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Birchtree
By Matt Birchler
I've been writing here since 2010! Back when personal blogs were all the rage. Kids, ask your parents.

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.

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