Am I the only person still not doing public places or travel

[Anonymous]

Seems like the answers vary, depending on if you have unvaccinated kids under 12.

[Anonymous]

We are going on a vacation within driving distance. Still not doing much socializing outside of immediate family. We wear masks in stores, etc. We have had dinner once inside a restaurant in the past year. Generally sticking to take-out or outdoor dining. Kids doing outdoor camps this summer, which have their own Covid regulations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like the answers vary, depending on if you have unvaccinated kids under 12.

I have 2 unvaccinated kids under 12.

Flew in March. Will fly again this weekend and again in August. We've also been dining out indoors since January.

Not everyone with unvaccinated kids is terrified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way. Not even eating out or seeing family.

Are you for real? Do you have an insanely high risk family member who can't get vaccinated? Anxiety disorder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t have any trips requiring flights yet, but I would. We’re back to normal except sometimes we wear masks (I wear it if the business still requires/requests it; DD wears it out all the time).

Same here. I am not opposed to flying at this point, but our summer plans happen to be driving based. Have also been eating at restaurants, shopping, etc.

I drove north yesterday and the traffic was by far the worst I've seen for a long time. So clearly many people are out and about.

I might be more cautious if I was going to a place with low vax/high infection rates, but I am spending the summer in New England where vax rates are very high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only reason I am flying is so I can see family before Europe locks down again. I wouldn’t fly for vacation purposes, I would drive though. I ate indoors a couple of times, but no longer doing that thanks to the Delta variant and unvaccinated kids.

Europe isn’t locking down. We are here now and there are very few masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, most people are out to some degree. You are an outlier.

+1

If you have immunocompromised children, that's one thing. Or a newborn. But otherwise, if your family is fully vaccinated except for (mostly) healthy children under 12, there is really no reason to continue a lockdown.

I can understand avoiding huge crowds, like at theme parks, or international travel, or places that were already germ factories, like Chuck E. Cheese. And if the mask doesn't bother you and you want to stick with that, sure. I can even understand some hesitancy with air travel.

But if you live in the DMV, being unwilling to go on a driving vacation a state or two away, or have your (vaccinated) parents in your house, or go out to dinner, or let your kids play indoors with their friends, or go to a museum, definitely makes you an outlier, and that is not science based. Community spread in this area is nearly non-existent, and the risks to both unvaccinated, generally healthy little kids and vaccinated adults is very, very low.

If you're easing in and just a little nervous, I can understand that, it's been a stressful year for a lot of people, there's some trauma and fear, you don't have to go from zero to sixty all in one day. But if you're still totally on lockdown, and I say this as nicely as possible, it might be time to talk to a professional, as your reaction is not proportional to the risk. At this point, you're at the risk-evaluative level of being unwilling to drive or leave your house after dark or have a conversation with a stranger in the Before Times - ie, you're letting your fears run your decision making in an unhealthy way, and if I was a close friend or relative, I'd be really worried about your mental health.

--Someone who was VERY covid cautious until this spring

[Anonymous]

We were very cautious over the past year, but have started seeing vaccinated family and friends indoors and are taking a driving vacation to the beach this summer. Both kids are vaccinated as well. We still wear masks when going indoors to stores etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Chicago, and things feel extremely normal here -- and it has been a compliant, cautious city. People wear masks consistently in grocery stores (even though they're not required), post offices, places like that. But beyond that kind of daytime, indoor masking it's really like 2019 but more social, TBH. I'd say about 50% of the normal outdoor festivals and block parties will be back this summer, and other Chicago summer things, like outdoor pools, are kind of 75% back but not really due to covid directly, due to labor shortages.

Most people I know have one domestic trip by plane or car planned for this summer, including those with younger kids.

I spend a decent amount of time in Indiana and Michigan and Chicago is more towards the DC end of the covid scale, but not quite as extreme based on what I read here. In Chicago grocery stores, 80% of the folks are masked. In western Michigan and Indiana? 0%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, most people are out to some degree. You are an outlier.

+1

If you have immunocompromised children, that's one thing. Or a newborn. But otherwise, if your family is fully vaccinated except for (mostly) healthy children under 12, there is really no reason to continue a lockdown.

I can understand avoiding huge crowds, like at theme parks, or international travel, or places that were already germ factories, like Chuck E. Cheese. And if the mask doesn't bother you and you want to stick with that, sure. I can even understand some hesitancy with air travel.

But if you live in the DMV, being unwilling to go on a driving vacation a state or two away, or have your (vaccinated) parents in your house, or go out to dinner, or let your kids play indoors with their friends, or go to a museum, definitely makes you an outlier, and that is not science based. Community spread in this area is nearly non-existent, and the risks to both unvaccinated, generally healthy little kids and vaccinated adults is very, very low.

If you're easing in and just a little nervous, I can understand that, it's been a stressful year for a lot of people, there's some trauma and fear, you don't have to go from zero to sixty all in one day. But if you're still totally on lockdown, and I say this as nicely as possible, it might be time to talk to a professional, as your reaction is not proportional to the risk. At this point, you're at the risk-evaluative level of being unwilling to drive or leave your house after dark or have a conversation with a stranger in the Before Times - ie, you're letting your fears run your decision making in an unhealthy way, and if I was a close friend or relative, I'd be really worried about your mental health.

--Someone who was VERY covid cautious until this spring

+1. Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were very cautious over the past year, but have started seeing vaccinated family and friends indoors and are taking a driving vacation to the beach this summer. Both kids are vaccinated as well. We still wear masks when going indoors to stores etc.

Same here.

(I’m fine wearing masks indoors indefinitely, especially if it means fewer colds, flu, etc.)

[Anonymous]

All of our adult friends are vaccinated and the rates in DC are quite low now. We will keep reassessing as things change, but the risk now is materially lower than it has been over the past 1.3 years, even for our unvaccinated kids. We took a flight recently to a short vacation - masked in the airport and on the plane, sat only next to our own family, and the kids didn't interact with anyone. Once we reached our destination (down south so vaccination rates probably terrible) the kids didn't interact with anyone besides us and our vaccinated friends, and didn't go anywhere public inside - they were basically just at our house and the beach (a subset of the adults ate out a couple of times). It's okay to change your behavior to fit the new facts on the ground.

[Anonymous]

I am in the Midwest in a city that was pretty cautious. We were also cautious but did occasionally go into grocery stores during non-peak times. My family is fully vaccinated and things have pretty much returned to normal. We are going to stores (unmasked along with about 90% of others), dining out, and seeing friends and family both indoors and outdoors. We went to a small art fair this weekend and it felt so nice. I have not flown yet but I will. Just haven’t planned a trip yet. The only thing I am still avoiding is extremely crowded indoor and outdoor events. Not sure when I will feel comfortable with that. We also live in an area with a pretty high vaccination rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are back to totally normal here.

Us too, though I am not sure I am taking a cruise anytime soon - but I would not have been anyway. I've bought concert and broadway tickets, am planning a flying vacation, have been on a driving vacation, eating out, seeing friends. Everything. We are all vaccinated and I believe in the science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only reason I am flying is so I can see family before Europe locks down again. I wouldn’t fly for vacation purposes, I would drive though. I ate indoors a couple of times, but no longer doing that thanks to the Delta variant and unvaccinated kids.

Europe isn’t locking down. We are here now and there are very few masks.

Because we are in the US and not Europe

Our covid case rates are under 1% in Maryland. Don't fly to Europe.