When The Pandemic Will End for Me
I watched an informative video from AsapSCIENCE on "When Will COVID End?"
In the video they break down the science of what it might look like when we're able to say COVID is finished (spoiler: it's never ending, we'll just have to live with it). It got me thinking of what are my own personal conditions for when I will think about COVID as being "over" in my life.
There conditions for when the pandemic ends for me are:
- I'm not personally afraid of dying from COVID. ✅
- I am not afraid of going to public places to get essentials. ✅
- I am comfortable having friends and family over my home or visiting them in theirs. ✅
- I am comfortable having group events at my home with people I know. ✅
- I'm not afraid of killing a vulnerable person by infecting them with COVID when visiting. ⚠️
- I have no fear of eating out in-person at restaurants indoors. ✅
- I am comfortable traveling on planes to other countries, regardless of their status. ✅
- I am comfortable going to a group events hosted by friends at their home where people I don't know will be there. ⚠️
- I have no reservations about attending public events in large spaces (concerts, sporting events, museums, etc.) ✅
- I have no reservations about attending public events in crowded spaces (bars, lounges, networking events, metro, bus, etc.) ❌
- I don't feel the need to wear a mask everywhere that is not my home or the home of someone I know by default. ❌ (Note: this may become my new norm anyway)
Key: ✅ - I'm good to go with this right now, ⚠️ - will still do it with precautions, ❌ - absolutely not ready for this
By my count, I'm about 81% there. Anything that is a ✅ or a ⚠️ means that I'm COVID aware, but it's not impacting my life for the most part.
Going to public events in crowded spaces and mask wearing by default are the last two hurdles I need to overcome for the pandemic to be over for me. My prediction is that by Sept./Oct. of this year, the entire world will be more adept at living with COVID.
If you want the scientific perspective on when COVID will end, view this video: