Like bears coming out of hibernation into the blinding sunlight, some us in the more fortunate countries are emerging from our COVID-19 isolation to find a somewhat transformed existence. Our world is not "normal" in the ways we were accustomed to, but it is nearly normal for most of us. Vaccines are widely available, and a large proportion of us have taken advantage of that. The vaccines have done wonders. As pointed out by David Leonhardt in , "The vaccines have nearly eliminated death, hospitalization, and other serious COVID illness among people who have received shots." And even those who refuse to be vaccinated or cannot for medical reasons are highly unlikely to be infected by the vaccinated, although they have been advised to maintain social distancing, masking, and other precautions.