June 17, 2020

How Do We Handle This When Everyone Is Doing It Differently?

Shutting it all down was hard, but the assignment was extremely clear. Reopening is more like: do what you want when we think you can, or at least aren't fully convinced that you can’t. How are we going to do this when everyone’s doing it differently?

Shutting it all down was definitely hard, but the parameters of the assignment were clear.

Reopening is more like: do what you want when we think you can, or at least aren't fully convinced that you can’t.

Most of us are probably going to need to leave our houses before vaccines are available at your neighborhood Walgreens. But how do we do that safely when kids touch seriously everything? When masks are optional? When all we are learning about this virus is how little we know? 

We live in a world where we are entitled to make our own decisions, for ourselves and for our families. But other people's decisions affect us, including some people we are closely related to.

How do we understand and mitigate the actual risks? How are we going to do this when everyone’s doing it differently?


Here are links to writing on the topic that we discuss in this episode:

Carolyn Hax: Balancing snowbird migration and virus mitigation

German Lopez and Amanda Northrop for Vox: How to weigh the risk of going out in the coronavirus pandemic, in one chart

Emily Oster: Grandparents & Day Care

Roni Caryn Rabin for NYT: How to Navigate Your Community Reopening? Remember the Four C’s

Leana S. Wen for Washington Post: Four concepts to assess your personal risk as the U.S. reopens

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices