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

[Dandruff]

I finally found a pharmacy that had the new Moderna vaccine (Spikevax) and got it about 2.5 hrs ago.  Had been calling and stopping into pharmacies since it was released, but there were shipping delays and then the pharmacies that got it quickly ran out.

Given my very consistent timing and effects from my five other Covid vaccines - last one was almost exactly a year ago - I should start feeling lousy about 5-6 hours from now, have a rough day tomorrow, and feel mostly better by tomorrow evening.

Effective today, folks can go to covid.gov and order four more free test kits.  I put my order in.  I doubt any of my previous kits are unexpired.

[Coconut Flan]

I checked the governent website for the real expiration dates on the test kids and was pleasantly surprised all of mine are still good.  I still ordered four free ones. If I don't use them,, my kids will.  I have been doing the COVID vax every six months so I'll go in next month.   Hopefully the problems will all be worked out..  Maybe I'll actually get to go a year this time..  

[Kiki03910]

Site for 4 free test kits: https://www.covid.gov/tests

 

Site where you can check extended expiration dates for covid tests:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list

 

[Kiki03910]

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.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Kiki03910
context

[CTRLZero]

6 hours ago, Kiki03910 said:

I'm curious whether and when people are still wearing masks.

Yes, but not as often as we did in the past.  We are traveling, so we mask through the airport and on the plane.  We mask in crowds when we are unable to distance ourselves from others.  Every situation we do a risk assessment, but I have to admit we are not as stringent as in years past.  I just received an order of a few more dozen KN-95 masks, and plan to get the new vaccine at my earliest opportunity.

It’s interesting to me that my closest female relatives (sister and daughter) and I have not had Covid yet.  Almost everyone I know has had it, so maybe our turn is coming up.

[Dandruff]

7 hours ago, Kiki03910 said:

I'm curious whether and when people are still wearing masks.

I am, almost as stringently as before.  There are now a few more people I'm OK not being masked around (indoors) but not in public settings.  I'm older and have health issues so am not willing to accept much risk.

Most people in my area are no longer masking.  I'm seeing more the last few weeks since incidences of Covid are increasing, but still not that many.

The shot I got a few days ago produced stronger side effects than usual; heavier on body aches and fever but a bit less fatigue.  Intermittent, mild headache and no GI symptoms, both of which are pretty typical for me.  Monday night was bad.  I'm improving, but slowly.  Wondering whether my increased symptoms are due to the shot itself or not having had one for a year.

[Coconut Flan]

I mask almost everywhere in public.  I haven't had COVID yet and have had a dose of vaccine about every six months.  I've been in the public library at opening with just me and two library employees in a several thousand square foot place without a mask.  I walked out of the denitst's office without putting the mask back on with only one person in the waiting room.  I'll go to the plant nursery unmasked if all the doors to the building are open.  I don't mask around family and I'll go in two neighbors' homes unmasked.  Not masking around family is how I caught RSV last fall.  The granddaughter brought it home from school. while I was there. I won't go anywhere like a medical office or store unmasked.  The latest statistics are that I have about a 40% chance of long COVID if I get it due to a specific underlying condition so I'm going to be much more cautious than most..  

[Smash!]

42 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

The latest statistics are that I have about a 40% chance of long COVID if I get it due to a specific underlying condition so I'm going to be much more cautious than most..  

May I ask for the link with the statistics? I suspect I‘m more susceptible for Long Covid as well for different reasons, one being my mom with ME/CFS and the health conditions we both have. So I’d be very interested in those data!

I haven’t had Covid as well luckily. I still mask in public transportation and in shops with lots of people. I have my CO2 device with me whenever I’m out. Not sure yet what I’ll be doing at work once we can’t open the windows anymore due to the cold. I will probably mask again.

We traveled by plane recently for the first time since the pandemic hit. We wore KN95 masks the whole time. 

I don’t care if I’m the only one masking honestly. I haven’t been sick with a bad cold or influenza since the pandemic hit and I love it. For me this is reason enough to keep masking. Before the pandemic I biked to work because whenever I took the tram/train in the rush hour during the cold season I ended up with a cold.

