Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #110

[Teche]

Something I didn't know...

COVID-19 tests are extremely reliable when they give a positive result, but a negative result can’t always be trusted.

False negatives test results are tests that show a negative result even when the person is infected with the COVID-19 virus, and they are common.

“If you have any COVID-19-like symptoms, you should assume you have COVID-19,”

The science behind false negative COVID-19 tests : Oregon Health News Blog

Available in Spanish COVID-19 tests are extremely reliable when they give a positive result, but a negative result can’t always be trusted. False negatives test results are tests that show a negati…

covidblog.oregon.gov

Over the duration of the covid pandemic, the symptoms have varied with the newer strains.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Something I didn't know...

COVID-19 tests are extremely reliable when they give a positive result, but a negative result can’t always be trusted.

False negatives test results are tests that show a negative result even when the person is infected with the COVID-19 virus, and they are common.

“If you have any COVID-19-like symptoms, you should assume you have COVID-19,”

The science behind false negative COVID-19 tests : Oregon Health News Blog

Available in Spanish COVID-19 tests are extremely reliable when they give a positive result, but a negative result can’t always be trusted. False negatives test results are tests that show a negati…

covidblog.oregon.gov

It's my understanding that this is true for the Rapid Antigen home tests, but that the PCR tests are much more reliable.

Over the duration of the covid pandemic, the symptoms have varied with the newer strains.

Yes, and many covid symptoms are also symptoms of regular colds, flu, bronchitis, RSV, or even food poisoning. Or generic, such as "headache".

I felt unwell for a few days recently, in a "weird" way. Hard to describe. I felt ill or out of sorts for short stretches each day, interspersed with feeling fine for hours at a time. After a few days of weirdness, on Tuesday I took a home covid test which was negative. I decided that if I still felt weird/ill on Thursday (today), I would take a second test and maybe go get a PCR test to put my mind at ease.

This morning I felt fine. I debated whether I should take the second home test anyway, but decided against it, feeling like we have to draw a line somewhere. With a virus that can be completely asymptomatic, we would all have to be testing every few days (as I think someone upthread posted) if we want to have any assurance we don't have it.

I continued to feel fine all day today, other than a slight headache which is quite common for me.

I tend to err on the side of caution, but I can't make sense of being told we should assume we have covid anytime we have any common illness symptoms. We should avoid being around others anytime we are ill with anything contagious, covid or anything else, but there are plenty of non-covid illnesses that share basic symptoms. MOO

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

The mystery to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic now has some new clues.

www.clickondetroit.com

International scientists who examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a market close to where the first human cases of COVID-19 were detected in China said they found suggestions the pandemic originated from animals, not a lab.

Other experts have not yet verified their analysis, which also has not appeared so far in a peer-reviewed journal. How the coronavirus first started sickening people remains uncertain...

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

It's my understanding that this is true for the Rapid Antigen home tests, but that the PCR tests are much more reliable.



Yes, and many covid symptoms are also symptoms of regular colds, flu, bronchitis, RSV, or even food poisoning. Or generic, such as "headache".

I felt unwell for a few days recently, in a "weird" way. Hard to describe. I felt ill or out of sorts for short stretches each day, interspersed with feeling fine for hours at a time. After a few days of weirdness, on Tuesday I took a home covid test which was negative. I decided that if I still felt weird/ill on Thursday (today), I would take a second test and maybe go get a PCR test to put my mind at ease.

This morning I felt fine. I debated whether I should take the second home test anyway, but decided against it, feeling like we have to draw a line somewhere. With a virus that can be completely asymptomatic, we would all have to be testing every few days (as I think someone upthread posted) if we want to have any assurance we don't have it.

I continued to feel fine all day today, other than a slight headache which is quite common for me.

I tend to err on the side of caution, but I can't make sense of being told we should assume we have covid anytime we have any common illness symptoms. We should avoid being around others anytime we are ill with anything contagious, covid or anything else, but there are plenty of non-covid illnesses that share basic symptoms. MOO

Since the start of the pandemic, I have never felt the need to take a Covid test nor has my husband. DH and I are fully vaccinated and boosted and are in very good health for our ages (74 and 73). We took every precaution to keep ourselves well during the height of the pandemic and continue to practice good hygiene and mask when required. We made a conscious effort to avoid crowded venues like lounges and the theatre while on our cruise in January, and we wore masks on our flights and in airport terminals. We are both confident that we have not contracted Covid, asymptomatic or otherwise. MOO

 

[Mo Thuairim]

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO voiced confidence that it will be able to declare an end to the emergency some time in 2023, saying it was increasingly hopeful about the pandemic phase of the virus coming to a close.

