Three years into the pandemic, many medical experts have let their guards down and resumed some semblance of normal life, though most agree there is still a time and place for COVID-19 precautions, The Washington Post reported March 12.
"We all have moments where we forget COVID exists, when we want to enjoy a moment without thinking about it," Elizabeth Connick, MD, professor of medicine and immunobiology and chief of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Arizona in Tucson, told the Post. "It feels more normal, but I don't think it's back to the way it used to be."
Of the eight health experts to whom the publication spoke, all have been vaccinated and boosted, and most have had COVID-19. Many experts said they still wear masks on public transportation or in crowded, indoor spaces with poor ventilation.
"I'd say things are pretty much back to normal, apart from masking in various places I go. In terms of my daily life, it's receding," Paul Volberding, MD, professor emeritus of epidemiology and biostatistics at University of California San Francisco, told the Post. "I don't know whether the pandemic will fade from memory or linger on. Right now, though, I think people are eager to start looking back on it."
A majority of experts said they have resumed dining in restaurants, though they were split on how often they test before gatherings with friends and families. Some said they test only if they are symptomatic or if community transmission rates are high, while others said they test regularly because a loved one has a health condition that puts them at risk of COVID-19 complications.
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