Here we are again, approaching our second pandemic winter.
This time, the country is in a better place than a year ago, when cases were rocketing toward their peak of roughly 250,000 cases per day.
Some 60% of Americans are fully vaccinated, which has resulted in lower case counts and made many people more comfortable interacting with others. But the pandemic's grip continues to be fueled by the unvaccinated. And breakthrough cases remain a possibility, especially when cold weather moves life indoors, where airborne coronavirus can linger.
With the holiday season fast approaching, there seems to be little appetite for another round of Zoom celebrations. Yet, aside from getting vaccinated, current government guidelines for safe gatherings are less clearly defined than they were last holiday season. (At the end of a brief, vague advisory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that those gathering with multiple households from different geographic areas might consider quarantining or testing beforehand.)
That's left families and friend groups having to decide, at times awkwardly, whether to gather inside without hesitation or forgo events entirely. Requests that guests be vaccinated, or that they show a negative test, have ended in hurt feelings and ruptured relationships.
In a culture accustomed to events playing out in three acts, the pandemic's fourth phase has put us in uncharted, uncomfortable territory.
In 2020, Rodney Booen's family skipped its holiday gathering for the first time. But after the Minneapolis man and his relatives attended his niece's outdoor wedding in September, he's assuming the usual holiday celebration will resume.
Since being vaccinated, Booen said he's largely been going about life as usual, except for postponing an out-of-state trip due to concern about high case rates in other regions.