Well, that didn’t last long

We had a couple months where it looked like things were getting back to normal, but now the Delta variant is back with a vengeance and things are looking pretty grim again.

The CDC has issued a new mask guideline, but of course the governor of Massachusetts thinks he knows better than the scientists, so he isn't adding any new precautions despite all the warnings.

Here in Massachusetts we have pretty high vaccination rates and most people are reasonably careful, but we also had a huge outbreak of breakthrough infections in Provincetown a few weeks ago so it would be foolish to think that we are safe from the pandemic.

I am heartened by the news that the vaccines are still fairly effective against Delta and that the breakthrough infections are both rare and relatively mild. However I am also frightened by the news that Delta is affecting younger people than the other variants did, and I worry that my kids may not be safe once school starts back up.

I also was realizing the other day that it is August already, and that 2021 is more than halfway over. We had such hopes for this year to bring the end of the kerfuffle and better times ahead. Things are better, but there is a long long way to go before we are back to normal. I am starting to doubt that we will see any semblance of normalcy in 2021.