A scientific research station in Antartica was recently hit with a COVID outbreak[1]. 11 workers caught the virus. If the most remote human settlement on Earth can't protect itself from COVID, what makes you think anyone else can?
This virus will probably be around and mutating forever, like the flu. It's impractical to try to avoid catching the flu virus for the rest of your life, just as with COVID. Sure it's possible, but that's no way to live.
I'm willing to wear a mask indoors, whenever I am around people outside my household, forever. I'm also willing to get booster vaccines every 6 months forever. I'm pretty ok with giving up indoor dining in restaurants as well.
THIS is the defeatist attitude, not the other way around. I am not willing to get lackluster boosters every 6 months - leaky vaccines that likely caused omicron and that have the highest rate of VAERS reports ever. Are people really this misinformed?
As someone who is hard of hearing I can't wait for people to stop wearing masks.
On the other hand, I wish we knew more how this is transmitted. People eating indoors isn't the main vector of transmission.
And masks don't help much either.
And eventually getting a booster every 6 months won't do much either
I agree with all these points. Wearing masks is now normalized so the likelihood of getting flu is also greatly reduced. Also, the disgusting handshaking habit is gone as well. Many wins.
No one will be able to avoid exposure. Measures like social distancing and masks aren't sustainable, and they're not completely effective either. Fortunately the vaccines and other treatments are very effective at preventing deaths.