Ugh, although things have definitely improved and I'm doing things I had stopped doing during the pandemic, I don't think I'll ever feel like I've returned to normal. Or rather, I don't know that I'll ever be comfortable forgoing covid-like precautions...

Since Jan., I have taken three trips out of state -- traveling on airplanes, staying in hotels, attending crowded conferences and eating inside in restaurants. All of these things are things I had not done since Feb. 2020. And so far, I have managed to not get sick (knock on wood, my last trip ended Friday, so the jury is still out on that one). No covid, no colds, no flu, no noro etc. Again, knock on wood!

But I have also worn masks as much as possible, all the time on planes and other public transport, all the time during conferences except when I myself was presenting... And when it's been under my control, I have avoided crowded restaurants in favor of less crowded etc....

Which is all to say, 100% of the time, I'm thinking about ways to mitigate risk, including masking, hand washing, and so on. And it informs my decisions in all kinds of ways, in terms of where I go, what I do in my free time etc.

And when not traveling, we're not socializing. I still teach with a mask on etc. etc.

A lot of these things are becoming second nature and are less of a pain in the rear than they used to be bc I'm used to them... But if I would give them up in a heartbeat if I thought I could do so without risking getting sick.

I don't know when I'll ever think that.

Most people around here aren’t masking any more except on public transit. You see it more in Manhattan. I still mask in stores and restaurants but I find I am letting my guard down more.

I’m in a weird place, I guess. Neither here nor there. Crowded places (subway, buses) I am masked for sure.

I see these times as the new normal. The vaccinations work and I don’t feel particularly at risk.

We shall see if I’m being too cavalier.

I read over the stats including how they vary by demographics (it certainly stands out that income is the most critical factor in ones attitude towards the future - whether one feels one will ever return to "normal".

Secondly, the difference between the attitudes of the two parties is striking too. (I wonder how those two differences overlap.)

I wonder how much Republicans' responses are colored by political attitudes - how they WANT to perceive things. How much they are casual about expectations of the future because they believe much too big a deal was made of COVID from the word go. That more optimistic expectations of the future reflect their overall resentment about excessive disruptions in the economy, schooling, shutdowns, masking, and society overall.

Certainly the feedback I've gotten from Republicans I speak with (read opinions from), tends strongly in this direction. Coincides too with resentment at how "Covid hysteria" has damaged the economy, including the (as they see it) excessive handouts.

(Goes along with disapproval of cancellation of student debt - not that their any cause and effect, but rather an overlap of POVs.)

In conjunction with the factor analysis of income and view of the future, I see a probability that lower income strata are more likely to have suffered both higher mortality and Long Covid symptoms.

Can others of you see any likely overlaps to explain difference between view of ones personal recovery and the two most striking demographic differences the survey highlighted: income and party?

I think we're back to a new normal which is pretty close to the old one. We just have a new factor to consider, and it will impact us from time to time.

On 2/28 I few to Fort Lauderdale to go down to my annual family gathering in the Keys. About Key Largo my SIL called to say my brother just tested positive for COVID, so I had to make other arrangements. I wasn't particularly afraid of getting sick but felt I couldn't risk it knowing I'd be getting back on a plane in a few days still highly contagious.

I see it more as a responsibility than a risk. You want to keep yourself healthy, but also the people around you given its contagious nature.

Other than that, we're pretty much normal. We go to restaurants, albeit at less crowded hours, but that's due more to avoiding waiting for a table than to avoiding risk.

I'm hesitant to go into crowds like festivals, concerts, etc, but would if I really wanted to be there.

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I wasn't particularly afraid of getting sick but felt I couldn't risk it knowing I'd be getting back on a plane in a few days still highly contagious.

If more people kept this perspective in mind, I suspect we would be in a much better place...

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I see it more as a responsibility than a risk. You want to keep yourself healthy, but also the people around you given its contagious nature.

Also yes to this. Although for me, part of responsibility is work-related. If I get sick and can't do my job, or become unable to travel to a conference where I'm a featured speaker or something like that, it impacts others as well as the impact on me.

This is why, at this point, my masking and other mitigations are not just an effort to prevent covid, but to prevent the colds, flus and other illnesses that are making the rounds in people I know (friends, coworkers and family).

People say "well, you can't just never get sick again," and I'm like "watch me."

Still masking during in-home tunings. Not so much in large spaces (church/school) when there aren't many people around. Again, just to minimize being the vector of transmitting anything in other people's homes.

I get the full range of responses from "do you want me to wear a mask" to "you can take that off".

We are back to going to concerts/theater/eating out without a mask unless someone close by is hacking up a lung...

We even flew to D.C. last month and didn't feel the need to mask.

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"do you want me to wear a mask"

Recently, in meetings or at conferences, I've had people see that I'm wearing a mask and ask if I want them to wear one. So far, I'm just saying something along the lines of "no, please do whatever makes you comfortable." I could probably add "because that's what I'm doing" but I don't want to sound snarky!

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We even flew to D.C. last month and didn't feel the need to mask.

Do you mean, you didn't mask at the airport/on the plane? Or that you didn't mask for the whole trip?

We didn't mask in the airport (not crowded when we went) or on the plane. I think if someone around us had been sniffling or coughing, then we would've put them on. From what I've been able to read, it seems like the air quality and direction of flow in planes is good enough to make us comfortable.

Makes sense.

When I traveled at the end of January, both going and coming, I had no problem finding a deserted spot in the airport where I felt comfortable taking off my mask and having lunch. But on those trips, the flights themselves were packed.

My trip last week, half of the flights were not packed, but both airports (all around my gate and through the whole concourse) were absolutely jammed with people.

It all seems just random and very much luck.

I have read about the air quality on flights, and it sounds like it's probably pretty good (although before take-off might be questionable).

My next trip is in May, I'll have to see where things are (in the world, in my head) at that point. -_-

I still mask whenever I'm indoors (besides my house) but that's due to medication I'm taking. I'm looking forward to not needing to mask quite so much, and I notice that I've gotten a bit lax lately. Hmmmm.....