After a year of lockdown, social distancing, and the constant drumbeat of bad news about COVID-19, it’s quite likely that you have developed a certain amount of fear about ever leaving your home. There is, of course, value in protecting yourself and the people you care about by following public health advice. You may attribute the fact that you’re still around to have adhered strictly to these measures.

​However, with the vaccine now available, government officials are beginning to ease those restrictions. Mask mandates are going away in several states in the U.S. You may not agree with these decisions, but they do signal (one might hope) that normal life is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality.