Coronavirus 8: One Million Dead in 2022 and We're Only in August

[marmalade]

My last booster was in May, so I think I will go in for the new one in December/January. Got flu/RSV today, and the pharmacist told me to wait "a couple months." 

[church_of_dog]

On 9/26/2023 at 10:47 PM, Kiki03910 said:

I'm curious whether and when people are still wearing masks. I ask only because I'm curious; absolutely no judgment.

I mask in public (KN-95), on the train, and rarely dine in. I'm lucky enough to have a private office in a well-ventilated building at work, so I don't mask there. I do spend time at my sister's and a few friends' houses unmasked. I've dined in a handful of times since the first vaccines, but only in largely empty restaurants with generous spacing. Also my BF frequently travels to see his mother, who is very high risk, so we're extra careful in the timing around those trips.

Nothing is perfect. I'm an extravert, so I have to balance that judiciously with my desire to avoid covid/long covid.

ETA for context, I live in New Mexico, USA.

I had largely stopped masking locally (very rural/low population density, like just a few hundred people in my community) except in medical facilities and when I go to slightly larger town (still tiny @2500 people) to pharmacy and grocery stores.  Other stores not usually masked.  

But I never stopped paying attention to 1) going into indoor public spaces first thing in the morning if possible, as well as 2) when as few others as possible are in the building, and 3) always getting in and out in just a few minutes.  Except restaurants etc which I've been in but always watching how crowded it is.  (In hindsight, knowing covid is airborne, this probably was a risk I shouldn't have taken.  I've been lucky and as far as I know have not had covid.)

Now with this spike, I've returned to masking in most public indoor spaces, with some exceptions if I'm just inside for a moment or two, like to order takeout or get my mail from the PO Box.

Other than medical workers (and that only because our skilled nursing unit has active cases at the moment), I've seen no one else masked in months.  So I do feel self conscious about being the only one, but I am pushing through that by reminding myself how much I appreciate when I see someone else masked, and hoping I can be that for someone else.

I have also bought a CO2 monitor to gauge how well ventilated a space is (and this has also made me aware of the negative effects of my gas range, opening a whole new can of worms).  I also bought a HEPA filter for my home, and will bring it with me next week when I travel to see my mom -- will run it for an hour or so inside my motel room while I do errands or wait outside.  Maybe even run it in mom's room in skilled nursing while visiting her, though I generally keep my mask on while there, except to show mom it's me when I first get there).

I recently had a new heating appliance (mini-split heat pump) installed at my house.  A crew of three guys was there for 4-5 hours.  I wasn't going to mask nor to ask them to do so, but I had multiple doors and windows open plus the HEPA filter running most of the time (except when they couldn't hear what they needed to due to the fan noise) and based on the CO2 monitor my house remained very well ventilated.  Plus I mostly stayed outside on the porch except when I was needed indoors.  After they left I continued running the HEPA filter for another hour or two.

Over the past year I had sometimes attended my local senior center lunch which is held twice a week.  Usually around ten people there, eating so of course no masks, not that anyone masks there.  Now I'm not attending anymore, at least while the spike continues and probably for the duration of winter.

Fortunately for me I am a very strong introvert so while I do socialize in town a bit, I am perfectly content not to do so.  And visiting can take place on a porch, or on a walk, or even at the restaurant's outdoor tables, until cold weather sets in.

I also post a lot of covid stuff on facebook so my friends know it's something I take seriously.

 

ETA:  I have gotten all the boosters including a second bivalent this past June, and will get the new one as soon as my area has it available.

Edited October 1, 2023 by church_of_dog

[Kiki03910]

3 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

I had largely stopped masking locally (very rural/low population density, like just a few hundred people in my community) except in medical facilities and when I go to slightly larger town (still tiny @2500 people) to pharmacy and grocery stores.  Other stores not usually masked.  

But I never stopped paying attention to 1) going into indoor public spaces first thing in the morning if possible, as well as 2) when as few others as possible are in the building, and 3) always getting in and out in just a few minutes.  Except restaurants etc which I've been in but always watching how crowded it is.  (In hindsight, knowing covid is airborne, this probably was a risk I shouldn't have taken.  I've been lucky and as far as I know have not had covid.)

Now with this spike, I've returned to masking in most public indoor spaces, with some exceptions if I'm just inside for a moment or two, like to order takeout or get my mail from the PO Box.

Other than medical workers (and that only because our skilled nursing unit has active cases at the moment), I've seen no one else masked in months.  So I do feel self conscious about being the only one, but I am pushing through that by reminding myself how much I appreciate when I see someone else masked, and hoping I can be that for someone else.

I have also bought a CO2 monitor to gauge how well ventilated a space is (and this has also made me aware of the negative effects of my gas range, opening a whole new can of worms).  I also bought a HEPA filter for my home, and will bring it with me next week when I travel to see my mom -- will run it for an hour or so inside my motel room while I do errands or wait outside.  Maybe even run it in mom's room in skilled nursing while visiting her, though I generally keep my mask on while there, except to show mom it's me when I first get there).