 

[Coconut Flan]

I'm sorry I thought I had bookmarked it, but apparently not.  I'll keep looking after while.  I don't pay attention to other people masking or not either.  It's my life so my choice.

[Coconut Flan]

Found the article:

https://scitechdaily.com/unmasking-long-covid-the-unexpected-common-cold-connection/

Quote

Some individuals with PASC have changes in certain immune responses, suggesting an immune mechanism for PASC. PASC is particularly common among people with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases. These are chronic diseases, such as lupus, where the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own tissues to cause inflammation. Up to 45% of those with these rheumatic diseases who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop PASC.

 

[Smash!]

1 hour ago, Coconut Flan said:

Found the article:

https://scitechdaily.com/unmasking-long-covid-the-unexpected-common-cold-connection/

 

This was such an interesting read, thank you! Especially this:

Quote

The findings indicate that PASC may arise from a phenomenon known as immune imprinting. This refers to how a person’s history of previous infections can affect their immune response to new infections. In this case, when a person who was previously exposed to OC43 is infected with SARS-CoV-2, their immune system responds partly by using antibodies developed during OC43 infection that also recognize SARS-CoV-2. This “recall” response to OC43 leads to an inefficient overall response to SARS-CoV-2. Further research will be needed to determine if and how this weak immune response may lead to PASC

 

[Kiki03910]

I forgot to mention that my boyfriend and I have avoided covid so far too, as far as we know. We did have a nasty little bug in early March 2020 after a long weekend at crowded spring training baseball games in AZ where SOMEONE COUGHED INTO MY HAIR. Who knows lol.

[Ozlsn]

Situational masking here, not as much as previously - also has dropped off due to Spring springing (probably should do more, so much pollen right now!)

Also haven't tested positive for covid via RAT or PCR despite some very certain exposures (child's RAT lit up like a Christmas tree, husband then tested positive by PCR a week later - could isolate from husband but not child) so who knows. Will probably increase masking again as we move into autumn.

Also covid now 3rd leading cause of death in Australia according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

[Baxter]

My family still masks in most indoor situations although we are way less stringent than we used to be. My husband is the only one to wear one at his work. We don't typically wear them outside anymore. I did online kindergarten with my son two years ago. Last year I had him eat lunch in my car so he didn't take his mask off at at school. This year he is wearing a mask but taking it off for lunch. We did a few things indoors maskless in the summer when cases were very low. 

We see my parents fairly regularly and my dad has some very serious health issues so I want to keep them safe. But it's getting really hard with my kids because there are lots of things they might like to do that just seem to hard to work out right now. My parents mask everywhere. My sister's family are at the extreme end of masking and they were unhappy in the summer that we let my son have outdoor playmates with a friend without a mask so we haven't really seen then much in the last few months.

My family did get Covid in April 2022. My husband had just recently returned to his office. He was being very careful at the time. He was wearing a Kn95 mask, had an air purifier at his desk and was eating lunch in his car. We think his mask was defective because we later found a defective mask in that same package. Thankfully we did not pass it on to any of our extended family that we saw around then. 

[Kiki03910]

Thanks much for all the responses! It's nice to hear people's stories, and I hope you all stay well.

[FiveAcres]

The Costco pharmacy where we get our vax still doesn't have the Covid boosters. However, I was able to get RSV vax yesterday so there is that. Next week, flu or Covid if they have it.

[Smash!]

To me the precautions are not tied to the pandemic but rather a form of adapting to the new virus that will most likely stay with us. I will keep masking to various degrees depending on the risk. I don’t know if I will ever feel fully comfortable inside in a crowded pub. If I travel to a place where tropical diseases are endemic it‘s common sense to take precautions. So why not with Covid?

Edited September 28, 2023 by Smash!

[Kiki03910]

30 minutes ago, Smash! said:

To me the precautions are not tied to the pandemic but rather a form of adapting to the new virus that will most likely stay with us. I will keep masking to various degrees depending on the risk. I don’t know if I will ever feel fully comfortable inside in a crowded pub. If I travel to a place where tropical diseases are endemic it‘s common sense to take precautions. So why not with Covid?

