Life in the United States after the COVID-19 vaccination - May 2021


When I started writing this blog I had no idea that there would be an interesting historical period in my own lifetime, which as you know, is a curse: "May you live in interesting times!". But it's May of 2021 and I've long since been past my two-weeks-after-my-shot for COVID-19, and am watching the world around me deal with life after the vaccine. Well, my little world in the United States, specifically in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

As I look around me I see three categories, which I am calling "The vaccinated, the divine, and the disbelievers". And if you're wondering if you can tell them apart by looking at them, you can't. I am, of course, in the first category, the vaccinated. I can now wander freely around without having to wear a mask, although I do put one on when I go into a place of business. The "divine" are what I actually call "Divine Immunity", and their protection comes from a supernatural place. They never wore masks even in the worst of the pandemic, as their faith protected them. And then of course there are the disbelievers, who just considered it all to be a big hoax, for various reasons, from the ridiculous to the sublime.

From what I've been reading, the vaccine is performing way beyond the scientists' greatest expectations. Of course I'm reading mainstream media, being in the first category, and the other two categories don't. So if you're a divine or a disbeliever, I can't expect you to know any of this. And it may be in defiance of a god's will, or it may just be a big conspiracy. But if you're in the first category, you can get together with other vaccinated people with confidence.

Of course, there's always a chance, even if it's a small one, that you'll catch a disease even after you've been vaccinated. There are some people who are so shook up about what happened that they may never go out in public again without a mask. Some may not leave the safety of their home, and some may choose to never socialize again. Speaking for myself, I understand odds, and risks. Every time I leave the house, and cross the street, my odds of survival fall dramatically, but I like being out there.

This is an interesting time.

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