How are you feeling about the Fall?

Both the 40 Watt and the Georgia Theatre have been on a tear recently. It feels like every time I turn around three new shows have been announced and I’m scrambling to figure out my schedule. This should be a good thing right?

I can’t help but feel a little uneasy. As anyone who has been following the situation in Georgia knows, our vaccination rates aren’t great and we have a larger than average population that refuses to acknowledge basic health and safety functions. Most of my friends and family are fully vaccinated and the ones who aren’t I’ve gotten at least one shot. But I don’t know about the people who are attending the shows. And that worries me.

I’ve been trying to keep up-to-date with all of the newest information regarding vaccinated people and how often there are breakthrough cases and how likely it is to spread the infection even though you’ve been vaccinated. I’m keeping in mind all of my friends who are immunocompromised and all of the local kids that I know who aren’t eligible for a shot yet. I worry.

UGA is starting back soon and we already know that most of the students who aren’t vaccinated don’t care about the population around them. We also know that the USG will not even do the bare minimum to keep our community safe. So of course I’m now wondering when I will feel safe to go to an indoor show. I so desperately want to be out and about but I also don’t know how my body will react if I were to catch Covid. My family has had some rare and adverse reactions…

I have had multiple people tell me I’m worrying too much. I know. I understand that at this point I’m overly cautious especially considering my vaccination status. But I do worry. What about you? When all the students have come back and the bars are packed, will you feel OK going to a indoor concert? Will you wear a mask? Will you forgo concerts all together? I wish I had an easy answer. I wish I could just simply go to shows without any worries and support my local artists and local venues who have suffered this entire time. But for now I’m still keeping my distance and I hate that.