What is your anxiety level about catching COVID?

[onthefringe]

Minimal on a personal level [cut details]

Concerned on a school/societal level.

This is closest for me. I am not particularly concerned at the moment about me catching COVID, as I am vaccinated and the vaccines so far seem to do an excellent job of lowering risk of severe disease and I have no comorbidities. But, given new reports that vaccinated, mildly symptimatic people may be shedding a lot of virus, getting more concerned about getting a mild case and possibly passing it on to a very ill family member.

And concern is ticking up now that we are getting multiple reports of breakthrough clusters in vaccinated people (like the one namazu reports), in a context where my university is "requiring" masking for unvaccinated people, but preventing us from asking anyone about their vaccine status. And my knowledge of our vaccination rate combined with my ability to do simple math tells me we have a bunch of unvaccinated peopl wandering around without masks...

[dr_evil]

I'm very worried, but that's because I have a pre-existing condition that would make COVID very serious, if not deadly, for me. Some of my family feel I'm a bit paranoid about it, but being extra careful has kept me safe so far, so I'm trying to stay very careful. I'd rather be overly careful and safe than not.

[downer]

It's one thing being in a room with 2 or 3 people for 20 mins as I have been occasionally. I've also been on subways and trains with quite a few people, for longer period of time, and it's felt ok. It's another being in a room with 40 people for 90 minutes, where people are talking loud enough for everyone to hear. I wouldn't say I am anxious about the prospect, but I do feel like I need to monitor the risks more carefully there.

[Caracal]

Minimal on a personal level.

The way I think about it is that before being vaccinated, while my actual personal risk as a youngish, healthy person was probably fairly low, it was still fairly high and there was a substantial risk of getting quite sick or hospitalized and obviously I didn't want to pass the virus on to others, so I took precautions that really diminished my quality of life.

Now that I'm vaccinated, my risk of getting the virus is reduced and the risk of getting very sick is reduced to quite low levels. That allows me to balance risk versus quality of life issues. For example, I'm just not going to worry about contact with vaccinated adult friends and family or unvaccinated kids in small groups. Seeing family and friends is really important to me. Having people over for dinner is really important. I definitely don't wear masks outside where I find them uncomfortable. I also really value being able to go into stores without worrying about how long I'm there for.

I'm still taking precautions in areas where the benefit for me isn't that high. Wearing masks inside stores is not that big a deal to me so I've continued doing it. I don't really need to eat indoors at restaurants so I haven't been doing that either.

Teaching falls in the former category. I didn't like online teaching. I really miss seeing students in person. Masks are still going to be required. The risk is pretty low and its one I'm willing to take. Obviously, the risk can be higher for others.

[ciao_yall]

Personally, low. I'm vaxxed and my community is 80+ % vaxxed.

[AmLitHist]

Freaking out for a while now:  age 60, three diagnosed co-morbidities, plus my history of Murphy's Law screwing me no matter how prepared and careful I try to be.

I personally know several people similar to myself and ALHS (i.e., vaccinated, still masking and more or less still staying at home; my only forays out have still been for grocery pickup, dr. visits, and to visit Kid #1 who is a bigger germophobe and hermit than I) who've gotten the new variant and become quite sick. 

One of Kid #1's friend's husbands got it and seriously thought he was going to die.  He was off work 3 weeks, still feels like hell a month later, and was put on oxygen at home (his doc was worried about hospitalizing him only to potentially take something worse back home to his wife and two little boys, one of whom is autistic, the other severely Type 1 diabetic.  The boys also got it at the same time as dad--both very sick, though less severe).  Wife and kids are home 24/7, and husband works in a food manufacturing setting with strict med protocols. 

StL County (where I teach) reinstated the mask mandate Monday, then repealed it last night at Council meeting.  My school is going with whatever the County requires.  We are not allowed to ask students if vaccinated OR insist on masking in classrooms.  My one F2F class (everyone must teach at least one) is capped at 15, and is scheduled in a classroom smaller than 20'x20', with no windows.  Vax rates are under 40%, cases and hospitalizations drastically rising (people in the area spend summers in SW MO, where rates have been rising fast for over a month).  Admin has mandated no room changes and no exceptions.

So, yeah--freaking out. and going to call my doctor to see if he'll do an ADA request for me. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm scared.

[Caracal]

Freaking out for a while now:  age 60, three diagnosed co-morbidities, plus my history of Murphy's Law screwing me no matter how prepared and careful I try to be.

I personally know several people similar to myself and ALHS (i.e., vaccinated, still masking and more or less still staying at home; my only forays out have still been for grocery pickup, dr. visits, and to visit Kid #1 who is a bigger germophobe and hermit than I) who've gotten the new variant and become quite sick. 

One of Kid #1's friend's husbands got it and seriously thought he was going to die.  He was off work 3 weeks, still feels like hell a month later, and was put on oxygen at home (his doc was worried about hospitalizing him only to potentially take something worse back home to his wife and two little boys, one of whom is autistic, the other severely Type 1 diabetic.  The boys also got it at the same time as dad--both very sick, though less severe).  Wife and kids are home 24/7, and husband works in a food manufacturing setting with strict med protocols. 

StL County (where I teach) reinstated the mask mandate Monday, then repealed it last night at Council meeting.  My school is going with whatever the County requires.  We are not allowed to ask students if vaccinated OR insist on masking in classrooms.  My one F2F class (everyone must teach at least one) is capped at 15, and is scheduled in a classroom smaller than 20'x20', with no windows.  Vax rates are under 40%, cases and hospitalizations drastically rising (people in the area spend summers in SW MO, where rates have been rising fast for over a month).  Admin has mandated no room changes and no exceptions.

