On Saturday, April 10, I got my first Covid vaccine with my mother and sister. Afterwards, we decided to walk around the Newbury area and grab some ice cream. As we were walking, I noticed how crowded Newbury Street was. The restaurants were extremely busy. Lines outside of some stores were long beyond measure. The streets were packed. It felt weird, to say the very least. I was anxious, confused, and at the same time kind of happy.  It made me wonder, are Covid cases really going down? Now that summer is starting to come up, are more people getting vaccinated? Are people just over this pandemic? These questions inspired me to research on the Internet, which I will be discussing in this article.

First, let’s take a look at the amount of cases rising in the Boston area. As of Wednesday, April 14, there were 67,327 cases in Boston alone. In order to compare if this is more or less than the previous months, we need to take a look at the new confirmed cases. As of April 12, 2021, there were 1,532 new confirmed cases. Back on December 12, 2020, there were 5,289 confirmed new cases (1). 

A lot of factors can play a role in the difference between these numbers. For example, the month of December is a month where a lot of students come back home to celebrate the holidays with their families. Two other possible factors could be weather and the availability of vaccines. 

This makes me wonder: Is it because of the weather change? Is there any proof that when it gets warmer, cases go down? According to a study published on WebMD.com, it may be possible that with the rise of the sun and warmer weather, cases may go down. The article states that, “While the rate of virus transmission may slow down as the maximum daily temperature rises to around 50 degrees, the effects of temperature rise beyond that don’t seem to be significant.” (2). 

Which brings me to my next question: Are more people in Boston getting vaccinated? Starting April 5, all citizens who are between the ages of 55-59 are eligible for the vaccine, along with people between the ages of 16 and 54 who have at least one medical condition. Although the actual number of people who plan on getting vaccinated is unknown as of right now, a report created by the Department Of Public Health states that “1,789,004 Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated against the virus.” (3). This equates to less than half of the population in Massachusetts. 

Onto my final question, the most important: Are people simply over this pandemic? To be brief: yes. According to an article written by CNN, “Fewer Americans said they have avoided events with large crowds (62 percent), traveling (57 percent), public places (48 percent), and small gatherings (45 percent) in the seven days before being asked by the gallup than at any point since the middle of March 2020, when the pandemic first became a reality to many Americans.” (4). 

Now, does this mean that most of the people that I saw on Newbury Street are over this pandemic? That’s not for me to say. Does it mean that most of the people that I saw on Newbury Street are vaccinated? That’s also not up to me to say. This article is simply speculating about all of the factors that could have possibly led to Newbury Street being busy on Saturday, just like it is every other weekend. Regardless, here is a quick reminder to all of you: Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay happy. 

1. Tracking the Coronavirus in Massachusetts – 24/7 Wall St.

2. COVID-19 Cases Drop in Warm Weather, But Not Much (webmd.com)

3. Baker Says 2M Mass. Residents Will Be Fully Vaccinated By End of Week – NBC Boston

4. Some Americans are acting like the pandemic is over. It’s not – CNNPolitics