Coronavirus

[apl68]

The vaccinations at local nursing homes were on the front page of our local weekly newspaper.

The annual Year in Review section looking over the year's events wasn't a particularly happy one.  It covered such developments as the sudden death of our long-time Mayor and the special election for a new one, assorted COVID-related stuff, the high school seniors' drive-by graduation event, and a new solar farm project that will hopefully replace some of our lost property tax revenue.  And the mysterious boom that woke people up some months ago and has never been explained.

[pgher]

The annual Year in Review section looking over the year's events wasn't a particularly happy one.

I recommend Dave Barry's Year in Review instead.

[mamselle]

The vaccinations at local nursing homes were on the front page of our local weekly newspaper.

The annual Year in Review section looking over the year's events wasn't a particularly happy one.  It covered such developments as the sudden death of our long-time Mayor and the special election for a new one, assorted COVID-related stuff, the high school seniors' drive-by graduation event, and a new solar farm project that will hopefully replace some of our lost property tax revenue.  And the mysterious boom that woke people up some months ago and has never been explained.

What was the date of the "boom that woke people up"?

I'm recalling a meteor sometime a bit ago, and maybe a supersonic airplane that both made big noises at some point in the not-so-distant past, but can't recall the dates or where they were to search for them.

We just had a tiny earth temblor a while back, nothing else exciting, and the sky was too overcast to see the recent conjunctions of the planets.

M.

[apl68]

It was in March.  The only earthquake activity that day was several states to the west.  There don't seem to have been any meteorites over North America around that time either.  The boom is still a mystery.

I've heard people talking about another mysterious boom waking them up earlier this week.  I didn't hear it.  Not sure whether anybody heard it right here in town, though.

[nebo113]

Situation at my brother's household has changed. His wife has recovered fully and will be returning to work soon. The three other people in the house now have symptoms resembling the flu plus, for one person, loss of taste, who got a positive test result yesterday. The other two, one of which is my brother, are waiting for test results but are most likely positive for Covid-19.

My mother is status quo and likely on the path to a full recovery.

I am sorry.  I'm still struggling (emotionally) with/about BIL who had covid and will continue to interact with others.

He should be fine by now right? My understanding is that if you're recovered and more than a ten days from illness onset, you don't need to quarantine.

Yes, he has recovered and doesn't need to quarantine.  It's his attitude about the whole thing, and his every intention to return to engaging socially.  It's as if, now that he's had it, he'll be fine doing whatever he wants to do, even though there is a slight chance he could get it again.  And of course......my sister, who fortunately, took the very wise precaution of sending him to the guest room immediately upon his return from his ill fated jaunt, could somehow be exposed.

[AmLitHist]

ALHS went to the hospital earlier this week for a routine lab procedure.  He said the lobby was lined up with people clear down the hall connecting to the doctors' building where he went in.  As the nurse did his COVID screening, she asked if he was there for a COVID vaccine.  Huh?  She said they'd gotten their vaccines and all the building personnel in the hospital and the doctors' offices had gotten their shots, so they opened it up to the public--one line for people who were walk-ins, and another for those who'd checked in and requested one on the "My Chart" online system.

He declined, partly because there's still a bit of leeriness on both our parts about the safety and possible reactions, but mainly because he's been on daily IV antibiotics since November 3, and he's avoiding anything that could possibly screw that up. My first reaction when he told me was to call my internist and get in line, but I think I'm going to wait, especially since I'm OK with staying at home and also since I don't have to go back to work until August at the earliest. It also kind of feels like line-jumping at this stage of things. Across the river, there are daily news reports about medical people unable to get the vaccine--but that's got more to do with state politics/leadership than with me getting a shot.

Still, the whole, "do you want a COVID shot?" was pretty unexpected.  (We, and the hospital, are in Illinois, metro St. Louis.)

[Caracal]

Situation at my brother's household has changed. His wife has recovered fully and will be returning to work soon. The three other people in the house now have symptoms resembling the flu plus, for one person, loss of taste, who got a positive test result yesterday. The other two, one of which is my brother, are waiting for test results but are most likely positive for Covid-19.

My mother is status quo and likely on the path to a full recovery.

I am sorry.  I'm still struggling (emotionally) with/about BIL who had covid and will continue to interact with others.

He should be fine by now right? My understanding is that if you're recovered and more than a ten days from illness onset, you don't need to quarantine.

Yes, he has recovered and doesn't need to quarantine.  It's his attitude about the whole thing, and his every intention to return to engaging socially.  It's as if, now that he's had it, he'll be fine doing whatever he wants to do, even though there is a slight chance he could get it again.  And of course......my sister, who fortunately, took the very wise precaution of sending him to the guest room immediately upon his return from his ill fated jaunt, could somehow be exposed.

I'm sure you know this, but probably best to just let this go. Realistically, the risk to your sister is small, probably risks in other aspects of her life are much greater. Totally understandable that your BIL would become the focus of your anger and frustration but probably best to just try not to spend your energy thinking about his choices and actions.

[Caracal]

ALHS went to the hospital earlier this week for a routine lab procedure.  He said the lobby was lined up with people clear down the hall connecting to the doctors' building where he went in.  As the nurse did his COVID screening, she asked if he was there for a COVID vaccine.  Huh?  She said they'd gotten their vaccines and all the building personnel in the hospital and the doctors' offices had gotten their shots, so they opened it up to the public--one line for people who were walk-ins, and another for those who'd checked in and requested one on the "My Chart" online system.

