It's hard to know for sure, but people are starting to behave as if the light at the end of the tunnel might be in sight. I saw an article today which said that Fauci has stated that the pandemic phase of COVID might be coming to a close. Mask mandates are being rescinded all over the state, with the governor declaring the other day that the mask mandate for schools would end Feb 28.
I'm really not convinced that we're ready for these changes just yet. People had been behaving as if COVID was receding before, and it just came back worse than ever. Why is this time different? Maybe because so many people caught Omicron that there is more natural immunity floating around? IDK.
The idea of the kids going to school without masks fills me with dread. As tired as I am of wearing masks, the kids are easily a hundred times more tired of it. But it has kept them safe so far and that's my primary concern.
But on the other hand, the numbers have been dropping precipitously and things are definitely starting to look better. At some point we have to emerge from all of the pandemic precautions and think about returning to some semblance of normalcy.
There's no way to know what the future will bring. Maybe we'll be learning a new greek letter before long, or maybe this really is the beginning of the end for the kerfuffle. I dearly hope that it's the latter.