Cautious (Selfish) Americans "Moving On" from COVID

This 6/25/23 Washington Post column is one of the most discouraging pieces I have ever read about how people are dealing with COVID. It's titled "COVID isn't over, but even the most cautious Americans are moving on."

Some of the reasons giving for these people to "move on" 

Here are some excerpts:

"The mother of an immunocompromised teenager is traveling by plane for the first time. A scientist felt safe enough at last to attend a professional conference last week. Members of a meditation group for retirees are ready to doff their masks, even the woman with lung problems.

"Emboldened by the government's recent lifting of the public health emergency, Americans who have tried to be rule-following pandemic citizens for the past three summers are at last abandoning precautions as the coronavirus fades into a background threat."

"Carol Morris, who travels around the country with her husband for tango and other dance events, has seen a sharp shift in covid safety protocols since last summer, when many events required masking, vaccination or negative test results and made announcements when attendees became infected.

"'Now there's nothing. No announcements. Nobody's  testing. Nobody cares', said Morris, 67, of Longmont, Colo. 'They are like 'Covid? What's Covid?'
...

"Susan Eschrich felt ostracized wearing a mask to protect her 89-year-old terminally ill father, who she cares for at an independent living facility in Sarasota, Fla., where no one else masks - not even her father.
...

"Activists who are waging a difficult fight to keep covid-19 a top priority say the retreat is premature, as the virus continues to prey on the most vulnerable --- killing 40,000 so far this year.
...

"Julie Garel, who had contracted covid during a vacation to Denver last year, said she plans to stop thinking about the virus this summer (at least, until she agreed to an interview). She enjoys dancing in bars, seeing people's smiles and attending concerts without feeling like the masked outsider. It had become untenable to keep up precautions when the rest of her family did not.  Letting go made her happier.  'This virus lingered for quite some time in my emotional equation, and in hindsight, I think it took up unnecessary space', said Garel, 63, of Bethesda."

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These selfish people took up too much unnecessary space in this article, if you ask me. I'm glad I chose not to "move on" and infect myself and others!