Correspondence on Post Vaccine Plan Buffer
The buffer period begins two weeks after the second dose and ends when someone asks a direct question about specific plans, at which point it is extended.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR POST VACCINE PLAN BUFFER (PVPB) Version 3.1: Updated September 2021
Please read these terms carefully before extending the buffer for the fourth consecutive month.
Section 1: Definition
The Post Vaccine Plan Buffer (hereinafter "the Buffer") is defined as the period of time following full vaccination during which no concrete social plans are required to be made, confirmed, or honored, pending further assessment of conditions. The Buffer commences two weeks after the second dose. The Buffer has no end date specified in this agreement.
Section 2: Eligible Activities During Buffer
During the Buffer period, the user may:
- Express enthusiasm for future social engagement without specifying dates.
- Respond to invitations with "definitely, let's figure out timing" without following up.
- Reference the Buffer itself as the reason plans cannot be finalized at this time.
- Accept that conditions remain "a lot" without defining what conditions would constitute "not a lot."
Section 3: Extension Provisions
The Buffer may be extended upon occurrence of any of the following triggering events: new variant emergence, a third person in the group chat asking about fall plans, any news item using the word "surge," or a general sense that something might happen. Extension requires no formal notification and takes effect immediately upon internal acknowledgment.
Section 4: Contradiction Clause
The user acknowledges that full vaccination was described at the time of vaccination as the condition under which ordinary social participation would resume, and that ordinary social participation has not resumed. The user further acknowledges that the Buffer now constitutes a separate condition that was not included in the original description of what vaccination would enable.
The buffer is not a waiting period. It is a negotiating position held against the future.
Section 5: Plan Eligibility
Plans made during the Buffer are classified as tentative by default and require re-confirmation within 72 hours of the event. Plans that are re-confirmed may be reclassified as tentative again at any point if new information becomes available, including but not limited to: weather forecasts, work schedules, the arrival of a general feeling.
Section 6: Limitation of Liability
Full vaccination does not automatically restore the pre-pandemic social calendar. It restores eligibility for the social calendar, which is different. The issuer of these terms accepts no liability for the gap between eligibility and activation.
Section 7: Governing Law
These terms are governed by whatever feels reasonable at the time.
By continuing to hold the Buffer, the user accepts these terms in full.