Back to normal for me. Family over for Christmas brunch. I refuse to be scared about the new variant.
My buddy just told me his fully vaxxed/boosted son just tested positive FOR THE SECOND TIME! 
I’m getting closer and closer to just figuring this is like the flu. Get your yearly shot, try to avoid it, but just weather it and try to avoid passing it when/if you catch it. That AND wishing unvaxxed assholes catch it and die…
With omicron hitting, I’m ready to go back into isolation mode. Like, now. Unfortunately my family is still full steam ahead for Christmas celebration (small gathering, all are vaccinated).
I watch the statistics on a daily basis and I’m always the one going “guys, another surge is happening, time to scale things back.” Nobody wants to react to data, they’ve gotta wait until anecdotes start hitting their social circle.
I just read about new cases doubling in one day in my area. That’s…concerning. Combined with what I’ve been reading about how vaccines without boosters aren’t doing so well against Delta and Omicron, I think I’m going to avoid socializing with both unvaxxed and unboosted folks, and maybe not do any more traveling for a little while. I should maybe think about swapping out my comfy cloth masks for some kind of N95/KN95/etc mask at work. But I’m still going to see my folks (who live an hour away) for Christmas.
This is me, in my family. Everyone always has a reason for why this will be okay - they heard some news, they’re boosted and invulnerable, it’s inevitable…whatever.
I canceled our vacation last week. My brother is on vacation with his family. All fully vaccinated, my brother and his wife are boosted but the adult kids were not eligible until this week.
Their tests all came back positive this week and they have had to reschedule their flights home post quarantine. Last week my brother was complaining that all people talk about it Covid.
My mostly fully vaxxed (but not quite yet entirely boostered) immediate family have definitively cancelled all multi-household Christmas gatherings without any dissension. Probably helps that we have had three breakthrough Delta infections as warning flags and couple of them are either in medicine or work closely with medical researchers and are getting the first hand skinny on booming infection rates.
Doesn’t matter to most of us if it would probably be “mild.” Why take a chance at getting sick in the midst of a significant spike?
Canceled Xmas get-together with family. Definitely more wary about going out to indoor public gatherings. About half the shoppers at the supermarket are wearing masks. Currently NH has the highest positivity rate it’s had for the whole pandemic. A lot more of my clients are reporting positive tests. I got my booster at the end of October. Will probably get another in March. Some studies say booster effectiveness drops to 30% after 4-6 months.
I’m surprised NH doesn’t have mask mandates. I’d expect that in AZ, but you guys used to be cool, man.
Omicron has definitely ramped up the degree of caution, in general. One thing I find odd, though, is that many restrictions got loosened as the virus wore on, and have stayed loosened even with surge of the omicron variant. For instance, the liquor stores used to have security guards who grilled everyone entering about their recent travel history and symptoms. Then, the security types were there only to enforce occupancy limits and the mask mandate. Then, they disappeared entirely, although the mask mandate remained. Likewise, other stores had restricted entrances and exits with someone posted to ensure mask-wearing. The restricted access is gone, though one must still wear a mask.
It’s almost like everybody just got tired of all the restrictions, and about the only thing that remains universal is the mask requirements. Of course, now almost everyone is vaccinated.
I think everyone being tired is part of it, but I also think part of it is that we have a better idea of where the greatest risk lies. You don’t have to travel to get infected; you probably won’t get infected from touching stuff, and the vaccine and mask are each far more effective than all other measures combined. So we’re streamlining our efforts and focusing on what counts.
This is the big thing. I don’t care if I get COVID, I just don’t want to end up in the hospital or dead. I also don’t want to give COVID to someone, only to have them end up in the hospital or dead. At this point, I’m vaccinated and boosted. My son (age ten) is now fully vaccinated. My parents and husband are vaccinated and boosted. So while I’m avoiding crowds (which I would do anyway) and wearing masks, I feel like the risk of the things I want to avoid is pretty minimal.
There are some local mandates, but the Republican governor opposes statewide mandates. The rural areas like where I live are Trump country, they still have 2020 signs and flags up.
Here in AZ we have TRUMP 2024, FUCK YOUR FEELINGS signs in yards and on flags waving from trump trucks.
We are at 58% vaccinated btw.
I just turned down a chance for Christmas dinner at the high-end Beverly Hilton Hotel.
My reasons? One guy at our table won’t be wearing a mask, the restaurant’s tables are only two feet apart, they don’t require proof of vaccination for indoor dining…and I’m a senior citizen who hasn’t yet had a booster shot.
I’m engaging in one last potentially risky activity (overnight to next day) before I shut it down for the rest of the way (except for my game night, which is usually four people max). I’m only doing it because my parents are in town, and they didn’t cancel, for all they’re usually careful. I’ll get tested some way, somehow, after it’s over, and I’m masked up (though those around me aren’t nearly as careful).
I’m not sure if any of this makes me a bad person or whatever, but I’m committed now. As long as I’m careful from here on out, I guess I’ve done what I could…? It’s something I’ve been uncertain of throughout this whole thing.
I picked up a prescription today at an off hour, and sometime this week I’ll go to the post office and then my office to pay rent. I hope not to step out of the house for a couple of weeks after that.
Not criticizing you at all. Just observing that this is very similar to what I’ve heard from just about every person who claims to be very careful. They are eliminating contact/exposure - EXCEPT for the certain situations they want to continue/believe reasonably safe…
I’m doing the same. And have since day 1.
I’d have guessed. I’m wagering there are relatively few people who have cut off everything completely at this point. I mentioned the moral questions earlier for a reason.
This makes sense, though. Risk is approximately additive (if you are mostly avoiding it) so it makes sense to “spend” your risk quota on a few things that are really important to you and not overly risky. So, we had Christmas dinner with our kids, but everyone did a rapid test that day. But I told my bridge group I’m not comfortable meeting unmasked for a while. It’s worth it to me to have a nice family meal over the holidays, but not the weekly exposure of my bridge game, which we can move back to being on-line.