Last week, given a surprising downturn in both D.C. and neighboring Alexandria, VA, some asshole with a blog noted:

While I hope this is simply a delay in the downward trend and not the start of another upward trend, I can’t really imagine a mechanism for that, unless far more people have been infected recently than the data suggest. In addition, it looks like New York is being overrun by COVID, and, historically, D.C. has seen surges shortly thereafter. So I’m still predicting a surge.

And away we go… D.C.:

Alexandria, VA:

For context, the maximal concentrations for Alexandria and D.C. during the January 2023 peak were 1,306 and 1,222 respectively, while the current values are 766 and 821 respectively. I don’t think enough people have been infected yet to stymie the spread, and people aren’t masking or taking other precautions, so the rise should continue (and D.C., which has a large Jewish population, will be whacked extra hard due to the High Holidays later this week and next).

Again, for most people, the concern should be long-term outcomes (long COVID), not short term, though obviously the short-term is a concern for people is high-risk groups. But getting an infection, which in a small percentage of people (less than five percent), leads to months of debilitating illness, in some cases permanent, is something worth avoiding. You still aren’t the weirdo if you’re trying to avoid (re)infection.