Her life has not changed since she was vaccinated. This is their new normal

May 22, 2021 3:06 p.m.

CNN

Posted: May 22, 2021 3:06 pm

(CNN) – For all of the people who ask to return to the world after vaccination, there are many who say, “No, we are not ready.”

Even with the science about the vaccine on their side – and the exemption of new CDC guidelines on masks that came out last week – it’s about what people love to do.

Getting on a plane, going to concerts, shopping for groceries in person, or going to the movies are some of the things that feel uncomfortable to some when people are being vaccinated and the virus continues to claim lives.

CNN spoke to people who didn’t change their way of life even after being vaccinated. They told us why their “new normal” looks very similar to pandemic life.

Here are some of their stories as told in their own words. Your answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Her family realized that they love being at home, so they built a theater room

Dawn Moore-Johnson, 55 • Conyers, Georgia

We won’t be hermits in the house, but I think there are so many strangers around right now. Just because I got both vaccines doesn’t mean I can just go out in public and pretend nothing never happened.

Our family expanded from being a single woman to being married in September AND my 83 year old mother moved in with us.

We went to a restaurant that we heard had good social distancing when I got a promotion. We go in and I’m horrified because I look around and these people aren’t wearing masks and I think, “What’s wrong with these people?” The servers had masks on so we didn’t take ours off. We will continue to eat, but eat outside or just order takeaway.

The theater is out of the question for me at all. But in the drive-in cinema you feel like you are in a cocoon because you are in your own vehicle with your own family. It is important to be able to do things that you enjoy, but be careful when doing so. I like to be at home. We invested money to finish part of our basement so that we could have our own theater where we could watch movies at home.

After we got vaccinated, we decided to go on vacation. We’re only going to go for the foreseeable future – I don’t want to get on a plane. We mostly chose Disney theme parks because they are so strict on their protocol. They limit the number of tickets and you need to make reservations.

We focused on improving ourselves and our lives while we were and still are in quarantine. My husband is working on his doctorate. I am working on my master. We could do that virtually.

I think there is still so much to learn. We don’t even know how long the vaccine will last. We don’t know what’s going to happen in other parts of the world that can affect us. I think certain things will be banned for a while, unfortunately at least for me.

She likes to do things alone, but misses her grandchildren

Carla Glidewell, 72 • Indianapolis, Indiana

My normal condition is the same as it has been for the past 12 months. I’m using a mask, washing my hands, and got both vaccines. I will not go out or visit my family until my two young grandchildren have had their vaccinations.

As a retiree, I’ve never done a lot of social work like going dancing, going to bars or anything like that. I am a very happy person at home doing my gardening and reading. I like puzzles and I paint by numbers.

I live in a wonderful neighborhood and we visit everyone on the porch with a mask when the weather permits. So it’s not like I’m not having any interaction. I go for a walk with my two puppies and visit them with friends on the phone.

My big trips during the pandemic and even now have been to the grocery store and gas station every two or three weeks. I think until the variants settle down and the world settles down, I’m just a very cautious person.

Before the pandemic, I was taking my grandchildren to and from school every day. That ended in March last year. If you want to believe this, my daughter lives 12 miles from me and I can’t come over yet. My daughter is extremely careful. I’m looking forward to being with the boys again. I missed a year of her life.

I’ve always played the Pollyanna game. By the time you’re 72 you’ve been through a lot and I always try to find the good in everything that goes on. My mom lived through WWII and that was for years, so I can do that.

He’s scared of going to a grocery store, but the gym keeps him healthy

Jermaine Williams, 35 • Dallas, Texas

As a black, deaf and gay professional with mental illnesses, I would like to continue learning after the pandemic how I can use my coping skills and recreate the interruption I experienced.

As soon as I was vaccinated, I started doing little things like going to the gym. I do CrossFit five times a week, run almost every day, and still wear my mask when I work out. These are big steps to get back to normal, but I’m still scared of going to a grocery store.