I recently had a new heating appliance (mini-split heat pump) installed at my house.  A crew of three guys was there for 4-5 hours.  I wasn't going to mask nor to ask them to do so, but I had multiple doors and windows open plus the HEPA filter running most of the time (except when they couldn't hear what they needed to due to the fan noise) and based on the CO2 monitor my house remained very well ventilated.  Plus I mostly stayed outside on the porch except when I was needed indoors.  After they left I continued running the HEPA filter for another hour or two.

Over the past year I had sometimes attended my local senior center lunch which is held twice a week.  Usually around ten people there, eating so of course no masks, not that anyone masks there.  Now I'm not attending anymore, at least while the spike continues and probably for the duration of winter.

Fortunately for me I am a very strong introvert so while I do socialize in town a bit, I am perfectly content not to do so.  And visiting can take place on a porch, or on a walk, or even at the restaurant's outdoor tables, until cold weather sets in.

I also post a lot of covid stuff on facebook so my friends know it's something I take seriously.

 

ETA:  I have gotten all the boosters including a second bivalent this past June, and will get the new one as soon as my area has it available.

Thank you for responding, church, I appreciate it. It can be so tough to balance public health, personal situations, psychological needs. I appreciate everyone who calculates these needs, regardless of their eventual choices. The only wrong choice I see, personally, is to not care at all.

Just saying again, best to everyone and I hope you and yours all stay well and healthy.

[FiveAcres]

I felt a little off-color the day after I got the RSV vax. I don't know if it was related to the vax, but not enough to call it a reaction, if so.

 

[CTRLZero]

8 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

but I am pushing through that by reminding myself how much I appreciate when I see someone else masked, and hoping I can be that for someone else.

Well said.  😷💗  

We just checked with the local pharmacy and were told the new batch of vaccines is still a couple weeks away.  

[Dandruff]

16 hours ago, SassyPants said:

We got our annual flu shots + RSV 2 weeks ago. Now we need to decide if we are going to get a booster for Covid. It would be our 6th shot, and it’s been a full year since our last. I had an odd reaction with that last shot. I’m sort of on the fence. I have never tested + for Covid and I was sick with respiratory viruses all last winter. I do not care to have a repeat of that this year.

I didn't feel recovered from this Covid shot until Friday (got it Monday), which is unusual for me.  Like you, it was shot #6 and had been a year.  Didn't have any strange effects from the bivalent, which was also Moderna, but it had only been 5 months since my previous shot.

I'll be interested to hear how other folks respond to the new Covid shot.

I have a doctor's appointment later this week and am wondering whether I'll be advised to get the flu and RSV vaccines then or wait a bit.  Not worried about the flu shot, since I usually don't react much if at all, but the RSV is new so I'm worried.  Had a very bad time with the Shingrix shots...much worse than any Covid shot.  OTOH, it was known that some people got hit hard by the Shingrix and I haven't yet heard about a severe, prolonged reaction to the RSV.

[SassyPants]

3 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

I didn't feel recovered from this Covid shot until Friday (got it Monday), which is unusual for me.  Like you, it was shot #6 and had been a year.  Didn't have any strange effects from the bivalent, which was also Moderna, but it had only been 5 months since my previous shot.

I'll be interested to hear how other folks respond to the new Covid shot.

I have a doctor's appointment later this week and am wondering whether I'll be advised to get the flu and RSV vaccines then or wait a bit.  Not worried about the flu shot, since I usually don't react much if at all, but the RSV is new so I'm worried.  Had a very bad time with the Shingrix shots...much worse than any Covid shot.  OTOH, it was known that some people got hit hard by the Shingrix and I haven't yet heard about a severe, prolonged reaction to the RSV.

With the RSV shot I had a headache for about 24 hours and a sore, heavy, upper arm for about a week. The Shingrix was the worst shot ever. With both shots I had a horrible headache for about 72 hours. The kind of headache where it feels like someone is hammering your skull. After my bivalent Covid vax last year I had pain and swelling along my collar bone on the affected side. I read this was a very rare side effect that was mainly reported by a small group of women in Japan. I am not Japanese, but I am a woman.

[marmalade]

19 hours ago, FiveAcres said:

I felt a little off-color the day after I got the RSV vax. I don't know if it was related to the vax, but not enough to call it a reaction, if so.

 

I had zero reaction, and I had both flu and RSV (first time for the latter). If anything, I slept less than usual. I've never heard of insomnia as an effect of any of these vaccines. I think I was just excited to get my new bed delivered. 😀

[Coconut Flan]

The insistent push for normal is frightening.  The refusal to offer the vaccine to any who want it seems inhumane.  We live with quite the push for complete normal also.  

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/16/covid-deaths-rise-scrap-mask-wearing-hospitals

[Kiki03910]

13 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

The insistent push for normal is frightening.  The refusal to offer the vaccine to any who want it seems inhumane.  We live with quite the push for complete normal also.  

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/16/covid-deaths-rise-scrap-mask-wearing-hospitals

Until there's a more effective vaccine, and/or strong treatments for Long Covid, I'll keep masking.

[Ozlsn]

18 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

The insistent push for normal is frightening.  The refusal to offer the vaccine to any who want it seems inhumane.  We live with quite the push for complete normal also.  