(...)

"I think we're coming to that point where we can look at Covid-19 in the same way we look at seasonal influenza," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference.

"A threat to health, a virus that will continue to kill. But a virus that is not disrupting our society or disrupting our hospital systems, and I believe that that will come, as Tedros said, this year."

The WHO chief said the world was in a much better position now than it has been at any time during the pandemic.

"I am confident that this year we will be able to say that Covid-19 is over as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)," he said.

(...)

Covid-19 could become threat similar to flu 'this year'

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization has said.

www.rte.ie

 

[Sundog]

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization has said.

The WHO voiced confidence that it will be able to declare an end to the emergency some time in 2023, saying it was increasingly hopeful about the pandemic phase of the virus coming to a close.

(...)

"I think we're coming to that point where we can look at Covid-19 in the same way we look at seasonal influenza," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference.

"A threat to health, a virus that will continue to kill. But a virus that is not disrupting our society or disrupting our hospital systems, and I believe that that will come, as Tedros said, this year."

The WHO chief said the world was in a much better position now than it has been at any time during the pandemic.

"I am confident that this year we will be able to say that Covid-19 is over as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)," he said.

(...)

Covid-19 could become threat similar to flu 'this year'

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization has said.

www.rte.ie

I understand that Covid-19 will at some point no longer be a public health emergency, but it is unsettling that older individuals and immunocompromised people will continue to be at risk for serious illness or even death beyond the end of the public health emergency period. Hopeful that new vaccines and treatments will continue to be developed to lower the risk for at-risk populations.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

@BetteDavisEyes So far I have only gotten tested when I felt unwell, or after being told I'd been exposed in an enclosed vehicle with someone who later tested positive. I've had hospital PCR tests maybe three times total so far, and used around 5-6 home tests, about half of those during the week following my known exposure.

While I have taken great precautions, far more than most in my community, I don't feel that has given me complete assurance against catching it. Even a sealed N95 mask only catches 95% of virus particles. I wear a tight-fitting mask but they haven't been seal-tested and certainly not each time I put one on.

And while I feel safER going into a restaurant maskless knowing there are only three employees and two other customers (example), as compared to a busy room, and I don't sit near anyone except my dining partner, again that is not a zero risk.

Today I had to renew my driver's license. I know no one will believe this but when I entered the DMV office there was one other customer leaving, and shortly before I was done two others came in -- but in between, the lone employee and myself were the only ones inside. (I swear!) I was inside maybe 45 minutes total, maybe less. So I felt safe to not wear a mask.

Likewise I needed to go into my bank. One customer left as I arrived. The four employees were the only other occupants while I was there. Only the teller that helped me came anywhere near me. My task took about 15 minutes. So again, I felt ok to not mask.

However, any of those places could have brought me into contact with covid as well as any of the other illnesses going around right now. "Less likely than it could have been" is still not zero risk.

One thing I do, and this may sound silly, but whenever I've been out and about around multiple unmasked people in the course of a day such as today, I've made a habit of gargling with hydrogen peroxide at bedtime. Maybe it's merely a mental game, but I know HP helps prevent infection when swabbed onto a cut, and I know it's sometimes used as a mouth rinse, so I figured it can't hurt to do a few seconds of gargle in case any virus baddies have taken up residence in the back of my throat that day and are planning to start replicating...

 

[Gemmie]

I understand that Covid-19 will at some point no longer be a public health emergency, but it is unsettling that older individuals and immunocompromised people will continue to be at risk for serious illness or even death beyond the end of the public health emergency period. Hopeful that new vaccines and treatments will continue to be developed to lower the risk for at-risk populations.

Agreed. That's my concern about it. According to the quote below, it'll STILL be a threat to health and will STILL continue to kill. It's the "But" that starts the next sentence that screams out to me, which I think is what @Sundog was getting at (maybe. lol. I don't want to put words in your mouth), that all those whose health is threatened, or has died, are not the masses, it's the elderly and immunocompromised. Which seems to me, that to them, it makes it OK since it's fewer people and not clogging the systems. At least that's the feeling I get from that comment.

