23 Summer 2022: A Truly Covid Free Summer?

Summer 2022: A Truly COVID Free Summer?

As the temperature starts to rise and people begin to prepare for summer, many are trying to make up for the last two years of frustrating warmer months spent inside. Throughout the nation, both cases and mortality rates have been steadily decreasing. Rates of those who are vaccinated are increasing, especially with the vaccines being recently approved for younger children. One by one, mandates are being lifted, giving us access to a more “normal” way of living. As people grow tired and less weary of the virus, we may be looking at a summer closest to what we had pre-pandemic.

According to the COVID Data Tracker Weekly Report of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 6th, 2022, around 77.1% of the US population has received a single dose of the COVID vaccine, while 65.7% of those are fully vaccinated against the virus.

22.8 million of children ages 5 to 17 are considered to be fully vaccinated, while 23.7% of adolescents ages 12 to 17 are vaccinated with the booster dose. All of these statistics contribute to the great outlook for this summer, as combined with the lowering of rates of those being hospitalized due to the virus and those testing positive for it as well.

According to www.northeastern.edu, we are also nearing the end of the Omicron surge, which peaked around mid-January. The medical aspect of the virus is not the only thing giving people hope for a more normal summer. Nationwide, we are also seeing a trend of mandates being lifted. Just looking at Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced at the end of February 2022 that the statewide mask mandate was lifted, even indoors, and it is now up to personal choice and comfortability.

Though masks are still heavily recommended by epidemiologists, this was a big step that gave people a sense of normalcy. More and more people are now choosing to go maskless, both indoors and outdoors, and this may be an ongoing trend because of the hotter weather.

According to Adesuwa Imafidon, a sophomore here at the University of St. Francis (USF), is also noticing the decrease of usage of masks. She says, “There is definitely an increased comfortability and people are now going maskless, as well as attending social gatherings like pre-pandemic days. It is an interesting observation, especially after all the heightened health precautions that were in place for so long.”

With us entering the third year of the pandemic, people are also growing tired of revolving plans around the virus. With the vaccine being developed, mandates/restrictions being lifted and businesses opening and running in high gear, some

By: Lucy Erika Ann Magat Staff Writer

Summer 2022: A Truly COVID Free Summer?

are choosing to finally go forward with postponed plans from the past two years.

For those who have continued to travel during the pandemic, this would be an improvement from last year, as people do not need to stress about confusing mandates that differed among states and sometimes, even cities.

Patricia Cumba, a senior here at USF, said, “Last year, I actually went to Wisconsin and was able to make such great memories together with my family, and we chose to still live our lives despite all the mandates. We all have a responsibility to make choices for ourselves and I am glad to have more opportunities to make more memories this summer with my family.”

The Cumba family are not the only ones planning to travel more this summer. In a survey released in January 2022 by TripAdvisor, 68% of people who responded have stated that they plan to travel within the country, while 29% plan to travel overseas. Both numbers increased from a pre-pandemic survey that was conducted back in 2019.

The same survey also found out that people are preparing to spend more financially on these vacations than ever before, most likely a result of the growing feeling of exasperation towards the halt on their lives due to the virus. Despite all of this seemingly good news, experts have been warning people not to let their guard completely down for the semblance of a summer. As pointed out by epidemiologists who were interviewed by www.fortune.com, if people are not careful, a new variant that is more transmissible and harmful may be born, especially with people becoming more nonchalant about the usage of masks.

Big events with large crowds are also coming back with very few COVID-based restrictions, if any. Lollapalooza, an annual three-day music festival usually held at Grant Park in Chicago, required vaccinations or negative test results for last year’s attendees; however, that may be changing this year. As of right now, the website has not specifically stated what they would be looking for at the entrance of the festival. With Chicago not requiring proof of vaccination or negative test result (unless private businesses ask for it), this may be the same case for Lollapalooza.

It seems like there would be no exact time where COVID would be nonexistent. It has plagued us for two years, and as scientists have said, it is here to stay. America, as a nation, is trying to revert to the way things were before the pandemic started. However, it is pretty clear that that way of life ended back in early 2020. We now have a new definition of normal and people are trying their best to live with it. Summer 2022 may just give us the closest sense to what our lives used to be.