So I guess everybody is getting Covid

[rdrr]

Glad to hear you're on the way back, hope it continues and that your family is spared.


You just have to assume they don't keep up with standard news and trends with this stuff and that it's not intentional. Although, it's pretty well known otherwise. Want to have some fun? Check out the COVID thread at MR for some true batshit ignorance, especially by that tool maflynn.

Maflynn sounds a lot like someone we know...

I had a conversation last week with some folks at work that goes along the same lines, maybe a little worse. Except I personally know these people and have to work with them. It’s really tough to seperate the personal feelings from business sometimes, but I have to remind myself constantly.

 

[Herdfan]

@Herdfan I like Eric was waiting for the latest booster to become available and hadn’t gotten a shot for about 10 months. I hope you actually had an innocent question, but your reputation around here makes me feel like it was another one of your trolling contrarian posts. If it is I will ask you how you would feel if it was you and your family, if it was genuine maybe just some well wishes and go about your day would be received better. Forgive me, I am really not feeling well and my patience is very thin.

I swear it was not trolling.

With the earlier variants those who were vaxxed didn't seem to be hit as hard as those who weren't. And I just know that you, Eric, and several others on here have gotten all the boosters as they came out.

There must be something about the new variant that has caused it to hit the two of you much harder.

 

[Eric]

I swear it was not trolling.

With the earlier variants those who were vaxxed didn't seem to be hit as hard as those who weren't. And I just know that you, Eric, and several others on here have gotten all the boosters as they came out.

There must be something about the new variant that has caused it to hit the two of you much harder.

I didn't think you were trolling but we do know exactly why, after 1 year it's as if you never had any of the shots or boosters at all.

Now, the reason for not getting one for that entire year is because they didn't have the latest variants covered, which was only just released and is why everyone is now jumping to get it.

Hope that all make sense.

 

[rdrr]

I swear it was not trolling.

With the earlier variants those who were vaxxed didn't seem to be hit as hard as those who weren't. And I just know that you, Eric, and several others on here have gotten all the boosters as they came out.

There must be something about the new variant that has caused it to hit the two of you much harder.

I am going to take you at your word. The new variant is apparently an upper respitory one, but like all Covid patients I think it effects everyone differently. @Eric has been having high fever for days for instance. I only had one moderately fever for one day, slight fever for a couple. Of course I was on Paxlovid for 3 doses out of 10 so maybe it reduced that effect. My main symptom has been a tight and painful throat. I have had difficulty swallowing and woke up several times with the feeling I was choking. The last bit has been unnerving, and extremely annoying. Three nights now of that, with very little sleep so I am a little touchy.

I am by no means a Covid vaccine expert, but it is my understanding that the full protection of the shot is only short lived, 6 months or so. Even so, I believe you can still contract Covid so its not bullet proof. I still fully believe we understand very little of this disease, why it effects different people different ways? Who knows? I have one co-worker who’s wife got hives head to toe from her Covid experience. No fever, no respiratory issues… painful hives.

 

[Cmaier]

I am going to take you at your word. The new variant is apparently an upper respitory one, but like all Covid patients I think it effects everyone differently. @Eric has been having high fever for days for instance. I only had one moderately fever for one day, slight fever for a couple. Of course I was on Paxlovid for 3 doses out of 10 so maybe it reduced that effect. My main symptom has been a tight and painful throat. I have had difficulty swallowing and woke up several times with the feeling I was choking. The last bit has been unnerving, and extremely annoying. Three nights now of that, with very little sleep so I am a little touchy.

I am by no means a Covid vaccine expert, but it is my understanding that the full protection of the shot is only short lived, 6 months or so. Even so, I believe you can still contract Covid so its not bullet proof. I still fully believe we understand very little of this disease, why it effects different people different ways? Who knows? I have one co-worker who’s wife got hives head to toe from her Covid experience. No fever, no respiratory issues… painful hives.

