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Matter of Opinion

The New Phase of the Pandemic Is Covid Exhaustion

Matter of Opinion

New York Times Opinion

Society & Culture, Ross Douthat, News, New York Times, Journalism

4.27.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We’re headed into the third year of pandemic life, and one thing is clear: We’re all exhausted from Covid. Virus caseloads are waning across the country, masks are coming off, people are traveling more, and office workers have new return dates. Does that mean the pandemic is over? Maybe. And maybe not. On Feb. 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its guidelines on mask wearing and social distancing, saying that 70 percent of Americans no longer need to heed those recommendations. But for a lot of people, like parents of kids under 5 and those who are immunocompromised, this presents more challenges. It’s clear the burden of managing Covid risk increasingly rests on the individual, so what are we supposed to do now? It’s a lot to contemplate. So on today’s show, Jane puts that question to two experts to help the rest of us. Dr. Monica Gandhi is an infectious-disease physician whose previous work on H.I.V. informs her assessment of public health messaging during this pandemic. Dr. Aaron E. Carroll is the chief health officer at Indiana University and has spent the pandemic thinking about how to keep his community safe. The good news? Both of them think we’ve got the tools to move forward safely.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Today on the argument, we are tired of COVID, so what are we supposed to do about it?

0:11.9

We've been in this pandemic for two years now, and last week we reached a new turning

0:16.7

point.

0:17.7

The CDC now suggests that 70% of Americans can stop wearing masks.

0:24.2

That's a new guideline that's based on hospitalization numbers, not just case counts.

0:29.5

The latest piece of guidance in the ever-shifting messaging of this pandemic.

0:33.7

And if you're a person who follows what the CDC says, even if COVID is the only time you

0:38.6

do that, it's been really hard to keep up.

0:43.3

I'm Jane Kostin, and I am, as the youth say, Vaxden relaxed.

0:49.6

I'm going to restaurants.

0:51.0

I'm going to grocery stores.

0:53.1

And yeah, I'm triple vaccinated.

0:56.0

I've resumed my life.

0:58.4

But I know it's confusing to know what's okay and what's not okay to do.

1:02.7

And I'm a healthy 34-year-old.

1:05.4

What about folks who are immunocompromised or children under the age of five?

1:10.2

More than 7 million people in America are immunocompromised.

1:13.6

That could mean they have cancer.

1:15.2

That could mean they have rheumatoid arthritis.

1:17.7

What are they supposed to do?

1:19.8

So I've been thinking a lot about how we bridge the gap between changing public health messaging

1:24.4

and how you and me live our lives.

...

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