And, the ironic thing is, in much of the US life is actually back to a very near normality. People get sick. People are dying. Restaurants/bars in some states are fully open, others are closed, others are at 50%, it just depends. Large events aren't really happening, though for differing reasons (meaning, I don't think right now its because people wouldn't attend; in some locations its because of regulation, in others its more likely just public image of the event-holder).
We went out to a bar in a state capital on Sunday, just to sit outside and get some food and drinks. I went inside to use the restroom, and you literally would not think there's a pandemic. Fifty to sixty people, probably 120% capacity (our city is at 50% capacity on bars; they don't care). No one wearing masks. Someone had their year old baby with them (also, definitely not allowed even outside covid). This wasn't a bar in the middle of nowhere, it was in the middle of a city of millions of people.
Normalcy means different things to different people and in different places. When I say the US will be first back to normalcy, it isn't because we'll be the first country with no cases, or everyone vaccinated (though, our vaccination numbers are insane); its because the people and the government just care less. For many people, nothing has changed; the world has changed a bit around them, but for better or worse (read: for worse) life already is "normal". And, for even far, far more people, like me, the only part of life that isn't "normal" yet is that I throw on a mask when I go in the store or to work. There's plenty of places around the world where that WAS their normal even before covid.
The majority of the US is not NYC/LA/Seattle/SF. It dominates the externally facing image, but its a far more nuanced and complex situation than what is happening in the major cities.