A short year after we were all forced to change life as we knew it and adapt to a whole new normal, the world has seen a light at the end of this very dark tunnel with the arrival of vaccines. Yet, how long do we have to wait until the gender inequity vaccine hits the market?
Some of the new COVID-19 vaccines in the market promise not only an immunization against the disease but also prevent transmission, making it safe for those at risk and giving some families a chance to see their loved ones for the first time since everything began.
As Mariela Dabbah, founder of Red Shoe Movement points out during her TEDx Talk “How Long Until the Gender Inequity Vaccine?”, this shows us what can be done when forces (and resources) are poured into a single goal. “In contrast,” she says, “gender inequity in the workplace, a decades old issue, remains unresolved. As if we couldn’t apply research driven solutions to a social problem as we do to a public health issue.”
Gender Inequity: A Vaccine for a Different Pandemic
This, Mariela Dabbah reminds us, is not a problem affecting women exclusively. Gender inequity is another kind of pandemic that, much like COVID-19, affects workplaces all over the world in ways that must be eradicated. This obvious disparity has been made even bigger as the world adapts to new workplace dynamics, undoing some of the progress achieved by women in the workplace as they drown in new demands.
Some of the symptoms of this condition include: Being in Charge of Everything and Making Less So Quitting More. Mariela says that “women now have to juggle the blended environment of remote work from home – having no time to reset or to be alone.” Additionally, “if there’s a household choice to be made regarding who will give up their job and take care of the home and the family, it’s usually the woman who steps back.”
Having to juggle work and home life has been especially tough on women of color and women with disabilities.
“One in 3 mothers are ready to scale back or step out of the workplace altogether; 39% of senior women state that they are burned out compared to 29% of senior men; and 54% of senior women confessed to being exhausted compared to 41% of senior men”.
The pandemic brought the end of the corner office. Now most decisions are made from the kitchen. This could work towards finding a gender inequity vaccine.
Opportunities to Treat Gender Inequity
However, Mariela Dabbah suggests there are some great opportunities for change that we should be taking advantage of. Such as the end of the corner office. “This coveted park to which few women had access before the pandemic has been democratized as most key decisions are now being made in the kitchen, an environment where most women play as locals.”
This new office setting has forced everyone to work from home. This, Mariela says, has allowed “for a shift in the old belief that, to be an executive, a person had to be physically in the office and be able to travel a lot.” Giving old requirements that tended to exclude women a much-needed update.
“Having their own kids throw a tantrum on camera during conference calls has humanized leaders, who used to be perceived as not having to deal with everyday life issues as everyone else,” Mariela tells us. In addition to showing a “more human” side of everyone within a company, this format has helped leaders become more invested in their teams. “As they become more aware of the circumstances of their various team members, leaders are customizing their support to make sure they don’t lose female and diverse talent.”
Within a year of the start of the pandemic we found a vaccine. Yet, how long do we have to wait until the gender inequity vaccine?
Concrete Steps Towards Vaccination
For a while now, Red Shoe Movement has been “implementing some very successful concrete solutions.” These, Mariela tells us, include taking a stand for gender inclusion, listening intently to act fittingly and remembering that inclusion is not on pause.
The author and CEO hopes that sharing the steps Red Shoe Movement has taken towards a more diverse and equal workplace, everyone will find ways to collaborate in making this “vaccine” happen. “Despite all the research that has been done for decades around what works to reach gender equity in the workplace, the vaccine for gender inequity has not yet been invented,” she says. “We must take a similar collaborative approach, join our labs, and use our data driven solutions to expedite this vaccine to market.”
Judith McKenna learned the importance of resilience and creating community on her road to becoming one of the Most Powerful Women of 2020, according to both Forbes and Fortune Magazine (in which she has appeared since 2015.) As the president and CEO of Walmart International, McKenna leads over 550,000 associates across 23 countries.
The CEO believes diversity is one of the company’s greatest strengths and is committed to working on matters of equity and inclusion. Building a community where people can not only feel comfortable but grow with and learn from. In 2020, while the world adjusted to COVID-19, McKenna led Walmart International by anticipating and preparing for what was to come during this exceptional crisis.
For relentlessly working towards full inclusion in Walmart International and their many partners around the world, Red Shoe Movement honors Judith McKenna with the 2021 Hall of Fame.