It seems that what we know is that you can definitely get covid even if recently vaccinated, just like you can get covid even if you recently had covid. However, even a dated vaccination seems to do a decent job of reducing the chances that you will die from covid or get long covid. The strongest effect seems to wane quite a bit after 6 months (or sooner).

By the time i got covid, I had had 5 vaccinations, but it had been about 7 months since my last shot. My experience was sort of flu-like, with high fever lasting a couple days, and night sweats that lasted past the fever. A cough that was not the worst cough I’ve had, and it lasted a couple weeks. The biggest annoyance was my throat, which felt like i swallowed crushed glass. The long term effect is the detached vitreous in my eye from the coughing, but perhaps it would have detached for some other reason eventually. I’ll never know, but I believe if I hadn’t had all those vaccinations then things would be a lot worse.

I got my 6th shot about 3 months after getting over Covid, and I’d happily take the vaccine twice a year if they’d let me. I have no side effects from the shot other than slightly elevated blood pressure for two days, and a slight ache in the arm, and the potential worse covid experience ain’t worth it. Hell, my sister got COVID very early in 2020 and has terrible long covid symptoms to this day, including random spurts of extremely high heart rate, extreme fatigue, swelling ankles, etc. If a harmless shot will prevent that, why not take it?

 

[Roller]

It's almost impossible to predict an individual's symptoms from Covid-19 infection because there are so many variables: existing cellular and humoral immunity from prior infection and/or vaccination, age, co-morbidities, and so on. No vaccines are 100% effective at preventing infection, and they're always a step or two behind circulating variants. For example, the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were formulated against XBB.1.5, which is no longer the predominant variant in the U.S. They do a good job of preventing severe disease that requires hospitalization, though.

A major problem is that vaccine uptake is low (thanks RFK, Jr. and DeSantis), so the virus has more opportunity to mutate, especially in immune-compromised hosts. As well, with very few people masking, there's more chance of community transmission.

As @Cmaier said, long Covid is a concern. This broadly includes persistent symptoms as well as downstream morbidity in people who have recovered from an acute infection. Just a few days ago, a published paper reported that SARS CoV-2 can replicate in coronary arteries and cause inflammation of existing atherosclerotic plaque, increasing the risk of cardiac complications. The study was done in older people who already had atherosclerosis and other conditions and were infected with early strains, so it may not be generalizable to younger and/or healthier folks. But it further raises the possibility that infection may have long-term consequences. We won't know the true burden for decades. For now, the best approach is to keep up with vaccinations, get Paxlovid if eligible, and take reasonable precautions when out and about. Interestingly, there's increasing evidence that this also applies to other viral infections.

Incidentally, there are a number of ongoing clinical trials of long Covid therapies. I don't know how many are still accruing, but here's a place to start:

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/new...through-recover-initiative-opening-enrollment

 

[Eric]

It seems that what we know is that you can definitely get covid even if recently vaccinated, just like you can get covid even if you recently had covid. However, even a dated vaccination seems to do a decent job of reducing the chances that you will die from covid or get long covid. The strongest effect seems to wane quite a bit after 6 months (or sooner).

By the time i got covid, I had had 5 vaccinations, but it had been about 7 months since my last shot. My experience was sort of flu-like, with high fever lasting a couple days, and night sweats that lasted past the fever. A cough that was not the worst cough I’ve had, and it lasted a couple weeks. The biggest annoyance was my throat, which felt like i swallowed crushed glass. The long term effect is the detached vitreous in my eye from the coughing, but perhaps it would have detached for some other reason eventually. I’ll never know, but I believe if I hadn’t had all those vaccinations then things would be a lot worse.

I got my 6th shot about 3 months after getting over Covid, and I’d happily take the vaccine twice a year if they’d let me. I have no side effects from the shot other than slightly elevated blood pressure for two days, and a slight ache in the arm, and the potential worse covid experience ain’t worth it. Hell, my sister got COVID very early in 2020 and has terrible long covid symptoms to this day, including random spurts of extremely high heart rate, extreme fatigue, swelling ankles, etc. If a harmless shot will prevent that, why not take it?

