1 in 26 people have covid on the west coast. 1 in 29 in the South. The rest of the country soon to follow.
There is also a new variant appearing (KP.3.1.1), which has a significant mutation which allows it to escape immunity gained from previous variants. It's expected to add to and extend the current waves.
It's less deadly than before, thankfully, and new variants haven't seemed to cause as much of a problem as the first few waves, but the new normal is still several times worse than the worst flu season, if only because it's around and spreading significantly most of the year. It's pretty neat how we are living in a time where we can watch society get significantly worse in real time on multiple fronts, including the spread of disease! And by "pretty neat" I mean: 
Good thing brandon ended the pandemic by getting rid of testing, otherwise it might look bad right now!
Currently sick but tested negative for Covid at the hospital!
Happy with myself for now but hope I can avoid these waves. Jesus.
I spoke with my friend a little ago who told me he tested positive for Covid and was surprised that Covid "still existed". This was right when Biden himself had Covid. How could someone be so fucking oblivious?
If someone just consumes mainstream media (inc social media), there is no reason to think COVID is still a thing worth thinking about. Thank u Brandon, may he choke on his lungs.
In my (fairly limited) experience, you basically have to be either extremely online, engaged in left-wing activism, or living with someone who is immunocompromised to have any idea of the current situation, and even those aren't a guarantee.