Thread by @JuliaLMarcus

People want to socialize – and not just outdoors, masked, and 6 feet apart.

We're craving a sense of normalcy. We desperately want to forget we're living in a pandemic.

So why aren't we talking more about social bubbles?

1/

The idea with bubbles is that people have just a handful of social contacts, maybe a few friends or one other household.

Everyone keeps up the masks and distancing outside of the bubble, but there's normalcy within it: dinner parties, playdates.

2/
slate.com/human-interest…

Social bubbles aren't risk-free. But modeling suggests they could be a viable strategy for keeping the curve flat. And if bubbles can give people enough of a sense of normalcy to forgo crowded bars and house parties, that's a public health win.

3/
nature.com/articles/s4156…

Bubbles have been recommended outside of the U.S., but there's no mention of them in the newest @CDCgov guidelines. And the guidance on bubbles in the SF Bay Area asks people to remain outdoors, masked, and distanced, even within the bubble.

4/
abc7news.com/san-francisco-…

So why so little guidance on social bubbles?

Maybe public health officials are afraid of promoting risky behavior, the classic concern about harm reduction.

Meanwhile, bars are open. 5/ news4jax.com/news/local/202…