Since the pandemic started, I’ve written occasional bonus posts about my experience. This is the 61st. At first, I wrote frequently, at least twice a month. But since last fall the pace has slowed considerably. There just hasn’t been much new to say.
Recent mask guidance from the CDC suggest that 70 percent of Americans can now stop wearing masks, and no longer need to social distance or avoid crowded indoor spaces. In red-state Indiana, that took down the final barrier. Almost nobody wears masks anymore, anywhere. I’m relieved, but I hope the CDC has its guidance right.
The Omicron surge has passed here in Indiana, and I suspect in most of the United States. The thought seems to be that because Omicron didn’t make people as ill as previous variants, that we are past the worst of the pandemic, and that COVID-19 is now becoming endemic. I’m not so sure the emergence of one less-impactful variant proves that. But I think people are ready for this to be over, and that will surely convert pandemic to endemic. I just hope that we don’t have another variant that has high risk of serious illness and long-term effects.
Like most, I’ve all but given up wearing a mask. I carry one in case I walk into a place that still requires it.
I’m still working from home most days, and I still go back and forth about whether I prefer it to being in the office. I miss what the office was, when everyone was there. When I go now, only a handful of others are ever there. It’s hardly worth the hour-plus commute — especially since the people there aren’t ones I need to meet with. I spend my whole day on Zoom, whether or not I spend the hour plus round trip in the car. So most days I just stay home. But I’m frankly sick of being in this house all the time.
If that’s my biggest pandemic-related problem now, I must have it pretty good.
