When do you foresee we will go back to normal?

[Mórríoghain]

If getting vaccinated means zero chance of needing hospitalization after getting sick, I can see the normalization happening after everyone gets their first two doses. Now, I have no clue when that can realistically happen. Just saw the vaccination order list for my country, and I'm in the lowest category because I am 29 years old and not in any of the risk groups.

Masks are here to fucking stay though. I am not taking those shits even in 2025. They made sure that I didn't even get flu last year.

 

[VorpalNonsense]

I've been hoping for 2nd half 2021
Based on the vaccine rollout plans that seems possible in my region
Not everything will be status quo by then, some wheels are hard to get turning again and some businesses will never return, things like that
But as for my day to day life I expect my family and I will have gotten the vaccine by then and so some more normal activities will return
I dont mind masks Im actually glad that it has become normalized in the west now

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Global warming is going to unleash a ton of more viruses that were dormant/contained.

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But, you're talking about something completely unknowable there. The next covid could be out there already spreading and we don't know it yet... or it could be 100 years away. Hard to base a societal prediction on something like that.

 

[Host Samurai]

The sad thing about this, is that if people took this seriously from the start, we would have been at the tail end of this now, especially with vaccine rollout.

 

[nightstalker962]

Next year I think.

 

[EJS]

End of 2021, hoping.

 

[AlexBasch]

Never, i certainly won't leave the house without a mask ever again lol.

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Same. Even after I'm vaccinated and most people around me are, I think I'll remain in the "better safe than sorry" mindset, being mostly locked up at home and avoid most gatherings and crowds unless it's completely necessary.

 

[Lucini]

There is no "back" at all.

Life will have to change dramatically for this to meet a sustainable end.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Global warming is going to unleash a ton of more viruses that were dormant/contained.

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Uh huh

 

[Deleted member 10629]

Never is a really long time


Kinda sad if so

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I was already kinda germaphobic, hearing someone sneezing in an airplane will stress me to no end.

 

[NekoFever]

I think this summer is going to be reasonably normal. I mean, last summer was pretty normal aside from no organised large gatherings and masks indoors, and that was without a good proportion of the population being vaccinated.

It'll be next year before large events like stadium sports, festivals, etc can be operating at full capacity, though.

 

[Haunted]

When do you think will air travel get back to normal after 9/11? No additional security, no special rules for bag contents, liquids allowed on board, no metal detectors or close personal checks?

The world is changed.

 

[Tavernade]

Masks/distancing remain to be safe until early 2022, but things will be back to normal before that if the vaccine rollout goes well. It'll also vary by region a lot, I wager.

 

[Strike]

Maybe end of the year.

 

[Wally_Wall]

Yeah, but I think their point is that it does have long-lasting implications even if things settle into a NEW normal. It will certainly color an entire generation's outlook on things just like living through any other world-changing event.

I do hope that at least wearing masks when you're sick stays a thing like in some other countries.

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I think you underestimate society's ability to quickly forget about things. Once numbers go way down and COVID is out of the news people will barely think about this 2 year stretch unless asked.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

I think you underestimate society's ability to quickly forget about things. Once numbers go way down and COVID is out of the news people will barely think about this 2 year stretch unless asked.

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I don't think people will forget being robbed of a year of their lives plus their dead relatives that fast

 

[tiebreaker]

Masks for indoor won't be going away anytime soon. Maybe Summer 2022 when we don't have another wave of Covid next winter.

 

[Wally_Wall]

I don't think people will forget being robbed of a year of their lives plus their dead relatives that fast

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You'd be surprised how life moves on despite numerous tragedies. Of course perished loved ones will never be forgotten but life will indeed go on with instant gratification almost always prevailing.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

I think the earliest countries will achieve it late Spring, early summer 2021. Dependent on how their population has adapted to restrictions and how much of a safety net they've had for the economic downturn.

My country, the US, at its most optimistic is probably late 2021, like November or so. I'm guessing we'll spectacularly fuck that up and probably slide back to 2022, with even deeper damage done to our economy by the time it's safe.

 

[Alpende]

Fully normal might take a while. All I want is a bit more freedom. If it's safe enough to open up restaurants, bars and gyms again my life would be a lot more fun.

 

[Deleted member 25117]

Uh huh

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Better to accept the truth now than regret it later. It's a scientific inevitability.

 

[Combo]

Depends on the country.

 

[Never the Lesser]

Depends on how quickly vaccines will roll out. In the US, if we vaccinate an average of a million people per day, we could achieve something that resembles normalcy by the end of the year.

