Cancelling our New Year's Trip: Five Things
When we got home last night from our trip to Hawaii we chose to cancel our trip to Chicago for New Year's. We made our decision at the proverbial 11th hour; we would've left before sunrise this morning. It was a difficult decision. Here are Five Things we considered:
1) Vaccinated friends we trust
One thing that argued in favor of still going was that we know everyone we would've been sharing a house with for 4-5 days. We know them, know they're vaccinated and boosted, and trust them. There are headlines in the news about cancelling New Year's Eve parties.... What the CDC is recommending against is partying with people you don't know well or aren't fully vaccinated.
2) Surging rates & Omicron
As recently as a few weeks ago we felt safe taking this trip, being fully vaxxed & boosted. But in just a few weeks the new-case rate nationwide has tripled. Part of that is the emergence of the Omicron strain, which is more contagious and better able to slip around the vaccine's defenses.
3) Spike in Chicago
Part of the surge is that places that weren't spiking before are spiking now. While the US rate overall is 81 new daily infections per 100k residents (7 day average), Illinois is higher than that at 127, with Cook County (of which Chicago is part) the worst in the state at 159. That compares to just 50 statewide in California and 34 in our home of Santa Clara County. Leaving home to travel somewhere with over 4x the infection rate, when even the lower infection rate is significant, is unwise. (Figures from The New York Times's Coronavirus in the U.S., retrieved 29 Dec 2021)
"But didn't you just travel to Hawaii, where's there's a spike?" you might ask. Yes, and we were alarmed to learn about that spike AFTER we arrived. If that spike were clear days earlier when we planned the trip we likely wouldn't have planned to go.
4) Negative test, but...
We and our friends agreed we'd take rapid tests before gathering in Chicago. Hawk and I took tests after arriving home last night. Fortunately we had a few on hand from accidentally overbuying last month, as stores are regularly sold out now. Our tests were both negative. But I was developing a cough all day yesterday. Was that from dry airplane air, the start of a common cold, or something else? Even with a negative test result I'd hate to be "that guy" in the house who's hacking & coughing.
5) Stupid people suck
Our experience on the flight home last night, frankly, spooked us. Too many people coughing, too many people deliberately taking their masks off or letting them hang loose. Pre- this surge we would have taken it in stride, but with risks 3x, 4x, 5x, or higher now than before it seems unwise. If we were driving to Chicago- driving in our car, not flying on a plane- we'd have gone, because our biggest exposure would be with people we know & trust. But traveling with the general public is too risky right now.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/162871.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]
1) Vaccinated friends we trust
One thing that argued in favor of still going was that we know everyone we would've been sharing a house with for 4-5 days. We know them, know they're vaccinated and boosted, and trust them. There are headlines in the news about cancelling New Year's Eve parties.... What the CDC is recommending against is partying with people you don't know well or aren't fully vaccinated.
2) Surging rates & Omicron
As recently as a few weeks ago we felt safe taking this trip, being fully vaxxed & boosted. But in just a few weeks the new-case rate nationwide has tripled. Part of that is the emergence of the Omicron strain, which is more contagious and better able to slip around the vaccine's defenses.
3) Spike in Chicago
Part of the surge is that places that weren't spiking before are spiking now. While the US rate overall is 81 new daily infections per 100k residents (7 day average), Illinois is higher than that at 127, with Cook County (of which Chicago is part) the worst in the state at 159. That compares to just 50 statewide in California and 34 in our home of Santa Clara County. Leaving home to travel somewhere with over 4x the infection rate, when even the lower infection rate is significant, is unwise. (Figures from The New York Times's Coronavirus in the U.S., retrieved 29 Dec 2021)
"But didn't you just travel to Hawaii, where's there's a spike?" you might ask. Yes, and we were alarmed to learn about that spike AFTER we arrived. If that spike were clear days earlier when we planned the trip we likely wouldn't have planned to go.
4) Negative test, but...
We and our friends agreed we'd take rapid tests before gathering in Chicago. Hawk and I took tests after arriving home last night. Fortunately we had a few on hand from accidentally overbuying last month, as stores are regularly sold out now. Our tests were both negative. But I was developing a cough all day yesterday. Was that from dry airplane air, the start of a common cold, or something else? Even with a negative test result I'd hate to be "that guy" in the house who's hacking & coughing.
5) Stupid people suck
Our experience on the flight home last night, frankly, spooked us. Too many people coughing, too many people deliberately taking their masks off or letting them hang loose. Pre- this surge we would have taken it in stride, but with risks 3x, 4x, 5x, or higher now than before it seems unwise. If we were driving to Chicago- driving in our car, not flying on a plane- we'd have gone, because our biggest exposure would be with people we know & trust. But traveling with the general public is too risky right now.
[This entry was cross-posted from https://canyonwalker.dreamwidth.org/162871.html. Please comment there using OpenID. That's where most of the action is!]