I find I am still acting weird in public despite being fully vaccinated. I thought I would be mentally free but this last year has damaged me.

Still pretty much 100% masks in stores of any kind here, as well as mask required for walking from table to bathroom or exit at all restaurants(so dumb). Really hope that starts to change after May29th, which is supposedly full open for MA, but yah everyone is damaged af right now.

You have come a long way in eight months. From unholy world ending apocalypse to everything is just fine.


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I don't think I was really an apocolypse guy. Maybe a couple early posts in the predictions thread, but I just kept following what the science people said. Then and now, I just try to follow the science.

Maybe my wife going in and out of covid ICUs on the daily for the last year started me off a little JUMPY lol.

I went from N95 mask all the time and a social bubble of 0 to (once vaxxed) being comfortable with pretty much anything and raging at people who aren't.

I was like that for a month after my 2nd. First two weeks for vax to be at full efficacy, and two weeks of "old" habits. I did drop the N95's and wore surgical masks after two weeks of being fully vaccinated, but it took another two weeks to be fine. Being around vaccinated people with none of us wearing masks helped to make things feel normal during that time.

So I was trying to plan a work get together since we have not all been together for over a year. I suggested an outdoor restaurant. One of my colleagues said she would only come if it was in someone's backyard (not a restaurant), and if everyone who came was vaccinated.

Am I wrong in thinking this is silly? How is sitting outside in someone's yard safer than sitting outside at a restaurant. And, if you're vaccinated, why worry about being somewhere (especially outside) with an unvaccinated person? The vaccine protects you, isn't that the point?

This seems like an example of people having a hard time adjusting back to pre-pandemic life.

You are not wrong in thinking this is silly.

I feel fortunate that I haven't felt weird at all in returning to normal maskless activity (absent a requirement to wear a mask somewhere). It's perfectly reasonable to me that a lot of people would be messed up right now, and I sympathize with people who were at least wise enough to take this thing really seriously to begin with, so I don't really take issue with people being weird for a little bit. Still, I hope they push themselves to get over it as quickly as they reasonably can.

Sounds like locally in Indianapolis, we'll be full go on June 7, absent any businesses that want to keep requiring masks.

In my early driving years (1970s) the speed limit was 55mph.
I'm still comfortable going 55. I have to concentrate
on keeping my speed up and almost feel unsafe going 65.

I've never been good with close face to face talking where you're breathing each others exhaled air.

I'll probably keep distancing and keep an n95 with me after this is over.

+1.

It felt quite weird last week the first time I was able to walk into a gas station and the grocery store without a mask, but after that, no issue, to the point that I flat out forgot to bring one with me yesterday for the first time in more than a year.

Our rules are each business can decide to require masks if they want. Most are saying that masks are still required if you're not fully vaccinated. So I guess we're close to being fully open?

I heard a story on the radio today which surprised me. The military is strongly encouraging, but not requiring, COVID-19 vaccines.

One of the people they interviewed had been vaccine-hesitant, but got it because not doing so might jeopardize a mission, if he were to test positive. I can't really explain why, but that approach made me happy. Kind of like, "Hey, I won't do it for me, but I'll do it for the greater good."

the greater good of killing poor brown people?

The military takes the stance that it won't require a vaccine that is authorized under emergency rules. They've pretty much said that as soon as it gets full FDA approval, it will be required.

It's kind of a personal thing. I'm all for let 'er rip at this point, but my sister feels like she'll continue masking and other safety protocols maybe indefinitely. It's probably just like everything, there will be a bell curve of how people respond when things open up, with extremes at each end.

But I think as things get more normal so will people's behavior. Things take time.

It seems fair to say that people who are skittish after being fully vaxxed are vaccine-skeptical on some level, as they're obviously showing fundamental distrust in the protection the vaccine offers. To look on the bright side: I'm glad that these people went and got vaccinated anyway. It feels like, with a fair number of these people, the anti-vax propaganda made at least a dent, but thankfully didn't keep them from getting the shot entirely.

These people should not be accommodated imo. That decision is based on their personal feelings, not science.

To be fair, no vaccine is 100% effective, and though these come much closer than most, the data set is still limited compared to others, mostly in duration. It is understandable to have some concern, even after vaccination.

Mind you, revots33's example seems extreme, especially the notion that a backyard is somehow safer than a restaurant patio.

This.

I suspect we'll be dealing with Covid security theater for quite some time into the future, where you'll randomly encounter people or places who insist on things that have been established (science!) to have ~ zero impact or protective function.

I feel mostly for the food service people who will most likely be stuck wearing masks well through 2022 for nothing but theater for a few people like the lady who wants to have dinner in someone's back yard.

Imo there needs to be a point where owners say 'listen, our employees are vaccinated and are not required to wear masks, just like the patrons. If you are immunocompromised and would like your server to wear a mask, we will certainly accommodate that, but otherwise if you are not comfortable you are free to choose to go elsewhere."

The tricky part here is navigating the difference between that and the absolute deplorables who said all last year "HEY, if you're not comfortable living your life free like me, you are free to stay home in your bunker basement hur dur." These are totally unrelated, but I'm sure plenty of dipshits will use that as an argument. I'm just not going to cater to it.

After May 29th I am full court pressing my home court restaurant to allow servers to go maskless. No masks for servers...no masks for servers...no masks for servers.

I assume the restaurant thing is about the fear of unvaccinated waitstaff.

You're right that the fear could be about whatever minor risk remains, and it could just be a matter of failing to calculate that this would generally fall safely inside most people's risk profiles. Some non-negligible portion of this population is probably just untrusting, though, that the vaccine has the level of effectiveness indicated.

I have no problem with restaurant workers wearing masks and gloves forever.

Forgot my mask on the way to work today, very first time throughout the whole ordeal. Definitely felt weird walking in without one. Although at this point, I'm only masking up to avoid anyone thinking I'm an *******. If it's not required, I'm not doing it. As others have said, it's theater if you're already vaxxed.

That said, I am not at all a fan of close-talkers getting back into their comfort zone. I work with several, and keep telling them to back the **** up.

Knowing two people in my family who are way, way overboard with this (e.g., my vaccinated wife came into contact with another vaccinated person who was over 6' away from a person with covid for a brief time a week earlier, resulted in neither my wife or I being able to see them (they're vaccinated, too) or any of their family for 2 weeks), my money would be on this person being afraid that covid could be lingering in the air from guests that were there before they were there and drifting from other guests at other tables.