just survival and toward how to start really living. |
What's challenging about this particular moment is that once people are fully vaccinated, so much of what to do next comes down to personal preferences and risk assessments. |
"People in public health tend to avoid using the word 'safe' because it's really relative — some things are safer than others, but nothing is zero risk," Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells one reader. |
That doesn't make the day-to-day reality of the pandemic any less confusing. And there's been a substantial loss of trust in leadership and each other over the past two years that hasn't helped, as Tufekci notes. "There are highly vaccinated areas with few cases where some people remain unsure if they can let down their guard at all, and other areas with low vaccination rates and high community transmission where people are living as if it's 2019," she writes. |
But we have the tools to make this Covid-19 winter much better than the last. And many people are eager to do exactly that. For some, like Katharine Esty, an 87-year-old psychotherapist who is becoming reacquainted with the social life she put on hold, finding ways to live with Covid is crucial. "I want to spend my remaining time traveling, going to parties with friends and seeing all my far-flung grandchildren," she writes. |
Many families may be having their first winter holiday gatherings since the pandemic began. "Though the pandemic has increased tensions within families, it has also created an opening," writes Emily Esfahani Smith. "Now more than ever, people are recognizing the importance of being together — and how precious and fleeting life can be." |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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