Judith McKenna Hall of Fame 2021 is all about resilience and creating community
Taking Risks and Knowing How to Bounce Back
Red Shoe Movement — Did you set out to be a CEO from the beginning of your career? What were some of the decisions you made along the way that put you on this career track?
Judith McKenna — I never set out to be a CEO. In fact, I’m not sure what I really set out to be, but I started in finance and as I developed my career, what I thought about was, ‘How do I develop skills that I enjoy using?’ And for me that was about people and I really enjoyed leading teams, and I enjoyed solving hard problems, and I enjoyed thinking about what the future would be and trying to design different ways of getting there. That led me down a path, firstly, to being a CFO.
And then later in my career, having done that for 10 years, I decided I would try something different. I always loved the stores and I loved operations and I had all sorts of different experiences alongside being a CFO. So, I made the switch to being a COO and ultimately that’s led me to the CEO job that I do today.
But the core skills are very similar, and I just expanded different experiences. I’m not the best person to take career planning advice from, but I’m glad I took some risks along the way and I’ve been privileged to do some great and varied jobs along the way.
Judith McKenna understands the value of resilience and creating community
RSM — What would you say are two or three of the most important lessons you’ve learned through the different career changes and challenges that brought you here? Is there anything you’d do differently?
JM — A couple of the most important ones are, number one: it’s all about people, and it’s all about your team, and it’s all about being a team player. You can’t do anything if you try to do it on your own, particularly when you get more senior in the organization. I once heard this great line, which was that “collaboration beats heroics every day,” and that’s absolutely true.
The second one is to build some resilience. Not everything is always going to go your way and you have to have the resilience to be able to bounce back, not take it personally; to think of ways around challenges and not to take knock-backs in a way that puts you off track. “Success isn’t final, and failure isn’t fatal, its courage to continue that counts,” is a good way to think about it.
Are there things I wish I’d done differently? Yes. I still wish I had taken more risks and I wish I had slightly more time off with my first daughter almost 30 year ago!
Judith McKenna seen at Shareholders 2019 meeting. She understands how critical resilience and creating community is all the time. And particularly during a global pandemic.
Resilience and Creating Community
RSM — What do you think is the importance of building a community within the workplace? How do you create an inclusive environment and ensure equal opportunities for more employees?
JM — This is a really interesting question, because we don’t often talk about building a community but of course that’s what it is as a lot of us spend more time at work than we do at home. Therefore, creating an environment where people are comfortable being there is absolutely critical. It’s not something that you do just because it’s a ‘nice’ thing to do. You do it because it’s the right thing to do, and actually it gets the best out of people and creates diversity – both diversity of thought and diversity of being – which makes it the best thing from the company’s perspective.
I’ve always said that diversity is our strength, but even as we celebrate what makes us unique, we know that there’s so much that connects us. I have worked in retail for a long time and I can tell you that the passion for creating inclusive environments in our stores and workplace is shared around the world. We’ve long been committed to building inclusive teams, but we know we can do more, and we are.
Judith McKenna is a 2021 Hall of Fame Awardee
RSM — You’ve said that resilience is key for modern leaders. How important has this been during a global pandemic? How do you keep a team’s spirits up when things ahead look so uncertain?
JM — I never thought I would be having so many conversations about resilience and hope, but we have seen this year that the ability to bounce back and to be able to see light at the end of the tunnel and help other people see it, too, is so important to what we do as leaders.
And how do we keep up spirits and create positivity? Well, we do a number of tiny noticeable things (we call them TNTs) like Zoom-free Wednesdays, making sure our leaders are talking about and modeling the importance of wellness. And, of course, do some things that are fun – like a Bollywood dancing video! But we are also more structured by making sure everybody understands what their goals are and the part they play in the company, so they have a sense of achievement in everything that we accomplish. We make sure that we celebrate and make people feel valued at every step of the way, but we also give honest and fair feedback so people can improve.
It’s not, however, all about the positives. Sometimes you have to take time to acknowledge the challenges and be happy to talk about them. We ran an “It’s Okay” campaign, which included “It’s okay to not be okay,” to encourage people to speak up and let someone know if they need help. That’s part of resilience, too.
RSM — Tell us a little about the company’s Global Women’s Economic Empowerment initiative and the role education plays in it.