And I TOTALLY understand why they'd feel that way! TOTALLY. That isn't my issue because I get it. It's this ---> When you're immunocompromised and/or elderly it's scary as *BEEP*.

"A threat to health, a virus that will continue to kill. But a virus that is not disrupting our society or disrupting our hospital systems, and I believe that that will come, as Tedros said, this year."

Covid-19 could become threat similar to flu 'this year'

The Covid-19 pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu, the World Health Organization has said.

www.rte.ie

And my apologies to @Mo Thuairim since you had something to offer here as well... I'd have preferred to multi-quote you in my post but multi-quoting broke for me a long time ago and I've never been able to fix it so I'll include you this way.

 

[Gemmie]

@BetteDavisEyes So far I have only gotten tested when I felt unwell, or after being told I'd been exposed in an enclosed vehicle with someone who later tested positive. I've had hospital PCR tests maybe three times total so far, and used around 5-6 home tests, about half of those during the week following my known exposure.

While I have taken great precautions, far more than most in my community, I don't feel that has given me complete assurance against catching it. Even a sealed N95 mask only catches 95% of virus particles. I wear a tight-fitting mask but they haven't been seal-tested and certainly not each time I put one on.

And while I feel safER going into a restaurant maskless knowing there are only three employees and two other customers (example), as compared to a busy room, and I don't sit near anyone except my dining partner, again that is not a zero risk.

Today I had to renew my driver's license. I know no one will believe this but when I entered the DMV office there was one other customer leaving, and shortly before I was done two others came in -- but in between, the lone employee and myself were the only ones inside. (I swear!) I was inside maybe 45 minutes total, maybe less. So I felt safe to not wear a mask.

Likewise I needed to go into my bank. One customer left as I arrived. The four employees were the only other occupants while I was there. Only the teller that helped me came anywhere near me. My task took about 15 minutes. So again, I felt ok to not mask.

However, any of those places could have brought me into contact with covid as well as any of the other illnesses going around right now. "Less likely than it could have been" is still not zero risk.

One thing I do, and this may sound silly, but whenever I've been out and about around multiple unmasked people in the course of a day such as today, I've made a habit of gargling with hydrogen peroxide at bedtime. Maybe it's merely a mental game, but I know HP helps prevent infection when swabbed onto a cut, and I know it's sometimes used as a mouth rinse, so I figured it can't hurt to do a few seconds of gargle in case any virus baddies have taken up residence in the back of my throat that day and are planning to start replicating...

I've only tested twice. Both times right before Xmas the last 2 yrs (as did my mother, the only other person there). I'm just more cautious than most I think. I rarely leave the house (I'm TOTALLY OK with that. I love my house and yard is SOOO peaceful and it keeps me very busy tending to it). I'm also an only child so I'm used to being alone. So while I'm alone, I am NOT lonely. You can be in a relationship and still be lonely.

I rarely go into public places and haven't for ~3 yrs now. My credit union comes outside to me to conduct business because all it takes is 1 infected person to have been there an hour or so before and their cootie breath was still in the air. Infrequent grocery store trips to very small co-ops where I have the floorplan memorized, down to where each produce item is in the produce dept. My list is in the order in which things are in the store. I go first thing in the morning, giving cooties in the air time to fall to the floor from all the people there the day before, and I'm in and out quicker than you can bat an eye, all while wearing my N95 mask that I seal-check as best I can.

I don't even get that close to people with my mask on. I've put my hand up numerous times to stop people and say "Close enough". I went to pick up a case of wine once so hard a cart. The employee kept trying to get close to me to talk. It's not necessary to get that close! I'm not deaf! So.... the cart came in handy. I put it between us and used it to push her back. LOL (people can be SO clueless!!!). I prefer outdoor farmer's markets and local farm for produce, still wearing my mask, even if there is no one around. Particles can hang in the air.

As I told my mother... raised as an only child totally prepared me for the pandemic. I'm totally cool not being around people. I've also not had 1 single person (other than myself) inside my house since the pandemic started. Nope. Not gonna do it. There's more I do but you probably already think I'm nuts as it is so not going to give you more info than what I already have. lol I just analyze situations and act accordingly. *shrug*

I miss my weekly+ indi movies but couldn't sit for 2 hrs, even masked, in a small room of strangers. Not even if it's 1 other person. I also miss my weekly+ lunches at local restaurants but there's no way in heck I'm going to be inside a room with even 1 person without my mask on! So To Go it is. And I won't go inside to pick it up or pay. lol I pay over the phone and they bring it outside to me.