So, yeah--freaking out. and going to call my doctor to see if he'll do an ADA request for me. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm scared.

I don't mean to minimize your worries or compare them to mine-we have different risk factors for one thing and live in different places.

That said, if I could give some advice as someone with a fair amount of health anxiety-you have to be careful about judging risk based on stories you hear from people around you. Every time I hear about someone I know who was diagnosed with cancer or something, my anxiety goes up and I feel like this means I should be more worried personally. I've had to train myself to remember that it doesn't work that way. You hear about it when someone vaguely connected to you is vaccinated and gets sick. You don't hear about it when they don't. The result is you can end up really overestimating risk and causing yourself a lot of unnecessary anxiety. There are probably thousands of people who you have as close a connection to as your kid's friend's husband.

[eigen]

Moderate to low.

I'm vaccinated as is the rest of my household. I'm masking up inside stores, but unmasked at work (we have a vaccine requirement on campus) and outside. Happy to see friends/family/neighbors in the yard (nice weather) but not having large groups in the house at the moment outside of close friends/family.

[cathwen]

I would say that my anxiety level is low to moderate. 

Low:  Talking to neighbors (all of whom have been vaccinated) and visiting family.  Almost all family members are fully vaccinated, with my 12-year-old grandson getting his second shot next week. Then the family will be 100%. 

Moderate:  Everywhere else, especially indoors, where I do not know the people.

I live in a state with a 70+% vaccination rate and with a high rate of compliance with CDC and government guidelines.  However, our rate of Covid (diagnoses and hospitalizations) is climbing upwards, and that fact—plus everything I've read about the Delta variant, and the fact that I am over 70 (although no health issues except for osteopenia)—has me a little on edge.  I have now returned to wearing a mask in places like the grocery store and the drugstore.  Most people here do likewise. 

[adel9216]

I've vaccinated twice and have, overall, a very solid physical health. I'm not worried. But I know there's no guarantee when it comes to health for anyone.

[Vkw10]

Not particularly worried about myself. My large summer class is online. My fall class will be F2F and is capped at 150, but is scheduled for a 250 seat teaching theatre because we don't have many big classes at 8:00 a.m. I've used a personal HEPA filter in my office for years, to combat allergens. I'm scheduling faculty and committee meetings via Zoom, as are most other administrators. I expect the few F2F meetings to be lightly attended. If I get COVID-19, the odds are it will be miserable but not life-threatening.

I'm worried about some colleagues who will be teaching in full classrooms this fall. Our governor has prohibited local governments and public agencies, other than hospitals, from requiring masks, despite low vaccination rates and rising case loads. I think everyone's been vaccinated (not allowed to ask), but I know a few have immune deficiency disorders occur the vaccine may be less effective.

[Harlow2]

I live in a state with an approximately 60% vaccination rate and a county with moderate cases.  We are now urged but not required to mask indoors. Much of my life and social life is lived outdoors and will be for a few more months, and family are all vaccinated. So fairly low risk there.

Most of my courses are online but I am concerned about the fall. There is no vaccination requirement for employees though I suspect most of us are vaccinated. If there is a six-month dwindling of effectiveness it will begin in another 4 weeks for me. I would definitely take a booster if available as I am in a high-risk age range though otherwise a healthy hiker.

[mythbuster]

I live in a hot spot. The NYTimes has profiled our overflowing ERs and ICUs in the past week. Both husband and I are vaccinated and so not too worried about normal everyday activities, although I don't exactly linger in stores and always wear a mask. He wears a mask all day at work (required) and I'm still working at home. So our exposure level is very limited.
   But, we had tickets this weekend to the Hella Mega Tour concert (Greenday, Weezer, and Fallout Boy). We will not be attending. It was to be in the big football stadium. While our vaccines will prevent most disease, they are not designed for fire hose level exposure, which is what the concert will be, even outdoors. I fully predict that this one event will lead to an even larger spike in cases in our greater area.

[Caracal]

I live in a state with an approximately 60% vaccination rate and a county with moderate cases.  We are now urged but not required to mask indoors. Much of my life and social life is lived outdoors and will be for a few more months, and family are all vaccinated. So fairly low risk there.

Most of my courses are online but I am concerned about the fall. There is no vaccination requirement for employees though I suspect most of us are vaccinated. If there is a six-month dwindling of effectiveness it will begin in another 4 weeks for me. I would definitely take a booster if available as I am in a high-risk age range though otherwise a healthy hiker.

Important to remember that we don't really know that much yet about whether effectiveness actually dwindles. Antibodies are only part of the immune system. I'm far from an expert, but the people I pay attention to who are, seem to think that its likely the broader spectrum of immunity is likely to remain pretty durable.

[Harlow2]

I live in a state with an approximately 60% vaccination rate and a county with moderate cases.  We are now urged but not required to mask indoors. Much of my life and social life is lived outdoors and will be for a few more months, and family are all vaccinated. So fairly low risk there.

Most of my courses are online but I am concerned about the fall. There is no vaccination requirement for employees though I suspect most of us are vaccinated. If there is a six-month dwindling of effectiveness it will begin in another 4 weeks for me. I would definitely take a booster if available as I am in a high-risk age range though otherwise a healthy hiker.

Important to remember that we don't really know that much yet about whether effectiveness actually dwindles. Antibodies are only part of the immune system. I'm far from an expert, but the people I pay attention to who are, seem to think that its likely the broader spectrum of immunity is likely to remain pretty durable.

Yes, and good to keep in mind. One troubling thing, though, is the absence of data on breakthrough illness that doesn't result in hospitalization or death. My understanding is that is where the effectiveness is most likely to wane, and complications can still be serious.