I worked at Whole Foods Market. But with the pandemic, I was uncomfortable with people in my room or around me. Some of the customers took off their masks and spoke to me – that just freaked me out. I had to resign because I was still afraid to go to the store. Fortunately, I was able to get a job as a delivery driver.

During the pandemic there were times when I wouldn’t leave my apartment for almost a week or a week and a half. I have depression and generalized anxiety disorder that manifested itself during the pandemic. With the help of therapy and psychiatry appointments, I was able to develop tools to better manage my anxiety and develop a kind of peace of mind.

For example, large gatherings are something I won’t come back to. This is due to the current climate where people choose not to be vaccinated and disclose that they are refusing to be vaccinated. I am uncomfortable with this and I know that I am unable to ask if they have been vaccinated.

I have enjoyed attending community events that serve the deaf and hard of hearing community. But with everything running now, I realized that the post-pandemic gathering may not be the same.

Am i ready to be maskless? Not so soon. For the first time in a while, I am happy to use the word “no” when the situation is not ideal or safe for me.

She misses the bartender but won’t be returning after the pandemic

Joanne van Veen, 49 • Vancouver, Washington

I’m not a barfly, but being a bartender is so much fun. I am allowed to flirt. I get to know new people. I will really miss that. But now, with the risk of a pandemic and serious illness, do I want to be with so many people? I usually get a terrible cold every winter. For my health, I don’t think I’ll ever come back to it even if things got back to normal.

I don’t think I’ll be going out to eat that much. My cooking is better and it’s cheaper. No more music festivals or concerts. I don’t want to be with a few people anymore. Why do I want to do this when I have a comfortable couch? Covid made me anti-social, it’s crazy.

I actually had Covid in July. My daughter and I had it at the same time. It was enough to make me fear God that something like this could happen. As things open up, I feel almost emotionally isolated from my friends. I do not accept the invitations to go to a bar or even to go out for lunch. I say, “Let’s take a walk instead.”

It’s daunting to walk around and see people in masks. I suffer from claustrophobia and anxiety that worsened during the pandemic. I can’t have anything near my face. When masks came out, I thought, “I’m fucked up.” I don’t like the world that I see when I walk in front of my house. I can shut everything out in my house.

I had a vaccination appointment but panicked and wondered if I was ready. It sounds silly, but I’m really scared. My father is determined to make sure everyone is vaccinated before we visit. I haven’t seen him in over a year so that’s the driving factor for me to get vaccinated in June before I see him.

I don’t know if it’s just my age, but I feel like the whole pandemic has forever changed me in a good way. As for finances, in my wildest dreams I would never have thought that bartenders would be a thing of the past or that they would be stopped for a year and a half so as not to be able to interact with people. I’m definitely going to be putting money aside for the future because you just never know what’s next.

She wishes people were vaccinated so that life doesn’t have to be like this

Kimberly LoRusso, 46 • Northborough, Massachusetts

In all honesty, I don’t trust other people to have done the right thing. And it seems the easiest thing to do is to keep your distance and wear the masks and kind of keep my bladder small. It’s me, my husband and two teenagers – my son is asthmatic. My kids both had their first shot.

When we’re with our friends, we’ll widen the bubble a little. I have some close trustworthy friends that I haven’t seen in a long time, but I know they are vaccinated. I’m not ready for concerts in the park. But I can definitely go to some friends’ backyards and have a barbecue there.

I think it’s crazy that they are loosening these restrictions so wildly. For a long time I don’t see myself giving up my mask in public. I know that most people are happy to take them off, but I enjoy the protection it has given me from others. People are so gross. It amazes me. I recently saw a man take off his mask to sneeze in the supermarket and then put it back on. I stood in the corridor and said, “What?” You should keep it.

I’ve become a bit of a germaphobe. My kids hate it when the second they walk in the door and I say, “Wash your hands, wash your hands.” I’m not going to let her sit on my bed in street clothes. I have to change them because they were outside and exposed. I would love if everyone got vaccinated so I don’t have to be like this.