JM — That initiative began about ten years ago when we committed as a company to sourcing $20 billion from women-owned businesses and to training 1 million women who work on farms, in factories, and in retail. Since then, we have committed much more, and it’s become part of what we do. It’s about investing in people and creating opportunities for them to advance and grow their businesses. I saw this firsthand when I was in India a couple of years ago. We were standing in a field talking to farmers and there were a lot of women farmers there. And I’ll never forget, there was one woman and I asked her through the interpreter, “What can I do for you? What can we do for you?” And she said, “There’s no more you can do for me than you are doing, but what you are doing is helping me get an education for my daughter so she can be like you.” What we are doing is helping women rise to be able to help their families and others rise as well.
RSM — If you could suggest one action that organizations can take to accelerate the representation of women at the top, what would it be?
JM — Make sure people recognize and understand that there is a difference between sponsorship and mentorship. Women are often over mentored and under sponsored. And what I mean by that is mentorship is important because it gives somebody encouragement, but sponsorship is advocating for them in every meeting you’re in, suggesting them for jobs, introducing them to other people, and always having them on your mind as you hear about opportunities around the company. Sponsorship is truly one of the ways that you make a difference.
And companies have to be transparent. As a company, Walmart made a commitment on all of our inclusion and diversity metrics to be transparent, and we publish a report twice a year so that, throughout the organization, everybody can see where we stand. And, actually, that creates the platform for people to then do something about it because they can see where they’re making a difference.
RSM — If you could suggest an action that women could take to accelerate their career growth, what would it be?
JM — Use your voice and know that you’re in the room for a reason. Always do your homework so that you’re ready to speak up. And above all, be yourself – that’s the very best person you can be.
Keeping an eye out for inspiring Black women shouldn’t happen only during Black History Month. In fact, those exciting voices and the amazing work they do should be celebrated and elevated all days of every month. This is why Red Shoe Movement has compiled a group of interesting voices in a list of 10 Inspiring Black Women to Watch in 2021.
Inspiring Black Women Who Educate
Angela Benton, Chief Executive Officer at Streamlytics
Angel Rich has been called “the next Steve Jobs” by Forbes Magazine. She is the founder and CEO of fintech company The Wealth Factory, developer of CreditStacker, and the Vice Chair of the Washington D.C. government’s Financial Literacy Council. Her financial literacy gaming app CreditSacker, teaches users about finances through modules and has been translated to 21 languages.
Angela Benton is Chief Executive Officer at Streamlytics, a tech company that allows users to protect their data and even makes sure they’re paid for it sometimes. In 2020, Fast Company included Beton in their list of The Most Creative People in Business and she’s among the most influential women in tech. Benton is also the founder of NewME, a platform that supports entrepreneurs from non-traditional backgrounds in building their business.
Arian Simone founded the Fearless Fund with Keshia Knight Pulliam and Ayana Parsons
Arian Simone founded the Fearless Fund with Keshia Knight Pulliam and Ayana Parsons “to bridge the gap in venture capital funding for women of color founders”. The fund invests in early-stage business, matching founders with mentors and making their network of celebs and influencers available to them. Forbes also calls Simone a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, angel investor, marketing expert, and best-selling author of three books. Her most recent, The Fearless Money Mindset: Broke Doesn’t Scare Me, was released in 2020.
Arlan Hamilton is the founder of Backstage Capital, a firm that invests in startups led by “underestimated founders”, including women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. She’s invested in more than 170 startups, offering support that goes beyond a simple investment. Hamilton also hosts a podcast called Your First Million and, in 2020, she published It’s About Damn Time (How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage).
Inspiring Black Women in Beauty
Cashmere Nicole, founder and CEO of Beauty Bakerie
Cashmere Nicole is founder and CEO of Beauty Bakerie, a cosmetics brand that caters to all skin tones and has been endorsed by Beyoncé herself. What better endorsement than that? Nicole created Beauty Bakerie while battling breast cancer, a survival story she decided to share as part of her campaign as her products became non-toxic, vegan and cruelty-free. The ‘activist in makeup’ founded Sugar Homes in 2016, building orphanages and making donations to other orphanages around the world. They currently sponsor 3 orphanages in Uganda, Indonesia and Zanzibar.
Karissma Yve founded Gildform, an on-demand jewelry manufacturing platform that was born from her own need for quality jewelry production. Through their user-friendly app, Gildform offers 3D printing and jewelry manufacture to independent designers and business owners. Her platform also offers a couple of online courses, including one on Social Media Marketing for Jewelry Brands to help new brands grow. She is also founder and owner of her own specialty jewelry brand, Xenophora Objects.
