Pandemic Life: Year Two
March 17, 2022•393 words
Year two is over!
I figured I would write a follow up to last year's post about what it's been like to live in a pandemic. I was desperately hoping there would be no need for a second one because the pandemic was over, but here we are.
Thankfully, the naive optimism of my first year post largely worked out despite the pandemic entering its second year of changing the world. I was fully vaccinated in May and got my booster in December. Thanks to that I was able to see friends and family way more often than in 2020.
While there was still considerable risk in 2021, it wasn't as terrifying to go out, especially when the people I was with were vaccinated. As far as I can tell I didn't get COVID despite having done all of the following with friends and family:
Regularly rock climbing at the gym (I climbed my first V4!)
Snowboarding trips to Snoqualmie
Camping trips to the Olympic Peninsula
Spending over a month in Utah, with frequent family events
Dining in at restaurants
Regularly attending D&D and board game nights
Even with that fairly busy list (as least for an introvert like me), I only ever had some slight sniffles and aches once or twice over last year but I never tested positive for COVID. Seems like the vaccine worked pretty well!
Just in the last few days my county has removed its mask mandate. Feels incredibly weird walking through my apartment building without a mask, and I'm still wearing it when I go to somewhat crowded places. But it seems like we're heading in the right direction. The worst of this is (hopefully) over.
When does this thing officially become an endemic? That change would be nice. I know other parts of the world are not doing as well as my neck of the woods though, and I hope they can get all the resources they need to finally wrangle COVID down to endemic status.
But despite all the ups and downs, crazy news stories, a budding war in Ukraine, and countless other awful things that happened around me in 2021, this year of the pandemic was definitely better for me than the first.
I'm really hoping I don't have to write another one of these next year. 🤞