The New Normal

New Harris polling shows some pretty striking numbers:

• 55% of Americans think it's time to start lifting indoor mask mandates
• 70% of Americans will continue to mask up if they think people around them are unvaccinated
• 71% of Americans think Covid-19 is a part of life now

Add to this some good news about the effectiveness of extended protection from variants of Covid-19 and I'm starting to feel better about public health than I have in a long time. Yes, it's probably time to start lifting mask mandates in most places, but I think many people still will wear one in situations where they feel they'd value extra protection (from or for others, either way).

And maybe most importantly from a mental health and planning perspective, 71% of Americans recognize Covid isn't going away soon, we're just dealing with it in increasingly effective ways.