There is a phrase I’ve seen online that applies to Margy and I–we are “still COVIDing.” It means that we know the COVID virus is still circulating, still dangerous especially to elders and those with other health issues, and we are still taking all precautions. This despite the end of the declared public emergency and the end of mask mandates. So we always wear N95 masks if we have to go inside stores or offices, we don’t eat inside restaurants, and we don’t go inside where crowds are gathered. We try to keep a six foot distance even outside.
Sadly, we feel more isolated now that so many people have chosen to live with or ignore any risk. (It felt so different to be in it all together, even alone in our homes.) I am sure that many people are very carefully weighing the risks and benefits to make their choices, but I am guessing that many others are just following along with the culture’s decision that the emergency is over. We are often the only people masked in a store or even a doctor’s office.
I read an excellent article in The Conversation.com which explores how ageism plays a role in this issue.
“COVID is not over, but we are acting like it is. Many COVID research programs are winding down. Can you imagine winding down research into any other condition on the top five mortality list? The reason for not doing more to prevent COVID-19 appears to be ageism, plain and simple. There is no logical explanation for accepting an unnatural degree of hospitalization and premature deaths in elders except that we value the lives of younger people more.”
https://theconversation.com/ageism-and-the-pandemic-how-canada-continues-to-let-older-adults-suffer-and-die-from-covid-19-201630
It is baffling to me, even with this analysis. Because even programs for elders are dropping precautions. I try to understand why people make the choices they make, but it also fills me with sadness. It seems there is a great divide between us.
In the midst of all this, we decided to treat ourselves to a screen tent, a pop-up gazebo. (I have had screen tents before, but they had all worn out a while ago.) We have been looking forward to the possibility of more visits with friends during the summer, when we can sit outside in our yard. But the weather has been so rainy all of June, and the forecast predicts more of the same. With this gazebo, we can visit during more kinds of weather, and still be safe together. It is an investment in our happiness. How are you keeping safe and happy during these hard times?
Finding Our Way Home 
It is still circulating and dangerous, but at this point vastly less dangerous than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. And most deaths are by far among the unvaccinated. My husband and I are 75 and 72. Our very small congregation resumed in-person services in May 2022, at the request of a member over 70 and president of the board of our Senior Citizen Center. We had continued our tradition of monthly Spiritual Outings (potluck picnic with a very brief worship service) throughout, with masks the first summer, and no sharing food. Otherwise, my husband and I had not gone anywhere inside until then, except our daughter’s – where they worked from home and had no contact with anyone outside the household, either, and a few necessary medical visits. We continued avoiding indoor activities for the summer. We traveled, camping. In September 2022, just having gotten our 5th shot, the bi-valent booster, we went to Norway and Orkney, staying with cousins in Norway and a small hotel in Orkney. We had our N-95s, but didn’t wear them when we found no-one anywhere was wearing masks, including on the plane. I started feeling ill on the way home, and tested positive when we got home. My husband tested positive 2 days later. We were sick for 2-3 days and tired for a few more. Since then, we have resumed life more or less as in the before times, which for us didn’t include going to restaurants or a lot of gatherings, anyway.
Death rates for covid were about 5 times influenza early on; they are only slightly higher than flu now, and most of the deaths are in the unvaccinated. The death rate even for the unvaccinated has dropped dramatically in the last 6 months.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status
Flu deaths are overwhelmingly among over-65 people, and yet we vaccinate even less for flu than we did for covid, a situation that has been going on for decades. 2.8 million people over 65 in the US chose not to get vaccinated for covid – and the overwhelming majority – 85% of people over 65, chose not to get the bi-valent booster – that is not ageism. To blame the rest of the population for not being more careful and being agist for not protecting those who chose not to be careful themselves is misguided.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but I think you are being more careful than necessary.
Ageism? Yes, but you did not mention Ableism. It’s both, but Ableism covers a broader scope than Ageism alone. People of all ages who are immune-compromised and/or have underlying conditions are not being protected from this virus when they go to their doctor and dental appointments. Medical facilities by and large have not upgraded to Hepa filtration and staff and patients are not wearing masks. People who are still Coviding (living with 2020 precautions in place) feel their highest risk of contracting the virus is at their medical appointments. This is unacceptable.
So true!