Black Women and Healthtech
Bea Arthur, founder of The Difference
Bea Arthur is a Columbia University-trained psychotherapist. The startup founder was the first African American female founder in Y Combinator and one of Newsweek Magazine’s Entrepreneurs to Bet On in 2014. Arthur’s third endeavor is The Difference, a company that provides on-demand access to therapy through Amazon’s Alexa. The service is available to anyone with a phone and an Alexa-enabled device, with therapists available from 9am to 9pm EST.
Nathalie Walton is the CEO of Expectful, a startup helping expectant and new mothers tackle issues of health and wellbeing. Walton’s own problematic pregnancy made her realize that Black women face big risks during pregnancy regardless of their economic background, and hopes to prioritize Black maternal health. Expectful began as a guided meditation library, but Nathalie hopes to turn it into a go-to wellness resource for moms by offering important information, recommendations, tips, therapists, nannies and even on-demand doula support.
Zuleyka Strasner created Zero Grocery, a zero-waste online store in Los Angeles delivering fresh groceries in reusable containers and bags. Their mission is to remove single-use plastics and reduce waste. Once you’re done, you return the glass jars to be used again in your next purchase. In only a year, her company has gone from a 4-people endeavor that nearly had to close shop, to a thriving company that’s raised $4.7M and now employs almost 100 people.
Jasmine Crowe is the founder and CEO of Goodr, a sustainable food waste management company based on the belief that hunger is an issue of logistics. Crowe found that over 72 billion pounds of edible food are wasted every year in the United States, so why not give it to hungry people instead of throwing it away? Goodr tracks surplus food from pickup to donation, “delivering real-time social and environmental impact reporting analytics.”
Ever wonder what’s the story behind the women in construction? Traditionally, such a man’s job, why would women even think to go into it? Today, Tanzira Rashid, an 18 year-old studying Civil Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, shares her insight. Hold on to your seat!
Zig Ziglar once said, “There’s no elevator on the way to success, you have to take the stairs.” And our interviewee knows this very well. She has been quite literally building her own successful road.. She decided to study Civil Engineering because of her love for construction, but this wasn’t always her plan.
“Coming from an immigrant family I wasn’t really exposed to much, just because my parents didn’t know much. My dad was a taxi driver and my mom was a stay-at-home mom.In their minds they came to America for the American dream, to have successful kids, so pretty much they thought the only way to become successful was to become a doctor,” says Tanzira, who is a first generation American, of Bengali descent. “I ended up getting into a high school with construction trades, engineering and architecture tracks.”
Women in Construction – Tanzira Rashid the day of her graduation
Defining a path as part of women in construction
SOL FELDSZTEJN–When did you realize you actually liked this field?
TANZIRA RASHID–In high school I learned electrical work and carpentry work, and I really liked carpentry. I wanted to go to trade school, but I also wanted to work in construction overseeing everything, being able to read and create the plans, and being in charge. Then in 10th grade I got an internship with a company that did water treatment and my supervisor was a Civil Engineer and I ended up actually getting really interested in it, and I got to go on sight visits. From them I found out about Tools and Tiaras, and that’s when I realized I actually liked this construction field and that I wanted to pursue it in the future.
Tools and Tiaras is this nonprofit that exposes young girls and women to hands-on projects in different areas of the construction industry through different activities and programs creating a pipeline of women in construction.
SF–What is your experience like at Tools and Tiaras?
TR–They’re amazing. You get to meet other tradeswomen that are in fields that I would have never known. There are so many women who really motivated me and empowered me to be like “ok, I can do this, and this isn’t just for men”. The first year I went to summer camp with them it was very hands-on, for instance we got to build bookshelves to donate. It was a really nice experience, very humbling and inspirational.
It’s like a big family. We all help each other out. Since I’m more of a younger team member, some of them allow me to go on job sites with them and tour some of the sites, seeing how they work. The older ones help each other find jobs and spread information. We just want each other to succeed and achieve our goals. So it’s a very safe place.
