COVID-19 Check-In Thread Part III

[LynnInDenver]

Still waiting here. We're apparently not considered as high-risk, or we just don't fall into the same age range by like, a few years. So I wait until the shots are available here. My parents have had their first, which is good news. I'm still dealing with paranoid roommates, unfortunately. The one with the ongoing cancer treatment has had bloodwork just last week which proved that the cells in the immune system which are trained by the vaccines to resist the disease are still completely missing from him. A side effect of his chemo treatments, which he can't realistically ever stop. So he's at critical risk at all times.

Which raises a major moral and ethical question. If he can catch it even if my other roommate and I are immune, but can still become carriers, Can we *ever* leave the house again? Sure, preventing us is an illegal move on his part, but on the other hand, he might remain permanently "at-risk." And of course, he's highly paranoid, and convinced if any of us step outside, we're basically intentionally signing his death warrant.

That's a big serious question mark we have in my household right now... we know at least one person going through cancer treatment (breast cancer, she was freaking out if the person she was staying with didn't wash hands for at least 20 seconds), and was a big reason my birthday get together was cancelled just before Colorado went into lockdown. What happens if the immune can become invisible spreaders? Does that mean the "can't be vaccinated" have to sequester themselves for the rest of their lives? Does that mean that what constitutes "normal business" has to be completely revised for years to reduce overall exposure? Does that mean we have to do what New Zealand did and lock down very hard nationally for 6-8 weeks to get it out of circulation entirely?

It becomes a serious ethical conundrum, regardless. Will I have to give up conventions, because the risk to others has become too great because we didn't kill this thing like New Zealand did? Will we be limited to having gatherings at our house, no longer playing games at the local game store? Will going to a restaurant have to become a special occasion thing and not anything close to a habit? It doesn't seem fair to do the things when I'm likely to be able to make that choice, and someone else can't because the cards they were dealt says that COVID-19 will always be a serious threat to them.