Can we do that? It's hard to say. It doesn't help that we started rolling out vaccines during the holidays, which it makes it tough to give a definitive answer to how well we're doing. But if we're in the same position come spring, then we'll need to put the foot on the pedal if we want to see anything change by the end of the year.

People's hesitation to take it certainly doesn't help, either.

 

[TheLastOfPizzaCrUSt]

A few more years.

 

[DarthWalden]

My feelings are is that we will be mostly back to some semblance normal by fall of this year.

I still don't think we'll see things like packed stadiums or packed concerts and I think masks will be a requirement in businesses until probably summer 2022 (or possibly permanently).

 

[Scarlet Spider]

October 22, 2022.

 

[Goodlifr]

There's no way things aren't "normal" in the UK for the summer.

As someone mentioned above, Summer 2020 was pretty much completely normal in the UK, with no vaccine about. We'll have a good % of the most at risk groups vaccinated this summer.

Just to add, not saying it should, just that I think it will.

 

[Border]

Everything's very nearly back to normal in Florida, for the most part. Live music/performance venues are even open (albeit with mask requirements and temperature checks).

 

[Shake Appeal]

I'm guessing things will never be fully "normal," but we'll be 90% there by mid-2022.

 

[Cyanity]

Maybe around the holiday season? So November/December. It absolutely isn't going to be summer, idk what y'all are smoking

 

[Yesterday]

Never

 

[Friskykillface]

USA 2022, summer if we are lucky
rest of world summer 2021

 

[Shiz Padoo]

2022. Even then wider psychological impact of this will last much longer for many people.

I can't say I'll want to be on a crowded tube train or a busy pub for a long fucking time.

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This is it. I'm not sure I want to go back.

I would only go to the dentist now if I was in agony.
I don't fancy having a barber run their fingers through my hair.
Sitting next to strangers in a cinema for 2 hours and breathing in their air doesn't appeal.
Bowling? Sticking your fingers into a bowling ball used by countless others before you. No thanks.
Crowded pub? Nah.
Public transport? Nope.

 

[Goodlifr]

Public transport? Nope.

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I work(ed) in London a few days a week in 2019 and early 2020 and obviously used public transport all the time there. Never once had a "moment", even on tubes that were completely packed, until Feb time, when there was more and more talk about Covid and there were rumours about a lockdown hitting.... I was stood on a packed train, nose to nose with people and suddenly I was REALLY aware of how grim this was, how there were germs everywhere etc.
I honestly don't think I could go back to that now.... Even thinking about it makes me feel dirty

 

[SpaceCrystal]

It's going to be 2022, especially if we can't get enough vaccines to roll out this year because Trump himself had lied about having more COVID-19 vaccine reserves.

 

[Trigonometrize]

Listening to a recent episode of In The Bubble where they asked a bunch of experts on their guesses on this, 80% of the guesses fell somewhere between like mid-Summer and November. The question was framed specifically as "when will it be safe to take off the masks indoors?"

For the edgy "never" people, I haven't heard really anyone of consequence saying post-vaccine distribution life will not look more like it did before the pandemic than during. I don't know where people are getting that idea from.

 

[JaseMath]

Fall 2021 (in America) assuming the Biden administration turns the page from Trump's monumental failures.

 

[Protome]

It'll vary depending on the country and the speed of vaccine rollouts, but mid-late 2021 seems like a safe bet.

I can't wait to get some good ramen again. It has been so long 😭

 

[Deleted member 46493]

For some people, things are back to normal already. Passed by West Village in Manhattan last night and people were outdoors eating by standing up and drinking as if it was a bar with no masks on. These type of people probably traveled for Christmas too.

 

[Wulfric]

I think Summer 2022 is a realistic goal for large scale events. Conventions will happen with less capacity and older guests/actors may choose not to attend. I don't see stadiums filling up this year. Vaccination will take much of the year.

Going to your friend's house for dinner, hopefully late this fall.

 

[Senator Toadstool]

end of the year for most normal things 2022 for show, concerts and sporting events

 

[Vic Damone Jr.]

Either late 2022 or longer, people just don't give af and want to go outside and not use common sense.

 

[Zombegoast]

We're already back to normal in Florida. Universal Studios is calling everybody back to work and just have us wear mask and deal with it.

 

[Joseph Joestar]

Never. There will be a new normal after a while that includes the things we did in 2019, but there will be restrictions and protocols that did not exist prior to this. I'd say a lot of them will be good (sanitary things), but some will be quite intrusive.