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/16/covid-deaths-rise-scrap-mask-wearing-hospitals

It's watching the destruction of public health as a field in real time. I am still so shocked that they scrapped masking in hospitals.

[CTRLZero]

Our health care clinic apparently no longer offers the Covid vaccine, so we’ve been roaming between Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS.  I just set up appointment at a local Walgreens.  Hopefully they will still be in business by the time I show up for my vaccination.  It’s such a scramble to get health care lately.  The headlines of bankruptcies, store/pharmacy closures, etc., are really unnerving.  

Edited October 17, 2023 by CTRLZero
Grammar fixin’

[Chocolate Lover]

I was supposed to get my covid and flu vaccines this afternoon (UK) but it was cancelled.  Now rebooked for 27th.

[church_of_dog]

Today is my county's drive-thru flu clinic in my community.

It's been 8 days since I got my latest covid booster.  I know the flu questionnaire will probably ask if I've received any other vaccines recently, but with so many places offering multiple shots on the same day, I don't expect that to be a problem.

[Baxter]

Covid and flu shot just became available yesterday where I live. My husband and I got our covid shots yesterday at a pharmacy. We'll get the flu shot in a week or so. My mom was really sleepy and feeling unwell when she got them together last year. I would like to minimize down time. So far I feel fine. My arm is a bit sore. My kids will get theirs on Wednesday since my daughter is too young to go to a pharmacy. She needs to go the public health clinic.

They have brought back some masking in hospitals where I live thankfully. But not for everyone in all patient spaces so there is definite room for improvement. 

[FiveAcres]

24 minutes ago, Baxter said:

Covid and flu shot just became available yesterday where I live. My husband and I got our covid shots yesterday at a pharmacy. We'll get the flu shot in a week or so. My mom was really sleepy and feeling unwell when she got them together last year. I would like to minimize down time. So far I feel fine. My arm is a bit sore. My kids will get theirs on Wednesday since my daughter is too young to go to a pharmacy. She needs to go the public health clinic.

They have brought back some masking in hospitals where I live thankfully. But not for everyone in all patient spaces so there is definite room for improvement. 

I have been getting my vaccinations as singletons because I get reactions (generally a day's worth of general malaise and lethargy.) I am due to get one more: the flu shot. I hope I don't get an off day due that one like I did with the RSV and the annual Covid vaccination.

[TN-peach]

On 10/1/2023 at 3:51 PM, SassyPants said:

The Shingrix was the worst shot ever. With both shots I had a horrible headache for about 72 hours. The kind of headache where it feels like someone is hammering your skull.

I've heard that the Shingles vaccine is painful but I have to wait 2 more years until I can get it.  (I'm not 50 yet).  Shingles is horrible and I never want to experience that again.  Two years later I still have random nerve pain. 

[clueliss]

Received my flu vax at work Wednesday morning.  And got my Covid this evening after work at one of the three hyvee pharmacies here.  (And of course it was the furthest one away.  Check’s elsewhere yielded its coming or no news).  

3 hours ago, TN-peach said:

I've heard that the Shingles vaccine is painful but I have to wait 2 more years until I can get it.  (I'm not 50 yet).  Shingles is horrible and I never want to experience that again.  Two years later I still have random nerve pain. 

I got the shingles vax last year and didn’t think it was that bad.  

[Kiki03910]

Got my covid shot! SpikeVax. Yay!

[Ozlsn]

Officially 9th wave here, not that you would know it. No additional precautions in most places, almost nothing in mainstream media.

Just fewer hospital beds available and places shut due to staff all being sick.

Watching the UK investigation into the covid response, and it's gobsmacking. I would hope some people are held accountable but they're wealthy and connected so it seems unlikely. At least they too will grow old and become "disposable".

[Coconut Flan]

32 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

At least they too will grow old and become "disposable".

Hopefully someone will call them disposable in a few years so they can see how it feels.

[Ozlsn]

9 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

Hopefully someone will call them disposable in a few years so they can see how it feels.

Someone on UK twitter asked what the worst mistake of the pandemic was and my favourite response so far is "treating Boris Johnson".

[Smash!]

I had the influenza and covid shots together because I wanted to be over with. The first two days after were not that fun but at least I‘m somewhat protected now.

I‘m surprised that even the more cautious people around me won’t get the covid shot this year. The reason is the booster isn’t that effective. True but I take whatever protection it gives me going into winter.

[Coconut Flan]

With the vaccinations I'm more concerned about the hospitalization and death reductions and that's where they give the greatest protection.  I've had every COVID vvaccination for which I've been eligible and will continue to do so.  So far as far as I know I haven't had COVID and I'd just as soon keep it that way.  Altough in a form of good news annual COVID deaths in the US are finally down in the flu range.  It's still bad flu season range, but it may be dropping into the moderately bad flu season range.  

[Kiki03910]

I got my covid shot at a Walgreens. The pharmacist was a super nice older man. I told him I really appreciated the job he'd been doing the last 3+ years. He literally stopped in his tracks and told me no one had thanked him in all that time. It made me sad to think that. Being kind costs us nothing IMO. Why not do it?