After the booster shot, What is the new normal for me….with Covid
This is an opinion and personal resolution post about what the new normal is going to be from here on out…at least for the next while. At least this is the new normal for me. Two things have happened or been done in the last few days that give me some home. The first is that it seems that the number of new Covid cases is down somewhat and the death numbers are lower as well. The other is that I went Friday and had my booster shot for covid.
Biden has very wisely tried to issue a mandate to enforce health safety for everybody. However, there are still selfish folks, including the leadership of some states that are refusing to go along with the vaccine and mask mandates. What that means is that the chances are that new variants will very likely come on the scene as these anti-vaxxer people refuse to be vaccined and even to wear a mask, so I am not feeling safe even yet.
So here is how I intend to deal with it.
1. I will still continue to wear a mask when I am in the general population
2. If I go to a restaurant, I will do so at slow times during their day so that it will not be so crowded.
3. If I get on a plane, it will be one that requires proof of vaccination before boarding…or barring that one that only allows those with proof of vaccination or recent (as in the last week) test before boarding.
4. I will go occasionally to meet a friend in a bar…but only when very few are there, and will likely do so with a mask unlike in a situation where I know I am talking in a group with everybody having been vaccinated.
5. no movies at a theater where I can not control who all is around
6. even though I live in New Orleans, I will not be attending any parades….UNLESS I can get at the edge of the audience and/or wear a mask.
7. I have no intention of traveling to any state that has a really strong “anti-vaxxer” or “anti-mask” impact, which right now includes my home state, as well as Texas, Florida, and just about the entire south. (fortunately, New Orleans has a good mandate in place for most locations)
These are my resolutions for the future until such time as Johns Hopkins on their Covid map show that much fewer new cases and deaths are taking place than are right now. While the numbers are fairly ok right now, every time I have felt a “ray of hope” for the last 18 months, a new variant or outbreak has come along.
I hate to say it, but I simply don’t trust about 35 percent of this country not to deliberately ignore health guidelines and threaten my life by their carelessness and reckless disregard for human life.
