Deborah Carver went to concerts two nights in a row, maskless, packed in clubs with fans and bands.

Other than presenting her vaccination card upon entry, everything seemed normal. Like it was before the Covid pandemic. She hugged friends. She talked to strangers.

Until she felt a stranger’s sweat on her skin as they pushed past her. Smelled the aftereffects of too many beers. Pondered the likelihood and magnitude of respiratory droplets in the air as everyone sang along to every word.

Deborah’s never been a germaphobe, but after two years of social distancing, reintegration was revolting. She realized everything had changed forever. She had changed forever.

During the Covid pandemic, many people anticipated the ending to be when we returned to normal. In many American states, normal has technically returned. Mask mandates are lifted and workers are heading back to the office.

But there is no ending. The current seven-day average of daily new cases (26,596) increased 4.9 percent compared with the previous seven-day average. People are still getting sick. People are still dying.

There is no ending because Covid hasn’t ended. And it’s not going to end any time soon. (It’s currently raging through the White House with more variants on the way.)

We have to start taking care of our mental and physical health more than our 401(k) plans.

We have to start taking care of each other.