Beautifully said. Our understanding of disease and risk has changed. Or I hope it has, anyway. I take the social compact seriously. I try to be a good citizen, masks and otherwise.

[Coconut Flan]

My PCP at the time of the beginning of COVID (Feb 2020) told me that with my issues and age it was time to take precautions and do things like avoid church and Costco and similar places every cold and flu season regardless of how COVID played out.  Later with masking he still said avoiding church and crowded places during cold and flu season and whatever seasonality COVID settled into was a good idea and if I had to go, then keep KN95 or KF94 masks around and wear them.  

[Smash!]

22 hours ago, Kiki03910 said:

Beautifully said. Our understanding of disease and risk has changed. Or I hope it has, anyway. I take the social compact seriously. I try to be a good citizen, masks and otherwise.

This is why I‘m pretty disappointed easy measures like masking in the cold season haven’t been implemented long term. So many people die of Influenza each year and it‘s socially accepted. Yet in Fall/Winter 2020 we didn’t have an influenza (or any respiratory virus) season. It doesn’t have to be a mask mandate. But make it the social norm that everyone wears a good mask when they are are sick and have to go outside/to work. 

[Kiki03910]

1 hour ago, Smash! said:

This is why I‘m pretty disappointed easy measures like masking in the cold season haven’t been implemented long term. So many people die of Influenza each year and it‘s socially accepted. Yet in Fall/Winter 2020 we didn’t have an influenza (or any respiratory virus) season. It doesn’t have to be a mask mandate. But make it the social norm that everyone wears a good mask when they are are sick and have to go outside/to work. 

I really wish it had worked out this way. It's tragic that masking (and vaccines) became so politicized. People have literally died because of it. Such a shitty timeline.

[Ozlsn]

14 hours ago, Smash! said:

But make it the social norm that everyone wears a good mask when they are are sick and have to go outside/to work. 

The thing that has disappointed me the most is that sick leave hasn't been better implemented, particularly in health care settings. You should be able to rest and recover when sick. I'm fortunate in that my job currently encourages people with symptoms to work remotely, so transmission at work has decreased significantly for everything. We still have people at work who wear masks all the time in the open plan office, some who only wear them in the meeting rooms, and some who don't wear them at all - but pretty much everyone stays home and dials in if they have cold/flu symptoms.

I get that there are jobs where you have to be on site (used to work in a lab, don't have PC2 clearance in my garage) and those jobs need to look at how symptoms are managed in the workforce and whether additional sick leave should be available, especially if they are working closely with vulnerable people. I don't want NICU nurses coming in when unwell for example, I'd rather they were able to take paid leave.

[Smash!]

@Ozlsn This is so true. But would people really stay home if they had more paid sick leave? We do have sick days (I was shocked when I learned on FJ that this isn‘t the norm at all) but the unwritten rule is unless you are really sick with fever etc. you don’t stay home. People who are often sick usually are the first ones to get laid off in a company. Luckily WFH has changed that a bit yet I see more and more people coming to work on site while sick. It‘s crazy.

[Ozlsn]

@Smash! I think it is very dependent on the culture in the employer tbh. Mine has gone with the compromise of "if you're symptomatic but ok to work then do it remotely; if you're sick and can't work/need to recover then take sick leave and stay home."  Obviously we can actually work remotely! Are there people who abuse this? Probably, there are idiots everywhere. Most people though use it as intended. I should find out from how it's being managed in some of the other places which require on site attendance - for labs I would guess masking if mildly symptomatic and go home as loon as possible (can do reporting remotely), take sick leave if really sick.

From what I know of the corporate culture here it's similar to my work at this point, that may change.

[SassyPants]

On 9/28/2023 at 3:14 AM, FiveAcres said:

The Costco pharmacy where we get our vax still doesn't have the Covid boosters. However, I was able to get RSV vax yesterday so there is that. Next week, flu or Covid if they have it.

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.