Very similar for me in almost every way here, the congestion and tightness in my sinuses and lungs are the biggest issue right now but I feel like I've moved past the rest, including the fever. However, still sweating through my sheets every night just as you mentioned.

I'm with you 100% here on the vaccine, I'll give it a month or 2 and then get the latest and then boost with the same one again in 6 months (if nothing else new is available) just to get boosted. I won't make this mistake of waiting an entire year again.

 

[Cmaier]

Very similar for me in almost every way here, the congestion and tightness in my sinuses and lungs are the biggest issue right now but I feel like I've moved past the rest, including the fever. However, still sweating through my sheets every night just as you mentioned.

I'm with you 100% here on the vaccine, I'll give it a month or 2 and then get the latest and then boost with the same one again in 6 months (if nothing else new is available) just to get boosted. I won't make this mistake of waiting an entire year again.

The problem, right now, is that the current shot is only authorized for one dose. There are some murmurings about making it a twice-a-year thing, but right now the de facto plan is to make it annual (not because it's more effective that way, but because they are worried that if it is more than once a year, nobody will get it).

 

[rdrr]

Update;
Wife (immune compromised and boosted in August) just tested positive with a fresh covid test kit. We had expired, but within the extended timeline by the HHS site tests. Three of those tests came back clean. I asked a family member to get a fresh one from CVS and it came back positive right away.

Now to treat the stubborn old woman… She is still within the 5 day Paxlovid window, but hesitant due to my “allergic reaction” which is still speculative since Covid throat is a real thing with this variant.

Question…. What is the masking protocol in this situation where we are both confirmed positive? I know it seems like a basic question, but never been in this situation and there was a lot of misleading information a year or two ago about this question.

 

[Herdfan]

A major problem is that vaccine uptake is low (thanks RFK, Jr. and DeSantis),

While I understand why you might say that, it could also be the people are just tired of all of it. When the vaccines first came out, they were "100% effective". Now its get a shot every 6 months and even then it won't be 100% effective.

People are just over it.

 

[Roller]

While I understand why you might say that, it could also be the people are just tired of all of it. When the vaccines first came out, they were "100% effective". Now its get a shot every 6 months and even then it won't be 100% effective.

People are just over it.

Yes, people are over it, but it’s not over. That’s why responsible leaders need to keep reminding everyone. If it weren’t for the constant barrage of misinformation, I think most folks wouldn’t mind a yearly or twice-a-year shot to prevent severe disease or death.

Uptake for the flu vaccine is far from perfect at around 50%, but it’s still much higher than for Covid shots. Among other things, people need to understand that the risks from getting infected are much higher than the risks from vaccination.

And the term booster shouldn’t be used - each new shot is a unique vaccine against a different variant or variants. Calling them boosters makes them seem less necessary.

The government should be funding billions for research into pan-coronavirus and nasal vaccines too.

 

[rdrr]

While I understand why you might say that, it could also be the people are just tired of all of it. When the vaccines first came out, they were "100% effective". Now its get a shot every 6 months and even then it won't be 100% effective.

People are just over it.

I never remember “them” saying it was 100% effective. I think that is just another right leaning narrative. People are over is because human nature and more importantly Americans culture that is selfish and want a “quick fix”. I really don’t think there are many human cultures other than the Chinese in politics that play the persistent long game.

Just because we (Americans) are “over it”, the virus is here for the long haul. Prior to the pandemic, American culture would line up, for the most part in the fall, to get their flu shot. So what changed? A narrative from the extreme right that this is a hoax, and that vaccines (shots), masking, and testing are all bad.

 

[Eric]

While I understand why you might say that, it could also be the people are just tired of all of it. When the vaccines first came out, they were "100% effective". Now its get a shot every 6 months and even then it won't be 100% effective.