Tanzira participates in many programs, projects and organizations. “During high school I really wanted to explore what I wanted to do in the future, so I took a lot of the opportunities that were presented to me. And one was the Cooper Union Saturday Program. We had to think of a problem and create a prototype, gadget, or something that could solve or alleviate it. So one of our group members had an autistic cousin, and we thought about some issues that came up with that, and one is that these kids like to wander and sometimes they can get lost. But it’s also very good for them to go out and walk and experience the world. So we built up a prototype of connecting bracelets where one would be on the child and the other one on the parent, and after a certain distance, if the child goes too far, the parent’s bracelet would start beeping, so they could check on their kid and make sure they’re ok. We ended up getting first place, so it was a really nice experience.”
Women in Construction – Tanzira Rashid on what motivates her
SF–What gave you the confidence to dive to join women in construction despite what your family expected of you?
TR–It may sound small but I always thought that when I see the skyline, I wanna be able to be like ‘I built that’, you know? Sometimes it’s those small things that can spark something bigger. There was also this teacher who really pushed me when I was in 10th grade who supported me but also pushed me to my limits.
My parents finally came around when they were introduced to Tools and Tiaras and they saw the great work we were doing there. They had this idea that construction was only for men, but then they saw this room full of strong, empowering -and empowered- women, and they finally understood where my passion came from.
SF–Were there any other stereotypes that you felt like you needed to break? Are there any misconceptions around women in construction or other fields that you want to prove wrong?
TR–Definitely. The fact that people think women are weak, I got that a lot. In my junior year I was in a Carpentry competition where there were like 20 other guys and maybe 2 women, and these boys thought we couldn’t use power tools.
I also feel like working in construction is so looked down upon. But these people build your houses, they build the roads that you drive on. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have the things that we do in our daily lives: the bridges that we use, the hospitals… it’s kinda like an underdog. But if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t have roofs over our heads, our schools, and the list goes on.
Women in Construction – Tanzira Rashid shares her insights
SF–What was that competition about?
TR–In my junior year of high school I was in this organization called SkillsUSA. They had this competition and my teacher was like “we never had a woman go up and represent our school” and I thought it was time to change that. Especially with Tools and Tiaras, I wanted to motivate other girls and leave a legacy in my high school, because there weren’t many women that really wanted to pursue this career so I thought that if I could leave a legacy or a footprint where girls could be like “oh, she did that,” that would make them realize they could do it too.
SF–You mention that there hadn’t been any women that did this before you, do you think this is actually representative of a bigger issue?
TR–Yes, for sure. And I feel like with colored people too, because I was the only person of color there. There wasn’t anyone there that looked like me. I’ve had quite a lot of experience with different companies, programs, internships and organizations and you definitely see how it is a very male-dominated, fairly white field.
SF–How do you feel around men in this industry?
TR–So far I’ve already had experiences where they try to overtake me, or silence me, so I can imagine when I’m working on bigger projects in the industry something like that will also occur, though I hope not, because we’re in this together.
I tend to be a leader, but sometimes people end up taking that as coming off as bossy, which I don’t think is the same. Whereas if a man does the same thing, they’re seen as having it all figured out. When you see a man leading, people think of an “alpha male”, but when there’s a woman in a management position it comes off as bossy, as opposed to her being strong and independent.
Women in Construction – working alongside other women is inspiring
Inspiring girls to get into historically male-dominated fields
SF–What would you tell younger girls going into this field about this?
TR–Just take those leadership positions. At the end of the day, you’re getting the work done and you’re doing it right, so if you deserve to be there. Own it. When you become a leader you are able to notice things differently, so take up that space and be a good leader.
SF–You’ve talked about wanting to leave a footprint, a legacy, what would you want that to be?
TR–I want people to think of me as a courageous, strong, independent woman that took every opportunity that was presented to her, even through rejections. I’ve been rejected a lot of times, but even with that there have come better opportunities. And I wanna be able to inspire the future generations and help them realize that technical and hands-on skills are important. Seek the unknown, don’t stick to boundaries. Even if you don’t have much experience, just be able to take that step, and you never know what may come with it. Be able to take up space and know that you’re meant to be there, that you deserve to be there. Especially for people of color, because for sure we need more representation.
SF–Is there anything else you’d like to add or mention?
TR–In high school I usually went into internships and programs alone. You need to have the courage to go into it and give whatever it takes. Sometimes you don’t know anyone there, but that will also give you the opportunity to meet other amazing people that enjoy the same things as you, and inspire others to join in as well. You can be a strong independent woman if you believe in yourself. Be unapologetically yourself and a fearless warrior.