I know... I'm pretty extreme but I play to win and the game is to continue to be a covid virgin.

 

[Gemmie]

Here's another instance of me analyzing a situation how CV moves through the air, and why I steer clear of people.

One day I was on my back deck. There's a walking path next to my house about... oh, 12-15' between the path and where I was sitting. There's a good neighbor style fence in-between the path and where I was sitting. See the image below if you're not familiar with them. They look solid when looking at them straight on, but you can see gaps if you view them from the side.

Anyway, someone coughed on the other side of the fence and I immediately smelled pot. I didn't care about the pot smoking but what came to mind was me analyzing what had just happened... the pot had just been coughed out from their lungs, and it reached me ~12-15' away with a fence in-between us. If they had had Covid I'd have breathed that in, even in the safety of my own yard with a fence between me and a path ~15' away. It was very eyeopening for me. I'm kinda glad it happened because it gave me data on how stuff like that works in regards to Covid inadvertently being breathed in.

Also see the infrared vid below showing the risks of airborne spread as people talk. It's eye-opening. The infrared part starts about 22 seconds in.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

@Gemmie I don't think you are too extreme at all!

I did very very similarly to you for most of the last three years, and only recently have started returning to the occasional restaurant etc.

It was, for me at least, easier when the culture was supporting that level of caution, with things like having a bank person meet you outside to sign a paper etc, which I have also done. But I am in a community which didn't support most covid cautions in the first place (our Sheriff publically announced that he would not enforce the covid rules the governor established), so masking rules and outdoor services were dropped as soon as people could justify it.

One thing I did in March of 2020 was go to the two or three restaurants I had most frequently patronized, and get myself a $100 gift certificate from each one. That way I continued to support them with my dollars even though I stopped coming in entirely for several months and only eventually started popping in just long enough to order takeout.

I am largely a hermit as well, and happily don't leave my property for days at a time. I'm also very lucky to live where the outdoors is not crowded, so I can always go for a walk, even right in town, and easily avoid having people near. Of course the downside is that in such a small town we all know each other and everyone wants to stop and chat, but a solitary walking route is easy to achieve.

I went months without anyone in my home aside from me, then with some discomfort I allowed in 1-2 close friends who I knew were equally cautious. But at some point I needed a plumber, then an electrician, etc. So there have been a few, but still, single digit numbers of encounters over three years. At least as the weather warms I will be able to open all windows, or to work outdoors for a few hours after someone has been inside, to give everything a chance to settle and hopefully die off.

I had a very part time job at the local library, one day per week, and they were agreeable to me making my own rules about whether patrons were masked, whether we were open only for curbside service, or whether only x numbers of patrons were allowed inside at one time (all strategies I used at various times). But as the pandemic wore on, patrons resisted, and also I was aware that NO ONE wore their masks properly. I hated that the job turned into a choice between policing people or feeling like I was risking my own health, so I ended up quitting. I was ready to be "retired" but it was largely covid that caused me to pull the trigger at the time I did.

One concern I have about WHO ending the formal designation of pandemic, is that people will (naturally) want to move on and pretend like covid and altered lifestyles never happened. Then in a few years, I predict one of two things will happen (hopefully not both):

One is that the longterm effects of covid will become unmistakeable and a return to stricter preventative standards will become necessary again to prevent those consequences, and/or

Two is that an entirely new pandemic will appear which also calls for those strict standards,

but because of fatigue and the politicization of covid that has happened in much of the world, a significant chunk of people will completely refuse to enact those stricter standards.

All MOO and my experience

 

[Gemmie]

@Gemmie I don't think you are too extreme at all!

I did very very similarly to you for most of the last three years, and only recently have started returning to the occasional restaurant etc.

It was, for me at least, easier when the culture was supporting that level of caution, with things like having a bank person meet you outside to sign a paper etc, which I have also done. But I am in a community which didn't support most covid cautions in the first place (our Sheriff publically announced that he would not enforce the covid rules the governor established), so masking rules and outdoor services were dropped as soon as people could justify it.

One thing I did in March of 2020 was go to the two or three restaurants I had most frequently patronized, and get myself a $100 gift certificate from each one. That way I continued to support them with my dollars even though I stopped coming in entirely for several months and only eventually started popping in just long enough to order takeout.

