Big Al comes to mind for me
"There’ll be… blood on the saddle… "
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Holy Cross College: “ Contact tracing showed the majority of cases are from outdoor gatherings, with a smaller number from travel over Easter break, the school said.‘
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Yes- I think we’re on the hook for next year’s rent, too. We are hoping he either goes back full time or does his internship there. My worry is he likes staying at home too much, though.
I’ve been putting him to work just so he doesn’t get too cozy. 
But I can’t imagine how he’d be if we hadn’t gone back out there and fetched him. The isolation would have been terrible. Better to have an empty apartment.
That is worth a pandemic.
I think DD26 met her match, too. And I don’t even know how. She was feeling so depressed and isolated, and we are going to see her next week now that the NYS quarantine business is lifted. But then she popped up and said “Well, I probably should tell you- there’s this guy…” 
I do worry for people her age though. It has been a tough year for dating and this is no small thing- especially for her since her closest friends got married right before the pandemic and were happy as clams staying at home.
But overall, I think the birth rate is at an all time low, which in my opinion is not good. Someone has to pay for my Social Security, y’know.
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I thought the history and parallels interesting:
How U.S. schools proved Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was safe (fastcompany.com)
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…and… I know others have expressed increased stress and anxiety, mine is increasing w/ the thought of having to deal w/ ppl again ha
Navy SEALs Use a Technique Called “Box Breathing” to Relieve Stress and So Can You | Well+Good (wellandgood.com)
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Our middle school has band that corresponds to the cohorts (her “band” is five kids from her cohort, and one that she does not know where he came from lol). They are 12 ft apart with bell covers and masks. My highschooler’s band is about half the size (they are split into day A and day B). They practice in the auditorium or outside, 12 ft. apart with bell covers and masks. Jazz band is afterschool, on B day (we are A day) so I drop her off at school on those days. Marching band will be starting up, two evenings a week. They invited some of the 8th graders from middle school (both my kids now get to participate!). Both extracurriculars are 12 ft. apart with bell covers and masks. No middle school jazz this year. No concerts.
Now that NYS had adopted the CDC guidelines (For the most part), I saw in the details that band can go to 6 ft spacing. I really hope my kids’ band activities do that. They need to be nearer to each other to hear each other.
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I can’t wait until the authorization request is granted! I have a 14 yr old and would love to have her vaccinated by early summer. My older daughter and I are fully vaccinated, my husband has had his first. We have to go to a wedding this summer of a family member in USVI. I would feel much better if my family is fully vaccinated by the time we go.
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Where in NYS are you located? We are in the Mohawk Valley. Many different interpretations of the distancing guidelines in our area…
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WNY (Buffalo area)
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Soooo… anything from the peanut gallery? (no insult intended) My DS came out all excited about a movie coming out next week. I told him he won’t have #2 Pfizer until a week after the premiere and then 2 weeks to wait for all the good stuff to kick in, then everyone in the theater will have masks off eating snacks for 2+ hours. NOT a good idea yet. He’s response: “What the hell is a vaccination good for then?!?” I know I’m a scaredy-cat… when is it really safe to do something like going to the movies? Remember I’m in FL w/ all the spring breakers and UK variant has been dominant here for over a month now.
This is what we’re worried about, people thinking they are invincible 5 mins after the first jab and then not following rules. That’s how it keeps spreading.
That said, what I worry more about is people getting together in private rather than somewhere like that where there will presumably be some kind of social distancing enforced and numbers will have to be limited.
I’d still be in the cautious side though - why take unnecessary risks when you’re so close to being fully vaccinated. And the vaccine is effective against the UK strain. It’s the Brazil variant we’re worried about.
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Thank you 
this helps a lot.
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That’s actually a pretty big presumption. I’m not even joking. In Texas, it’s mostly at the discretion of individual businesses to set their own policy. And to decide if they enforce it. (Some counties are trying to set their own limits, but they are at odds with the state over this.). I think Florida counties have been allowed more authorities though, so maybe?
There are a number of venues here that have gone completely pre-Covid (in practice if not in policy).
Houston ICUs are back up to 106% of capacity. 15% of ICU patients are Covid.
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I was thinking of calling the theater to ask what their policy for masks etc. is. I know my county has some of the highest case rates.
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This is one of the things that’s so frustrating to me. Policy around here means little.
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Yes b/c of individual behavior. I feel so bad for my DS. I’ve actually had to temper both DH & DS about going hog wild. I do have Mother’s Day brunch ADR on 5/8 at WC and think it will be ok.
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Wow, this is hard to imagine from here. Our non-essential shops open tomorrow and so do outside areas at pubs and restaurants, and hairdressers etc. But there will be strict limits on numbers.
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FWIW I have gone to the theater 3 times since August and each time I was one of only a handful of people in the theater with plenty of room for distancing. Just choose an off time and it’s usually fine. But you have to know your local locations, so I’d get a second opinion from someone who has been.
That said, once you are fully vaccinated and have two weeks behind your final dose, I see no reason to avoid a theater, even if you’re being extra careful.
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Thank you , more good points to consider!
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So it’s interesting to look at the data from Israel. IIRC, they had fewer cases to begin with and currently have 55% fully vaccinated (60% with 1 or more shot).
Which may mean that what’s required to have the pandemic subside is less, perhaps, than we had thought, perhaps due to other avenues of immunity that we’re not fully aware of, such as cross-reactivity.
I mentally keep a running calculation of my state’s data, and that is about where we are if I add the vaccinated plus cases (diagnosed X 2 to account for the asymptomatic/unconfirmed cases). I am coming out with almost that figure- abt 55%. And the curve is falling- though we also are fully open with school in session and no mask mandate. Many days the # cases is 30-50 /million per day (fewer than necessary to have fewer fatalities than the flu) The average is not quite there yet.
It’d be great if around 60% is what is needed, though obviously as many people should get vaccinated as possible because who knows.
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