America ’s Single, Fully-Vaccinated Seniors Are Looking for Love Again

A few Saturdays ago, a charming teacher asked Katherine Palmer, 64, on a date at a local tavern. After a year of staying six feet apart from others, meeting up outside and wearing face masks, spending time with someone in person made her nervous at first. However, as she she started to relax into the date, she began to realize something else: they were hitting it off. Now that she’s fully vaccinated, she says, she’s ready to put her worries aside and put herself out there. Palmer says the pandemic made her recognize that, when it comes to finding love again, there’s no time to waste. “When your husband dies, you realize life is short,” she says. “That part was definitely missing: to have somebody by your side during a pandemic that you could talk to and, you know, tell them, ‘I’m afraid about what happened today,’ and they would console you. I missed all that with my husband not being here…So maybe I want another one.” Pandemic-era dating has been hard for pretty much everyone, but it’s been a particular challenge for older people, who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19. Many older people have changed their lifestyles accordingly over the past year—people over 60 were the most likely to practice measures that limit the spread of the virus, including physical distancing, avoiding crowds and canceling social activities, according to an Oct. 2020 survey from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news