People are just over it.

Just not enough to know even the basic CDC guidelines and understand the longevity of the existing vaccine, apparently. I took a chance at an outdoor event but still knew I was as vulnerable as someone who never had the vaccine at all, a risk I chose to take, but I understood it.

 

[Eric]

Yes, people are over it, but it’s not over. That’s why responsible leaders need to keep reminding everyone. If it weren’t for the constant barrage of misinformation, I think most folks wouldn’t mind a yearly or twice-a-year shot to prevent severe disease or death.

Uptake for the flu vaccine is far from perfect at around 50%, but it’s still much higher than for Covid shots. Among other things, people need to understand that the risks from getting infected are much higher than the risks from vaccination.

And the term booster shouldn’t be used - each new shot is a unique vaccine against a different variant or variants. Calling them boosters makes them seem less necessary.

The government should be funding billions for research into pan-coronavirus and nasal vaccines too.

In a nutshell, if your vaccine was more than 6 months ago, it's likely lost most of its efficacy. If it's been a year, it's all but guaranteed to be gone.

@Herdfan please acknowledge that you understand this, even if you don't like it. I'll gladly post more credible sourdces.

COVID vaccine protection against infection drops after 6 months, protection against severe disease strong: Study

A new study found that the original COVID-19 vaccines saw their effectiveness decline against infection with the omicron variant to less than 20%.

abcnews.go.com

 

[mollyc]

Update;
Wife (immune compromised and boosted in August) just tested positive with a fresh covid test kit. We had expired, but within the extended timeline by the HHS site tests. Three of those tests came back clean. I asked a family member to get a fresh one from CVS and it came back positive right away.

Now to treat the stubborn old woman… She is still within the 5 day Paxlovid window, but hesitant due to my “allergic reaction” which is still speculative since Covid throat is a real thing with this variant.

Question…. What is the masking protocol in this situation where we are both confirmed positive? I know it seems like a basic question, but never been in this situation and there was a lot of misleading information a year or two ago about this question.

I don't know the actual answer to this, but were I in this situation, I would not bother masking (assuming you have enough viral load to still test positive on a rapid test).

 

[Eric]

Update;
Wife (immune compromised and boosted in August) just tested positive with a fresh covid test kit. We had expired, but within the extended timeline by the HHS site tests. Three of those tests came back clean. I asked a family member to get a fresh one from CVS and it came back positive right away.

Now to treat the stubborn old woman… She is still within the 5 day Paxlovid window, but hesitant due to my “allergic reaction” which is still speculative since Covid throat is a real thing with this variant.

Question…. What is the masking protocol in this situation where we are both confirmed positive? I know it seems like a basic question, but never been in this situation and there was a lot of misleading information a year or two ago about this question.

Sorry to hear this, we've been trying to be super careful in my home and so far she's remained negative on her daily tests but as you have shown it's really hard to avoid. Did she talk to her doctor about Paxlovid?

 

[rdrr]

Sorry to hear this, we've been trying to be super careful in my home and so far she's remained negative on her daily tests but as you have shown it's really hard to avoid. Did she talk to her doctor about Paxlovid?

Yes she just got off the telehealth and they strongly urged it in her case. Technically I am out of quarantine at 7:30 PM tonight, but the pharmacy closes at 8 PM. Good thing is, she doesn’t have to wait until we round up a family member to get the prescription. It is exactly the same as my left over Paxlovid prescription.

