Through it all, the goal he kept in mind was returning to some semblance of normal. Now, he said, he is starting to lose hope.

“I don’t know when, or if ever, life is going to get back to the way we knew it,” Mr. Silva said.

In Santa Monica, Calif., Sandi Burnett, 71, said she had resumed shopping at the grocery store after months of getting food deliveries. But she continued to worry about her grandchildren, who are too young to be vaccinated.

“We’re only doing outdoor activities,” Ms. Burnett said.

Two weeks after Lollapalooza, Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago health department, said in an interview that she believed the decision to hold the festival was the right one. Officials said that 203 coronavirus cases had been traced to the event. At least 90 percent of the people who attended were vaccinated, Dr. Arwady said, reflecting a requirement that attendees show proof of inoculation or a negative test result.

Dr. Arwady said she was continuing to monitor the city’s hospitals to make sure that the health system did not become overwhelmed. But beyond that, she said, she saw no reason to interfere with events in Chicago that had been canceled the year before. “You’re never going to eliminate Covid risk,” she said.

Reporting was contributed by Eric Adelson from Lakeland, Fla.; Benjamin Guggenheim from Santa Monica, Calif.; Patricia Mazzei from Miami; Will Sennott from New Bedford, Mass.; and Deena Winter from St. Cloud, Minn.