In total, more than a third of the entire U.S. population is fully vaccinated. We’re still giving out more than a million doses a day, though the number has fallen by about half in the past month. Combined with a year’s worth of natural infection, this puts a huge dent in the virus’s ability to spread, though we’re still unsure at what point we’ll have “herd immunity.” Death rates have fallen to their lowest point in many months — averaging fewer than 100 per day through the entire U.S. Case rates, a leading indicator of deaths, are falling too. The experts tell us we that we won’t completely wipe this thing out, but we’re certainly headed to a place where it’s no bigger a threat to the nation than — say it with me — the flu. At this point, if you’re still fully vulnerable to COVID, you almost certainly fall into one of three categories: You’ll be immune very soon, you have deliberately refused the vaccine, or you’re a child who has extremely low risk of a severe case if you get infected. On the society-wide level, the threat is fading as immunity grows, and the remaining problem is increasingly concentrated among people who are vulnerable by choice. Given all the above, it is a travesty that so many schools are still operating in hybrid, that mask mandates are still in effect, and that some venues still have to limit their capacity. All of it needs to go.