Update from Your First UU Reopening Team

The team is studying how and when we might safely come together again in person. The following is an example of the thinking we believe is worth sharing.  Here is the beginning of a recent article by Aaron E. Carroll, a physician in Indiana: "Stop Expecting Life to Go Back to Normal Next Year: Americans will need to take pandemic precautions well into 2021 — yes, even after a vaccine arrives by "Dr. Anthony Fauci warned us last week that Covid-19 is likely to be hanging over our lives well into 2021. He’s right, of course. We need to accept this reality and take steps to meet it rather than deny his message. Many Americans are resistant to this possibility. They’re hoping to restart postponed sports seasons, attend schools more easily, enjoy rescheduled vacations and participate in delayed parties and gatherings. It is completely understandable that many are tiring of restrictions due to Covid-19. Unfortunately, their resolve is weakening right when we need it to harden. This could cost us dearly".

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Some of the further points Dr. Carroll goes on to make are these: 

• Optimism is unrealistic about the effectiveness of present treatments and certainly about their ability to prevent spread. 
• A vaccine approved any time soon is very unlikely to be a true game changer.
• We don’t know how long any immunity will last or how various populations will be affected.
• Even with a vaccine we will still need to mask and distance and restrain ourselves. Too many people may believe the vaccine has saved them and will return to normal activities, leading to more outbreaks.
•  There are no guarantees that we can distribute a vaccine widely and quickly.
•  Approving a vaccine won’t be the end but only the beginning of a true coronavirus response.
•  Life in 2021, especially in the first half, will need to look much like life does now.
•  Quoting Dr. Fauci: “If you’re talking about getting back to a degree of normality which resembles where we were prior to Covid, it’s going to be well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021.”
•  Testing and contact tracing need to become ubiquitous and cheap. Infected people need to isolate, and their close contacts need to quarantine. To do this many people will need the help of government funding.
• A scientific infrastructure needs to provide plans on how schools, businesses and institutions can open and operate safely. Again, these will need government funding.
• None of these ideas is a complete solution, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t necessary.
•  It’s a mistake to assume we'll reap the rewards without committing to the sacrifices.

 
Aaron E. Carroll is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. He is a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute who blogs on health research and policy at The Incidental Economist and makes videos at Healthcare Triage. He is the author of “The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully.” @aaronecarroll
 
Dr. Carroll's entire article can be found at: nytimes.com/2020/09/15/opinion/coronavirus-precautions.html
 
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