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A certain percentage of peopel already do not comply and the number will increase over time. Pandemic messure fatigue is a real thing. If politicians think there is a will to continue the messures over years and years even if they would be nessesary they are wrong.

 

[RadzPrower]

I think you underestimate society's ability to quickly forget about things. Once numbers go way down and COVID is out of the news people will barely think about this 2 year stretch unless asked.

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1. There are people who have developed legitimate cases of agoraphobia due to this, so that's not going to go away without a lot of therapy.
2. "Remembering" something does not mean it didn't have an impact. In fact, the things that tend to have a larger impact are the things you don't remember explicitly but instead subconsciously alter your behavior.

 

[Deleted member 44129]

I really worry that we never will. What if the virus never really goes away? What if every winter we just lose a small percentage of the population. What if this goes apocalyptic and it mutates but this time, if you catch it - that's it, you're dead. What if we get through this and a few years down the line it happens again because we learnt nothing.

This shit sucks.

 

[floridaguy954]

Unfortunately we won't get back to "normal" until 2022 at the earliest.

Frustratingly, many of of colleagues in the Healthcare field refuse to get vaccinated for covid-19. Fortunately, I'll be getting the Moderna vaccine sometime this week. I see acceptance of the vaccine being even worse for the general population.

The only ways I see a large amount of people getting a covid-19 vaccine is if the government gives an incentive (ie a tax credit) or if event venues require proof of vaccination before ticket purchases and attendance (I would love this).

Airlines also need to go a step further and require both a negative covid-19 test and vaccination for travel (when the vaccines become more widely available of course).

I personally wish we learned lessons and improved society and just kept on improving it for everyone instead of trying to "return to normal".

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I agree but as you can see with 2020, people are exceedingly selfish as fuck.

 

[The Artisan]

Hopefully by Fall because I just lost my job, and my savings (if we get the 1400 checks) will only carry me to July. If we don't get the checks, I'll last til May. Yesterday was really hard for me, and I have been wanting to find somewhere to post just for the sake of venting, I guess. I couldn't stop crying. The last time I cried was in 2017. I couldn't stop. After I graduated in 2018, I was unemployed and living with my folks until August 2019 when I started teaching college as an adjunct. I was never told the job would be permanent. I was told I could lose classes. But I didn't think it would happen to me. I had struggled through probably the lowest period in my life to find refuge, finally, in that single, small job. I loved the job with a passion I didn't know I could have for anything other than writing. It made me feel like somebody, like all my hard work in college had finally, finally paid off. Then, on Friday, 4 days before the semester was supposed to start, they hand my classes to a full-time faculty member and tell me they're sorry. It felt like someone had sucked my soul out of my body. I'm 30 and don't have a full time job. If I don't find something in the next few months, I'll be 30 and living with my parents again. God bless my wife for working and supporting us for now, but I'm so terrified she's just going to decide she's had enough of this and walk out. Yesterday was really hard for me. I took a Klonopin and watched Sound of Music just so I could get to sleep, but I obviously can't do that every night. It's hard to adequately express the state I'm in. I oscillate from feeling fine and hopeful to suddenly feeling like I'm mourning the death of a loved one.

Any way...
Realistically, I see Fall 2021 as a goalpost. Hopefully, we get there.

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I'm sorry to hear what you're going through. Only you know what it feels like be going through it, but I can tell you that I have had that rock bottom feeling before more than once in my life, feeling as though I'll never get out of it. I am the same age as you and in a similar boat, but you have the one up on me because I wanted to get married and still haven't. You say it feels like you are mourning the death of a loved one and there has been a lot of real death going around people that I know personally and it is very heartbreaking. Hang in there bud. You will make it out of this.

 

[The Albatross]

I don't think we'll be fully back to normal, like pre 2020 normal until either late this year or 2022, but I think with the vaccine, pleasant weather this summer will be much more normal than now.

 

[samoyed]

What if this goes apocalyptic and it mutates but this time, if you catch it - that's it, you're dead.

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Unlikely for one major reason. Virulence is inversely proportional to deadliness. Viruses want to "live" and spread as much as any other organism and it can't do this if it kills its hosts.

That doesn't mean deadlier mutations can't appear sometimes but on average plagues lose deadliness as they evolve to maximize transmission but to minimize killing hosts. Mind control mutations are on the menu too by this logic (cordyceps, etc), but unlikely as the human brain is too sophisticated for most behavior changing parasites.