Paula Span does it again in today’s New Old Age column, pointedly telling us that it’s our age group who are dying from COVID at the highest rates now. Bafflingly, fewer than half of us have received the bivalent booster, nearly 6 months since it became available.

We recently took a trip to Tucson, AZ, involving 3 flights in each direction, a lot of airport time, and opportunities to see how people in another part of the country are behaving. We can report that most people – whether on planes, in airports, or in shops – are acting like it’s 2019. Few masks are ever in evidence.

So, a plea: Show that you care about all of us. Please get bivalent-boosted if you haven’t. Please wear a mask whenever feasible in public spaces.