As for the how she got it, I can only surmise it was our carelessness. I started to feel off this past Wednesday night around 7:00-7:30 PM, so I tested (used a extended expiration test) and it came back negative. Then we slept in the same bed. Felt okay(ish) Thursday morning and went to work, we rode in together and I remember getting a kiss as we parted ways. As soon as I entered my office, I was sweating bullets and feeling awful. I went home and tested with a test I got on the way home, and it came back positive Thursday at 2:30 PM. Although I was being cautious and living in the back room, masking when I left my isolation, and wiping down whatever I touched with Lysol wipes… Our house is small, and its been cold out, so there has been less airflow as the windows have been shut. Plus she drove me down to urgent care on Saturday afternoon to get a strep test. We probably spent 30 - 40 minutes in the car together. I guess I could have gone alone, but I have been experiencing some fogginess.

Believe me, I will have a lot of could’ve, should’ve guilt if her Covid turns dangerous.

 

[Roller]

Yes she just got off the telehealth and they strongly urged it in her case. Technically I am out of quarantine at 7:30 PM tonight, but the pharmacy closes at 8 PM. Good thing is, she doesn’t have to wait until we round up a family member to get the prescription. It is exactly the same as my left over Paxlovid prescription.

As for the how she got it, I can only surmise it was our carelessness. I started to feel off this past Wednesday night around 7:00-7:30 PM, so I tested (used a extended expiration test) and it came back negative. Then we slept in the same bed. Felt okay(ish) Thursday morning and went to work, we rode in together and I remember getting a kiss as we parted ways. As soon as I entered my office, I was sweating bullets and feeling awful. I went home and tested with a test I got on the way home, and it came back positive Thursday at 2:30 PM. Although I was being cautious and living in the back room, masking when I left my isolation, and wiping down whatever I touched with Lysol wipes… Our house is small, and its been cold out, so there has been less airflow as the windows have been shut. Plus she drove me down to urgent care on Saturday afternoon to get a strep test. We probably spent 30 - 40 minutes in the car together. I guess I could have gone alone, but I have been experiencing some fogginess.

Believe me, I will have a lot of could’ve, should’ve guilt if her Covid turns dangerous.

Don't beat yourself up over this: SARS CoV-2 is so transmissible that the only way you can lower the risk of passing it on to someone you live with is to strictly isolate from the moment you become symptomatic. That's tough to do in even a medium-size house, especially with one HVAC system, and the virus can be transmitted before symptoms appear. I wish your wife the best.

 

[Eric]

Don't beat yourself up over this: SARS CoV-2 is so transmissible that the only way you can lower the risk of passing it on to someone you live with is to strictly isolate from the moment you become symptomatic. That's tough to do in even a medium-size house, especially with one HVAC system, and the virus can be transmitted before symptoms appear. I wish your wife the best.

This! @rdrr you've both done the best you can possibly do and it's all anyone can ask, I'm sure your wife appreciates the effort as well. It's so highly contagious that it seems like one speck gets out and that's all it takes. You tried but now it's time to focus on recovery, hopefully it's mild(ish) for her too.

 

[Herdfan]

In a nutshell, if your vaccine was more than 6 months ago, it's likely lost most of its efficacy. If it's been a year, it's all but guaranteed to be gone.

@Herdfan please acknowledge that you understand this, even if you don't like it. I'll gladly post more credible sourdces.

COVID vaccine protection against infection drops after 6 months, protection against severe disease strong: Study

A new study found that the original COVID-19 vaccines saw their effectiveness decline against infection with the omicron variant to less than 20%.

abcnews.go.com

I do understand. But I personally am going to go with natural immunity going forward.. I know that is not the choice for everyone, but it is for me. There is a lot of heart disease in my family tree (M grandfather, P grandmother, father, mother) and while it is low, there IS an increased risk of myocarditis. So I have to balance that against COVID.

The two confirmed times I have had it, it has been very mild. Maybe the first time was because of a combination of the original vaccine (about 9 months out) and the possibility I had it before I was ever tested. The second time was very, very mild to the point had I not tested, I would have assumed a cold or allergies.

Believe me, I will have a lot of could’ve, should’ve guilt if her Covid turns dangerous.

Don't go there. You are making the assumption that YOU gave it to HER. Could have just as easily been the reverse but yours manifested earlier.