I am largely a hermit as well, and happily don't leave my property for days at a time. I'm also very lucky to live where the outdoors is not crowded, so I can always go for a walk, even right in town, and easily avoid having people near. Of course the downside is that in such a small town we all know each other and everyone wants to stop and chat, but a solitary walking route is easy to achieve.

I went months without anyone in my home aside from me, then with some discomfort I allowed in 1-2 close friends who I knew were equally cautious. But at some point I needed a plumber, then an electrician, etc. So there have been a few, but still, single digit numbers of encounters over three years. At least as the weather warms I will be able to open all windows, or to work outdoors for a few hours after someone has been inside, to give everything a chance to settle and hopefully die off.

I had a very part time job at the local library, one day per week, and they were agreeable to me making my own rules about whether patrons were masked, whether we were open only for curbside service, or whether only x numbers of patrons were allowed inside at one time (all strategies I used at various times). But as the pandemic wore on, patrons resisted, and also I was aware that NO ONE wore their masks properly. I hated that the job turned into a choice between policing people or feeling like I was risking my own health, so I ended up quitting. I was ready to be "retired" but it was largely covid that caused me to pull the trigger at the time I did.

One concern I have about WHO ending the formal designation of pandemic, is that people will (naturally) want to move on and pretend like covid and altered lifestyles never happened. Then in a few years, I predict one of two things will happen (hopefully not both):

One is that the longterm effects of covid will become unmistakeable and a return to stricter preventative standards will become necessary again to prevent those consequences, and/or

Two is that an entirely new pandemic will appear which also calls for those strict standards,

but because of fatigue and the politicization of covid that has happened in much of the world, a significant chunk of people will completely refuse to enact those stricter standards.

All MOO and my experience

I too am worried about the long-term effects of Covid on people's mental health for one (some are NOT dealing with it well at ALL) and that's extremely scary. Even young kids aren't coping well. A school, grade Kindergarten - 3rd is experiencing the below, and it's not just this school. My bother works for a school in a different state and tells me horror stories about the last 3 yrs of what they've been dealing with since the pandemic.

Below are just a few examples of what teachers at Meadow Ridge are coping with. We are struggling. We need help. Many of us are contemplating and looking for new career paths if we don’t get relief and if our safety and mental health isn’t taken seriously. This is a hostile and unsafe work environment. No one deserves to work in these conditions. Kids don’t deserve to be traumatized and try to learn in these conditions. Below are some examples of the behaviors Meadow Ridge is experiencing:

○ Students being violent in the classroom and common areas
○ Hitting
○ Kicking
○ Chasing with scissors
○ Stabbing with pencils
○ Locking teachers out of classroom
○ Threatening teachers with sharp objects
○ Disrupting the learning environment daily, when teachers call to have students removed, staff is not available or students are
brought back in the classroom after a few minutes.
○ Choking other students
○ Assaulting students in the restroom
○ Destroying classrooms
○ Students have lost IEP minutes due to behavioral issues
○ Self harming in front of peers
○ Several students across grade levels with severe delays in learning. More delayed than general education teachers are
equipped, trained, or educated to teach in a general education classroom setting without support.
○ Star classrooms are severely short staffed without subs. This program needs to be fully
staffed or students and staff are put at risk of unnecessary injuries.

Source on page 3: Board Packet 01-23-23 Updated.pdf

Also what long-covid will do to our medical providers and hospitals. I worry that all the long-Covid will clog the system and someone that needs help (not even CV related) won't be able to get help. And unless I find a fountain of youth... I'm only getting older every day, not younger.

Here is my personal story of what I had to deal with due to Covid, and I didn't even have it. Long story short... I had a fever for days. Called my Dr's office., explained that it was NOT Covid (that I tested negative and some of the reasons I've mentioned in previous posts of why the chance of me having it was slim to none). What did the gal on the phone do? She flagged me as having covid symptoms so the Dr never called me back. I called back 24 hrs later in the case they tried to call but the call didn't go through. Then I waited.... and waited... and waited..., till finally I went to urgent care since they weren't calling me back.

1st urgent care was a nightmare. I explained to the Dr why I was least likely to have, or ever had Covid, because I needed him to not dismiss it as CV or long-covid. While I appreciate him believing that long-Covid exists... (some don't).. I could NOT get him to look beyond him being convinced I had CV or long-CV. He told me "your lungs sound find, no antibiotics for you". He went to leave the room and I asked about my fever that was now about week long. His answer? It'll go away when it goes away (thinking it was CV or long-CV). I asked how long it could be. He said it could take weeks.

