There has been a lot of talk recently about what life is going to be like when the pandemic is over. But there are a few questions that still have no definitive answer: what will determine the end of the pandemic? Will we socialize the same, or will social distancing continue as our habits and muscle memory kick-in? Are we going to clean as often as we do now? Are we going to host gatherings, or struggle to make plans?
The first question to touch upon is determining the end of the pandemic. For many of us, that would mean the point and time when we are all vaccinated. However, there are many people who will refrain from getting the vaccine due fear of any long-term effects it may have on our bodies. So if half of the population is vaccinated, and half is not, does that mean the pandemic will last even longer? No- because like the flu and many other vaccines, not everyone gets vaccinated. Or just maybe, the same dynamic can apply to the Covid-19 pandemic and we learn to live amongst one another.
Next, let’s talk about socializing. When the coronavirus first caused the U.S. to go into lockdown, life stopped as did our social lives. Once we started to hang out with our friends/family/coworkers again, it was different. No one really knew what was acceptable in terms of activities and behavior. And now that we don’t necessarily “need” as many boundaries as we did before, the jury is still out as to how people will interact with each other.
As far as cleaning goes, one thing that I’ve heard many people say is “I haven’t had even a head cold since the start of this pandemic because of how much cleaning we have been doing.” These habits of pristine personal hygiene, disinfecting, and wiping down surfaces has, indeed caused illnesses other than Covid to diminish. As more people notice how little they are exposed to in terms of germs, one can reasonably assume that we will all be more likely to continue to practice good hygiene.
Making plans is something that could go in two directions: one being that there will be skepticism holding people back from hosting or attending gatherings, while the other suggests that people who have felt isolated and “cooped-up” will “go wild” and party as if the world is ending. This could be both good and bad; many people will have trouble staying healthy and safe while others will experience social anxiety and not understand how to cope with social change.
There may be no definite answer as to what life will look like in the coming future, but it is easy to say that the less covid there is, the more wild and free we can be.