How many cafe Wi-Fi networks can I connect my laptop to in a single week?)
News is happening so fast, its been hard to understand what the next year might look like.
But what does that mean as far as making plans for the year?
Andy Roberts/Adobe Stock
Heres where these experts think were headed in 2021.
SELF: When do you expect that everyone in the U.S. will have access to a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine?
Sandra Albrecht, Ph.D., M.P.H.
:The earliest will likely be in the spring, but more likely over the summer.
Jessica Malaty Rivera, M.S.
:I feel like it’ll probably be closer to Q3 of next year.
But we’re talking about hundreds of millions of people needing to get vaccinated.
It’s gonna take a long time.
Sara Hurtado Bares, M.D.
SELF: How concerned are you aboutvaccine hesitancy?
Is there anything that concerns you more in regards to vaccination?
I’m also concerned about the logistics.
Its gonna be bumpy, I think.
:I think it’s absolutely a concern.
It’s not new with coronavirus.
We’ll need to check that that the outreach and the education are culturally sensitive.
S.A.:Vaccine hesitancy is a major concern, but its also an understandable one.
For example, although development appears fast-paced, it was based off ofyears of prior research.
Scientists were not starting from scratch.
We need to do better about getting the facts out to the public using language thats accessible to everyone.
SELF: How long will we need to wear masks?
S.A.:Masks will still be neededafter vaccination until we have more data.
:I think we’ll be wearing masks well into 2021.
The vaccine is not going to be a panacea.
:I think we will probably be wearing masks at least through the end of 2021.
And masks may end up being the new normal for a long time to come.
SELF: Why will we still need to wear masks?
We just know that people dont have severe symptoms, which is a huge benefit regardless.
We dont yet have an answer as to whether the vaccines prevent infection, but we hope to soon.
Aside from this, we also dont know how long protection from the vaccine lasts.
We will only know this by following people over a longer period of time.
:The vaccine is not 100% protection.
(Hugs would be nice!)
:I feel like the only way to eliminate risk is to not be doing those things.
So in my mind, that looks like next fall or winter.
But I also dont think we need to completely forgo these activities.
There are ways to reduce the risk of infection.
That could be as early as this summer.
SELF: When do you think well be able to safely eat in restaurants again?
:The thought of it, honestly, it just seems so foreign to me now.
I hope next fall orwinter.
:That’s going to be something that everyone’s going to need to do their own risk calculations.
I think that will really largely depend on what the uptake is in the community.
Once the vaccine is available to the general public, what is the uptake in your area?
If you’re in an area where the uptake is really high, I would feel more comfortable.
So I would say next fall or winter.
:I think that’s very similar to restaurants because those are higher risk activities.
S.A.:Itll be safer to engage in these activities if community transmission is low.
:I think that’s going to be even further down the road.
Outdoorweddingsand outdoor sports arenas are going to be safer than indoors.
SELF: When do you think well be able to travelboth domestically and abroadagain?
When will you feel comfortable flying?
This can be achieved through the implementation of safety measures or it may be achieved through widespread vaccination.
In both instances, human behavior will determine that timeline which is what makes this difficult to predict.
:I’m not going to do any voluntary travel, non-essential travel, until my family is vaccinated.
And it would depend on what the vaccination levels are for wherever we would travel to.
:I actually think that may be possible sooner than large gatherings.
I hope soon because I miss my family.
My dad and family live in Mexico, and I miss them terribly.
I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to go this summer or fall.
But its not something that’s keeping me up at night.
SELF: Do you expect well still have pockets of outbreaks in the coming years?
S.A.:Its possible if not enough people have immunity.
I think that we’ll be able to manage it and live with it much easier.
I don’t think that the virus is going to just immediately disappear.
S.A.:There is a light at the end of the tunnel!
But weve seen whats scientifically possible when all hands are on deck working towards a common goal.
I think the vaccine is a very encouraging milestone, and I’m looking forward to life post-vaccine.
So yeah, patience.
This hard work will pay off soon.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