I went to a different urgent care 2 days later since my Dr still hadn't called me back (we're now on day 9). They took me serious and didn't flag me as CV. Tests were taken and it turned out I had 2 things going on at the same time, NEITHER CV or long-CV, and antibiotics were needed. Took the first one and the fever was GONE. The emergency Dr asked if I'd like her to call my primary since she knew I was there because I wasn't being called back. Her call to my primary is what got them to finally call me back, and for my Dr to FINALLY see, for the first time, that I had called 9 days before (won't bore you with the details on how I know that as this is getting long enough as it is).

That experience scared me. I was flagged as having CV and ignored. Probably thinking it'll go away in due time, no need to see me. As for the 1st Dr who insisted I had CV or long-CV... what if I had done as he said and waited for the fever to break on its own? I'd likely not be posting here as I would no longer be around.

So what scares me is people being ignored for having CV or long-CV when they actually have something else that they need to be seen about (everything pretty much has "Covid symptoms" unless you have a bone sticking out of your skin)... and alllll those long-CV clogging up the system, which prevents people who need care from being seen and taken care of. *lets out a pent up breath*

I don't know the answer to how this could be solved but I really hope someone (WHO? CDC?) are working on it because it's a problem, and it's scary. Would love to see a post about what's being done if any of you have already seen that info and have it at your fingertips!

 

[ilovewings]

@BetteDavisEyes So far I have only gotten tested when I felt unwell, or after being told I'd been exposed in an enclosed vehicle with someone who later tested positive. I've had hospital PCR tests maybe three times total so far, and used around 5-6 home tests, about half of those during the week following my known exposure.

While I have taken great precautions, far more than most in my community, I don't feel that has given me complete assurance against catching it. Even a sealed N95 mask only catches 95% of virus particles. I wear a tight-fitting mask but they haven't been seal-tested and certainly not each time I put one on.

And while I feel safER going into a restaurant maskless knowing there are only three employees and two other customers (example), as compared to a busy room, and I don't sit near anyone except my dining partner, again that is not a zero risk.

Today I had to renew my driver's license. I know no one will believe this but when I entered the DMV office there was one other customer leaving, and shortly before I was done two others came in -- but in between, the lone employee and myself were the only ones inside. (I swear!) I was inside maybe 45 minutes total, maybe less. So I felt safe to not wear a mask.

Likewise I needed to go into my bank. One customer left as I arrived. The four employees were the only other occupants while I was there. Only the teller that helped me came anywhere near me. My task took about 15 minutes. So again, I felt ok to not mask.

However, any of those places could have brought me into contact with covid as well as any of the other illnesses going around right now. "Less likely than it could have been" is still not zero risk.

One thing I do, and this may sound silly, but whenever I've been out and about around multiple unmasked people in the course of a day such as today, I've made a habit of gargling with hydrogen peroxide at bedtime. Maybe it's merely a mental game, but I know HP helps prevent infection when swabbed onto a cut, and I know it's sometimes used as a mouth rinse, so I figured it can't hurt to do a few seconds of gargle in case any virus baddies have taken up residence in the back of my throat that day and are planning to start replicating...

I look at the pandemic as it exists today and realize there is no zero risk situation-- as long
as Covid is with us, and that looks like that will now be forever like the flu, and we have to
evaluate the risk of every activity we are involved in and how we wish to handle that risk.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

It's interesting to read everyone's experiences and perspectives. I haven't had Covid yet either (to my knowledge), which kind of surprises me. I must have taken about 50 tests over the last few years whenever I thought I might have been exposed or felt a bit unwell. Always negative.

I am back to living pretty much normally these days, partly out of fatigue at being so careful for so long and partly out of necessity as society here (Ireland) has moved on. I still avoid large groups and I work from home but other than that it's like 2019 again (well, I don't do packed pubs). I don't wear masks anymore outside of medical settings unless there is a surge in infections. I'll probably mask up again this winter.

I still don't want to get Covid, not even once, but I'm no longer willing to restrict my life in any major way to fulfil that goal, or miss out on important milestones and celebrations. I'm lucky enough to have no underlying conditions (that I know of) and to be youngish but of course that's no guarantee of anything. I have friends my age who have been hammered by Covid and are still dealing with the fallout.

