Coronavirus Thread v.2

[cramx3]

Pretty sure I have covid.  My brother and his gf tested positive a few days after Christmas, after I was at their place.  I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and by the evening had a low grade fever.  Seems exactly the same symptoms as they had.  Fairly mild overall, like a light flu. I can't find a test ANYWHERE though to confirm the suspicions.  The state (NJ) will send you a free at home test so I ordered one, but it won't be here until Tuesday and then takes a few days to get the results.  My doctor friend said he could give me a PCR test tomorrow but it will take 5 or so days to get results.  Every store in the area is out of at home tests.  I did actually buy a few online last week but they won't be here until Thursday the earliest.  Oh well, I am going to assume I have covid and just lay low for the 5 days recommended by the CDC (assuming my symptoms go away, they are actually already slightly better today so I think this will pass quick).

Sounds like you got it. I'm glad you're not panicking about not getting a test. Seems there's way too much of that. People should just do what they always do when they get sick. Stay home and lay low.

It's a bit easier to not panic when you live alone and my work seems OK with me being out a few days or so without providing the results, but then again I have a fever so I'm definitely sick and wouldn't be coming in regardless. My mom was panicking for me to get a test, mostly because my sister is going to Florida tomorrow and she was at my brothers too, but if shes not sick then I think she's fine (and she had covid before so maybe that prevented her from catching it this time).  My gf who was with us as well so far isn't sick either.

You'll receive your test results to see if you are positive with Covid after the end time the CDC recommends a person to quarantine?

 

Basically, NJ is peaking in cases and availability is just too low so that's what it's looking like. 

Luckily for me, the CDC now says 5 days and if no longer showing symptoms you don't need to quarantine.  I'm going by that guidance. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Pretty sure I have covid.  My brother and his gf tested positive a few days after Christmas, after I was at their place.  I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and by the evening had a low grade fever.  Seems exactly the same symptoms as they had.  Fairly mild overall, like a light flu. I can't find a test ANYWHERE though to confirm the suspicions.  The state (NJ) will send you a free at home test so I ordered one, but it won't be here until Tuesday and then takes a few days to get the results.  My doctor friend said he could give me a PCR test tomorrow but it will take 5 or so days to get results.  Every store in the area is out of at home tests.  I did actually buy a few online last week but they won't be here until Thursday the earliest.  Oh well, I am going to assume I have covid and just lay low for the 5 days recommended by the CDC (assuming my symptoms go away, they are actually already slightly better today so I think this will pass quick).

Sounds like you got it. I'm glad you're not panicking about not getting a test. Seems there's way too much of that. People should just do what they always do when they get sick. Stay home and lay low.

But people do not do that when they have symptoms that could be a common cold. Some people can't afford to miss a single day of work, what makes one think they'll stay home if they have these symptoms and can't get a test in time to see if they are in fact Covid positive. Especially if it takes longer for the test results than the CDC recommends one should isolate.

People will assume they have a common cold and will go out and about with their lives.

[King Postwhore]

If people are smart, they're squirreling a few sick/vacation days in case. When I got the flu before,  it always took me a few days to get better.

[Skeever]

If people are smart, they're squirreling a few sick/vacation days in case. When I got the flu before,  it always took me a few days to get better.

From wikipedia: The United States federal government does not currently require that employees have access to paid sick leave to address their own short-term illnesses or the short-term illness of a family member. However, a number of states and localities do require some or all employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers.

From wikipedia, the same map (the gray states are the ones with no sick leave laws):



And sure, many people work for companies that give them paid personal time... maybe 5-10 days, maybe a few more. That might be the length of one isolation period for being a close contact, right?

By the way, the jobs that aren't so great don't have as good benefits... and who works those jobs? The service workers, retailers, grocers, restaurant workers and staff, "dashers", etc.... in other words, the people we're all expecting to be there exactly as before to do our bidding while we isolate.

Not trying to pontificate, but I can see why it's completely untenable. The US government, even with the democrats holding power, have decided that they won't be doing anything about paid family sick leave. So, what are people supposed to do? They're already leaving the workforce in droves, which is why places are so short staffed as it is.

[King Postwhore]

Our company does not have sick day.  I am the manager of a site. I've been leanainte towards call outs and allow employees to use pto is they choose so.

Some companies pay employees for time off for their employees is they are a large company. Ours falls slightly short of that.

It sucks but employees just need to be smart these days if they worry about pay

[Stadler]

Pretty sure I have covid.  My brother and his gf tested positive a few days after Christmas, after I was at their place.  I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and by the evening had a low grade fever.  Seems exactly the same symptoms as they had.  Fairly mild overall, like a light flu. I can't find a test ANYWHERE though to confirm the suspicions.  The state (NJ) will send you a free at home test so I ordered one, but it won't be here until Tuesday and then takes a few days to get the results.  My doctor friend said he could give me a PCR test tomorrow but it will take 5 or so days to get results.  Every store in the area is out of at home tests.  I did actually buy a few online last week but they won't be here until Thursday the earliest.  Oh well, I am going to assume I have covid and just lay low for the 5 days recommended by the CDC (assuming my symptoms go away, they are actually already slightly better today so I think this will pass quick).

Brother, thinking about you and hoping you have a speedy recovery. 

[Chino]

Damn Marc. Hoping for the best.

My sister has Covid for the second time. She had it last fall, got fully vaxxed, and now has it again. She got it from her vaxxed BF.

