Culture

People are commiserating about COVID-19 with the 'my fall plans / the Delta variant' meme

left: ellen degeneres and the text "my fall plans;" right: dakota johnson and the text "The Delta variant"
People have made memes, including ones including Ellen DeGeneres and Dakota Johnson, to speak about frustrations with the Delta coronavirus variant. TheEllenShow/YouTube/Skitch
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Twitter users are once again posting their way through the coronavirus pandemic. This time, they're reacting to ongoing concerns about the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant with memes about how it's putting a damper on their fall 2021 plans.

In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that fully vaccinated people mask indoors in areas of the country with substantial or high coronavirus transmission, amending its May guidance that vaccinated people largely did not need to mask indoors.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a press call at the time that new data regarding the Delta variant, which spreads faster and easier than earlier variants of the virus, had led to the change, as Insider previously reported.

The variant has forced people to reconsider their plans, with travelers reassessing whether or not planned trips are still safe, according to The Washington Post. 

The frustration over the new variant has bubbled over on Twitter, where people are posting memes about the Delta variant (and the updated necessary precautions) ruining their fall plans. The meme uses the text "my fall plans" and "the Delta variant" and draws on pop culture references, juxtaposing characters from television shows or movies with anyone who gets in their way.

Some of the memes reference series like "Game of Thrones" or "Avatar: The Last Airbender."

Others nodded to films like "The Princess Bride" or "The Parent Trap."

One iteration of the meme referenced a Twitter-famous incident in which Dakota Johnson corrected Ellen DeGeneres on her own show when the host accused Johnson of not inviting her to a birthday party.

And others showcased moments of tragedy, such as when Harley Quinn loses her bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich in "Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn."

This meme follows an online history of people posting their way through the pandemic as they use humor to grapple with new information and shifting restrictions. 

To read more stories like this, check out Insider's digital culture coverage here.

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Palmer Haasch was an entertainment reporter at Business Insider and a film and television critic. Her work included reviews, comprehensive coverage of genre series like "House of the Dragon," and interviews with showrunners, actors, and filmmakers. She is a member of the Television Critics Association.Previously, she was a digital culture reporter at BI, covering TikTok and online culture. Before joining BI in 2020, she covered animation, television, and the internet for publications including Polygon, Thrillist, IGN, The Verge, and GLAAD. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4 Front Row, NPR's All Things Considered, Recode Daily (previously Reset), NBCLX, NY1, and the British Film Institute's Woman With a Movie Camera summit to speak about TikTok, fandom, entertainment, and online culture. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in English and French Studies.