With the COVID vaccines, booster shots, and dropping cases, is COVID basically gone?

The answer: No, not really.

COVID cases have been severely dropping but COVID is not “gone.” The Pfizer COVID vaccine was admitted on August 23rd, 2021, for people 16 and older. This was a huge achievement for everyone, as COVID had been going on for more than a year and we finally had a vaccine. The problem was, the vaccine was not permitted for people below the age of 16 yet, so we had to wait a while until children got it. But at last, on October 19th, the FDA authorized use of COVID vaccines for children 5-11 years old. And from there, everything was pretty smooth. People were allowed to get the booster shot, cases dropped, kids were safe, etcetera. But then came Omicron. Omicron was a new variant of COVID-19 first reported on November 24th, 2021. And although Omicron was less deadly, it spread a LOT faster.

What happened with Omicron?

But although people had vaccines, Omicron could spread to people with vaccines, meaning that vaccines weren’t certified protection. This scared people for a while, but then, once again, cases started to drop. In the last two weeks, cases have SEVERELY dropped, going from around over 3000 cases per day, to 128. (In Travis County.) People started to relax. Some kids at school have stopped wearing masks, which is fine. People can finally relax… But I would suggest not getting too comfortable. Even though COVID has started to massively decrease, it helps to take the necessary precautions to either get it lower, or not have cases go really high again. Although we are safer, just remember that COVID is technically not gone yet. But my goal isn’t to scare you. Everyone has free will to do what they like and what they decide when it comes to COVID.

If you feel comfortable, go ahead, live life like you did in 2019. If you don’t, wear a mask and try to be safe. Just remember that you choose what to do. Although if there is one thing I would DEFINITELY recommend if you haven’t done it yet, get your vaccines. These protect everyone, not just you, because if you don’t get it you can’t spread it. Thank you for reading!