I've had four vaccinations and I'll continue to get boosters when recommended but other than that hope for the best. Realistically I'll get Covid sooner or later and I'm happy to be protected somewhat against the most severe outcomes. I am still really careful around my mother though and she continues to take the precautions she feels are appropriate for her health and age and for the time of year. Covid surges really are starting to seem seasonal now. Doesn't make it any less deadly for some people but hopefully it will settle into more predictable patterns like flu and people can take extra steps to protect themselves at those times.

 

[Lilibet]

I too, like reading about others’ perspectives and precautions. Having had covid and even been hospitalized, plus having had four or is it five (?) jabs, I guess I need to feel, for the sake of my mental health, that I’m relatively safe now. I simply can’t/won’t sustain all the many, many precautions I did before I got sick, and even afterward. But if I have an event I don’t want to miss, I will lie low and mask for a week prior. I’m likely to wear a mask in public most of the time, for others’ sake as well as my own. We have eaten out a bit more in the past year, and try to be outdoors when possible. But I recently threw caution to the wind and went to a dance party friends put on and I was only masked part of the time! I did a little hokey-pokey with my purple walker and rolled triumphantly down the row between the lines of cheering friends to “We are family.” It was WONDERFUL! I hadn’t known how much I needed the fun, good food, music and camaraderie.

Finding a balance will be different for each of us. And I know it will vary for me depending on how much covid is around and how bad the variant is. Even though, as an “out-going introvert only child” I’m happy staying home, I like having a few fully vaxxed friends over now and then (a big change from my isolation). I’m pushing out the boundaries of my covid comfort zone, taking calculated risks. I’ve lost three dear old friends during the pandemic (not to covid), and it has made me so aware of how fragile life is and that it could end anytime. I want whatever time I have left to be joyful, not fearful!

 

[weepingangel]

My doctor holds out his fist to bump. It keeps you further apart than an elbow bump. And it’s a polite and sort of light-hearted signal to handshakers that you don’t shake. I’ve adopted that in the rare situation where I’m faced with an extended hand (I don’t get out much). I use a knuckle for our elevator button. But I have to admit I’ve loosened up on door handles. I use a walker and juggling the hem of my jacket, walker and door handle is tricky, but I really should come up with a solution. The irony is that dh and I were the “poster children” among our friends for taking precautions (wiping mail and groceries, etc) and we were among the first of our friends to get covid in January 2021. We still don’t know how. It certainly wasn’t due to taking chances.

My spouse got me a Covid Key thing, a brass hook looking little tool used for door handles and elevator/keypad buttons.I wasn’t really going anywhere but work so never really used it (very frequent hand sanitizing at work, gloved before touching anything if I could get away with it) I don’t recall the exact name of it, it came with two tools and I gave one away to a friend.

 

[mickey2942]

My mother tested positive for Covid. Her doctor would not prescribe Plavix, not sure why, she ended up getting it called into the pharmacy by her insurance. She has been very sick. Her work needs a doctors note, and she needs to test negative before she comes back to work.

There is still so much misinformation about Covid. It is crazy. People can no longer be contagious, but can test positive for weeks.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

My mother tested positive for Covid. Her doctor would not prescribe Plavix, not sure why, she ended up getting it called into the pharmacy by her insurance. She has been very sick. Her work needs a doctors note, and she needs to test negative before she comes back to work.

Assuming you mean Paxlovid? Crazy why her doc wouldn't prescribe it. A few months ago, my mom caught covid while it was going through the skilled nursing unit where she now lives. They told me she was asymptomatic but she was given Paxlovid anyway. When I asked (not objecting, just curious that it would be given to someone who was asymptomatic), they said it helped the person move past the contagious phase and test negative sooner.

 

[mickey2942]

Assuming you mean Paxlovid? Crazy why her doc wouldn't prescribe it. A few months ago, my mom caught covid while it was going through the skilled nursing unit where she now lives. They told me she was asymptomatic but she was given Paxlovid anyway. When I asked (not objecting, just curious that it would be given to someone who was asymptomatic), they said it helped the person move past the contagious phase and test negative sooner.

Yes, one would think she would have automatic eligibility. She is over 75. She told me it costs $572 for the prescription, but insurance covered it.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Do physicians prescribe Paxlovid without seeing the patient? I've been curious about whether or not a doctor would rely on a patient's word regarding a positive Covid test at home and simply call in a prescription instead of having the patient be examined in the office. Perhaps a telehealth visit would suffice so a positive-testing patient doesn't infect others in a doctor's office. Does anyone have experience with this?