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Yeah, not im my circles. Being old comes with quirkinesses and one of these is the _need_ to handshake. We have build relations based on it, we've made deals based on it and made up based on it.

Surely it was a little less during the initial days of this pandemic, but it is all but gone now.

all the old people around here flagrantly disregarding the covid rules is definitely something that has soured the perspective younger people around here, who do observe the rules, have of the elderly.

every time I go shopping or to the market I end up feeling like punching some old people in the face because they're not wearing masks and having chats 1 meter or less apart. meanwhile my younger siblings are struggling because they can't go to their high school or college. Fucking boomers.

At least in my social circle, the handshake was pretty much extinct long before covid.
With my friends it's all about the exploding fist.
I would love to see the classic "up, down, false shake, pull back, exploding fist" become the standard used by world leaders and diplomats.

(If there's a name for this I don't know it, but hopefully it's recognizable enough to at least US readers.)

I am not-native englisch speaking. What does "exploding" mean in the context of a salutation?
You bump your fists together, and then spread your fingers apart as you pull your hand back, as if your fist is "exploding" outward.

A few gif examples: https://gph.is/g/aK8Yww6 https://gph.is/2q6aAIV https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-02-13/gif-day-obamas-explod...

Also known as "Potato, fries" in germanic culture.
This is wonderful.
Not the OP, maybe related to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Exploding_Fist

A very famous computer game back in the all those Kung-Fu movies heyday.

I am quite sure it will be back. Give it a few years.
While the "I'm not hiding a knife" theory turns out to probably be wrong, I think I'm going to Betteridge this headline, and say No. The handshake is going to come back in full force in about a year, and partly due to that apocryphal reason. ("There's no more contagion, here, let's demonstrate...")

People actually like shaking hands. It's a quick ritual that's easily begins many interactions. When the pandemic has ceased, people are going to go full force in all sorts of activities that they were denied, even if they didn't participate all that much prior to 2020.

I saw maybe 2 movies a year prior to last year. I can totally see making it a monthly thing once theaters open back up. Dining out, gym attendance, in-person business meetings. I think these things are going to surge more than people realize (though not always above the pre-2020 levels.)

One thing we all discovered during the pandemic is how many jobs actually can be done from home. Many of us already knew it, but it took the virus to convince a lot of management as well (unless you're Spectrum/Charter). But I think another thing we discovered is that working from home is not all roses and sunshine. A lot of people sorely miss the office environment and interactions that took place there. They're going to jump at the opportunities to return to the office.

So back to the handshake. It's going to come back. People will use it as a reminder that Things Are Normal now. Hand sanitizer use will be more widespread, though. And I think face masks for those with a cold—at least in "blue states".