He declined, partly because there's still a bit of leeriness on both our parts about the safety and possible reactions, but mainly because he's been on daily IV antibiotics since November 3, and he's avoiding anything that could possibly screw that up. My first reaction when he told me was to call my internist and get in line, but I think I'm going to wait, especially since I'm OK with staying at home and also since I don't have to go back to work until August at the earliest. It also kind of feels like line-jumping at this stage of things. Across the river, there are daily news reports about medical people unable to get the vaccine--but that's got more to do with state politics/leadership than with me getting a shot.

Still, the whole, "do you want a COVID shot?" was pretty unexpected.  (We, and the hospital, are in Illinois, metro St. Louis.)

I'd certainly get it. You really shouldn't worry about the safety or allergic reactions. I also don't think you should worry about line jumping. The vaccines have a limited shelf life and its better to vaccinate people than have them go to waste if they can't be distributed in an optimal way.

[AmLitHist]

Good points, Caracal.  I'll call my doctor Monday and make sure he OKs it.

[PScientist]

I'd certainly get it. You really shouldn't worry about the safety or allergic reactions. I also don't think you should worry about line jumping. The vaccines have a limited shelf life and its better to vaccinate people than have them go to waste if they can't be distributed in an optimal way.

Exactly - most states are currently on pace to have tens of thousands of doses expire in the last week of January, and there is more on the way.  If it's offered to you according to your state's priority system, you shouldn't be "too nice."  Every dose that goes into someone's arm can have an impact on ending the horror movie that we are living in.  Every dose that expires in the freezer definitely does not.

My state just opened it up a couple days ago to "frontline essential education workers" among many other groups, and there is no clarification about K-12 vs. college, so I am assuming that I would be eligible as someone who is scheduled to teach in-person college classes this semester.  If I find a provider offering it, I'm signing up.  Yes, I'm a mostly-healthy 45 year old, but plenty of previously-healthy 45 year olds are dead or have long-term effects.

[Stockmann]

I'd certainly get it. You really shouldn't worry about the safety or allergic reactions. I also don't think you should worry about line jumping. The vaccines have a limited shelf life and its better to vaccinate people than have them go to waste if they can't be distributed in an optimal way.

Exactly - most states are currently on pace to have tens of thousands of doses expire in the last week of January, and there is more on the way.  If it's offered to you according to your state's priority system, you shouldn't be "too nice."  Every dose that goes into someone's arm can have an impact on ending the horror movie that we are living in.  Every dose that expires in the freezer definitely does not.

Plus, if you don't get infected, then you don't infect others. Cutting down the risk of you infecting others (even if the risk to you were minimal) is much better for everyone than letting a vaccine expire.

[nebo113]

Situation at my brother's household has changed. His wife has recovered fully and will be returning to work soon. The three other people in the house now have symptoms resembling the flu plus, for one person, loss of taste, who got a positive test result yesterday. The other two, one of which is my brother, are waiting for test results but are most likely positive for Covid-19.

My mother is status quo and likely on the path to a full recovery.

I am sorry.  I'm still struggling (emotionally) with/about BIL who had covid and will continue to interact with others.

He should be fine by now right? My understanding is that if you're recovered and more than a ten days from illness onset, you don't need to quarantine.

Yes, he has recovered and doesn't need to quarantine.  It's his attitude about the whole thing, and his every intention to return to engaging socially.  It's as if, now that he's had it, he'll be fine doing whatever he wants to do, even though there is a slight chance he could get it again.  And of course......my sister, who fortunately, took the very wise precaution of sending him to the guest room immediately upon his return from his ill fated jaunt, could somehow be exposed.

I'm sure you know this, but probably best to just let this go. Realistically, the risk to your sister is small, probably risks in other aspects of her life are much greater. Totally understandable that your BIL would become the focus of your anger and frustration but probably best to just try not to spend your energy thinking about his choices and actions.

Thanks..  I needed to hear that.  I'm working on it!!!

[mamselle]

The Old Forum mantra still holds:

You can't change others, and you can't change situations.

You can only change yourself, and how you respond to those others, and to those situations.

M.

[Langue_doc]

Our state now has a patient with no history of travel, who has the new variant of the virus. The following is an excerpt from the daily email update on the virus from the governor's office.

"Unfortunately, the Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany has confirmed the first known case of the U.K. variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 in New York State. An individual from Saratoga County, NY, with no known recent travel, tested positive for the strain, which scientists say is more contagious than other strains. It is not believed to be deadlier or to cause more severe disease.

We are asking anyone who visited N. Fox Jewelers in Saratoga Springs, NY, between Dec. 18 and Dec. 24, to please get tested as soon as possible. Because the individual who tested positive for this variant did not travel recently, it is likely that the strain is spreading in the community."

[pgher]

I saw a recent Facebook comment to the effect that "some doctors think wearing masks is dangerous, too." Is that really true? If so, why? My gut reaction is that the commenter is grabbing a hypothetical as an excuse to do what they want to do, rather than relying on actual published authoritative recommendations that they don't want to do.