Women in construction – don’t be afraid to go for what you love
After a full year of adjustments, it’s natural for us to want to know things we can expect in year two of the pandemic. There’s been a lot of adapting necessary and as rules for lockdowns and restrictions around the world change, many of us are wondering what “normal” will look like in 2021 and beyond. What new challenges will we face? What will stay the same in year two of the pandemic?
It’s hard to know for sure, but there are ways in which experts can predict what may be in store for us regarding tests, socializing, work and even the way we relate to each other online. If you want to know what those who know what they’re talking about are predicting, we put together a list of 5 things we can expect in year two of the pandemic.
Among what we can expect in year two of the pandemic are cheaper and faster tests. Photo Credit- Annie Spratt-Unsplash
5 things we can expect in year two of the pandemic
1Cheap Quick Tests and Shorter Quarantines
Slavea Chankova, health care correspondent for The Economist, estimates that cheaper and quicker antigen tests will soon become available for everyone. This doesn’t mean we’ll get right back to hugs and a mask-less existence, but infections will be detected sooner than they have until now. With airports, schools and venues using them “routinely to screen for infections.”
Chankoya also says quarantines will be shorter, lasting one week instead of two. This has been implemented in Sweden and France and will hopefully encourage more people to follow the imposed restrictions. It could also lead to a more relaxed approach to socializing, with “simple principles for people to follow.” Like avoiding crowds and meeting in bigger spaces for a shorter time.
2Our Digital Lifestyle in Year Two of the Pandemic
The pandemic and spending all our time on lockdown have also had an effect on the way we relate to each other online. Through all our time at home, there’s been a need to connect, empathize and even help each other. Sherry Turkle, professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT, thinks that the ways in which we’ve created communities will lead to a healthier digital lifestyle.
Turkle points out that we’ve created new ways to relate to each other. With people giving free concerts, offering their time up, teaching different classes and asking themselves how they can make a difference. This is different from simply disappearing into the web and, according to Turkle, it could be a powerful legacy. “This is a different life on the screen from disappearing into a video game or polishing one’s avatar. This is breaking open a medium with human generosity and empathy,” she says.
With a bit of luck, the world has learned from this experience. Time will tell more clearly how the pandemic has affected different areas of life –and how we’ll deal with the new challenges we face. Science journalist Ed Yong from The Atlantic suggests that in year two of the Covid-19 pandemic, Americans face a choice. One between forgetting the weaknesses of an old normalcy that cost so much to so many or keeping them present and learning from them moving forward. Between falling into old mistakes or joining those who will never be able to forget the way Covid-19 has changed them.
Sylvie Briand of the World Health Organization says that some wealthier countries had a problem dealing with the pandemic because “most of them never had outbreaks.” This means that while they may have had the means to deal with the pandemic, they lacked the savvy of countries that have faced epidemics before and have a “cultural muscle memory of what to do.”
4Socializing in Year Two of the Pandemic
The arrival of the vaccines is definitely a light at the end of a very long tunnel. But while these are an important step in getting back to socializing, it’s important to remember that they’re not an immediate fix. Namandje Bumpus, director of the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, says that while it does get us closer, it won’t happen instantly. “We’re going to have to continue to be diligent the way that we have been.”
Masks, handwashing and avoiding big groups will still be the norm when it comes to socializing. Since scientists are still trying to figure out how the vaccines will affect transmission, observing social distance and taking measures will still be vital on year two of the pandemic. The goal, says Joshua Barocas of the Boston Medical Center, is not to absolutely avoid gatherings but to “continue to do the things that we know lower your risk as best as you possibly can.”
5Will We Get Back to Normal in Year Two of the Pandemic?
While some people think in terms of before and after being vaccinated, Sigal Samuel suggests achieving “normalcy” will be more of a tree-stage process. The first stage will involve socializing safely with vaccinated family and close friends; stage two will happen when herd immunity is reached in our cities and states; finally, stage three –which most likely won’t be reached in 2021– will happen when herd immunity is reached internationally.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, estimates that the US could reach herd immunity by mid-fall, when 75 to 85 percent of the population is vaccinated. If the vaccines do affect transmission, tourism could return at this stage for travelers with proof of vaccination. Until then, everyone should continue to wear masks and observe social distancing to make sure that this can happen faster for everyone.
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