I was away for the holiday with my GF. We got a cabin in PA for the week of Christmas. My Aunt and Uncle hosted, and there were a bunch of people there. Huge outbreak despite the majority being vaccinated. My parents didn't want to go because that was their fear. So it looks like they dogged a bullet. Seems like even the ones who were vaxxed are taking it on the chin pretty hard, but no hospitalizations yet, which is good. My mom works at the library in town, and they've been closed off and on for a few weeks now. There are only 5 employees there, and people keep testing positive. It's crazy.

[Stadler]

Hoping for the best for you and your family, too, Brian.

[Adami]

I think like 3-4 times in the past month I was positive I had COVID yet tested negative every time.

I feel like an 80's rock star putting stuff in my nose so often.

[Nekov]

Damn Marc. Hoping for the best.

My sister has Covid for the second time. She had it last fall, got fully vaxxed, and now has it again. She got it from her vaxxed BF.

I was away for the holiday with my GF. We got a cabin in PA for the week of Christmas. My Aunt and Uncle hosted, and there were a bunch of people there. Huge outbreak despite the majority being vaccinated. My parents didn't want to go because that was their fear. So it looks like they dogged a bullet. Seems like even the ones who were vaxxed are taking it on the chin pretty hard, but no hospitalizations yet, which is good. My mom works at the library in town, and they've been closed off and on for a few weeks now. There are only 5 employees there, and people keep testing positive. It's crazy.

Me and my wife both got it even though we got the most recent shot in October. It seems that the reports that Omicron doesn't give a shit if you are vaccinated or not are holding true. This damned virus keeps mutating and dodging our efforts to end the pandemic. I think we all need to go back to being more careful, using masks and trying not to be crowded so much.

[jingle.boy]

Damn Marc. Hoping for the best.

My sister has Covid for the second time. She had it last fall, got fully vaxxed, and now has it again. She got it from her vaxxed BF.

I was away for the holiday with my GF. We got a cabin in PA for the week of Christmas. My Aunt and Uncle hosted, and there were a bunch of people there. Huge outbreak despite the majority being vaccinated. My parents didn't want to go because that was their fear. So it looks like they dogged a bullet. Seems like even the ones who were vaxxed are taking it on the chin pretty hard, but no hospitalizations yet, which is good. My mom works at the library in town, and they've been closed off and on for a few weeks now. There are only 5 employees there, and people keep testing positive. It's crazy.

Me and my wife both got it even though we got the most recent shot in October. It seems that the reports that Omicron doesn't give a shit if you are vaccinated or not are holding true. This damned virus keeps mutating and dodging our efforts to end the pandemic. I think we all need to go back to being more careful, using masks and trying not to be crowded so much.

^This.  Current status in Ontario:

Hosiptalized/ICU:
Unvax'd - 236/89
Vax'c - 578/54

Proportionately, it's hitting more unvax'd; but on the whole, vax'd are filling up the hospitals.  And the more the hospitals fill, the more healtcare workers will be exposed and have to isolate - another cascading consequence... a shortage of ambulances on the road last night here in Ontario due to a combination of THOSE workers out with COVID, and having to stay with patients that can't be admitted into a hospital (due to staff shortages, and high demand).  This is going to be a very rough few months until this spike reaches its peak.

Don't mean to sound hysterical - just pointing out the facts.

[Ben_Jamin]

Now this is fascinating...

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/03/health/covid-weight-loss-wellness/index.html

People with obesity are 46% more at risk of getting Covid-19, according to a study from August. It found that they are also more at risk of getting really sick, facing a 113% higher chance of being hospitalized, a 74% higher risk of needing to be treated in the ICU and -- perhaps most troubling of all -- a 48% increased risk of death.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/obr.13128

Being an individual with obesity is associated with numerous underlying risk factors for COVID-19, including hypertension, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney or liver disease. Coronaviruses are typically not associated with severe disease and were mostly thought to cause only mild respiratory infections until the emergence of the 2002 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in Guangdong, China. The SARS-CoV outbreak was ultimately contained thanks to its low viral load within the beginning stages of symptom onset, allowing time for identification and isolation of infected individuals.107 The 2009 influenza pandemic, caused by an outbreak of the upper respiratory influenza A H1N1 virus, identified individuals with obesity as an independent risk factor for severe influenza morbidity and mortality.10 Subsequently, emergence of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 exhibited high prevalence among individuals with obesity.108 The growing evidence detailed above demonstrates that obesity increases the risks of hospitalization, severity and in some cases death with viral respiratory infections, increasing the likelihood that obesity may also independently increase the risk for COVID-19, another respiratory viral disease. Several reports summarize the current understanding of the pathogenicity and immune response to SARS-CoV-2 based on available data from animal and human studies.109, 110 Importantly, the mechanism(s) responsible for greater COVID-19 severity in individuals with obesity remains unknown. However, insights from other viral infections, like influenza, and epidemiological evidence offer some understanding of how being an individual with obesity increases the risk of COVID-19 severity (Figure 8). Considering the exponential rise in the prevalence of individuals with obesity, understanding how being an individual with obesity increases the risk for severe COVID-19 is critical to ensure appropriate interventional and prophylactic therapies against this novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 has led not only to increased unemployment and income insecurity but to many changes in food supplies. Many aspects of food supply chains have been disrupted, and components of the food system focused on restaurants and hotels have lost their demand and are experiencing difficulty redirecting toward home consumption. Other key aspects of food chains, especially in low- and middle-income countries have been completely disrupted with impacts varying by country and region. There is an expectation of a significant rise in stunting and adult thinness is expected, especially in South Asia, a few select other SE Asian countries (e.g., Indonesia) and much of sub-Saharan Africa along with pockets of the poor in all other low- and middle-income countries.174 The impact on not only malnutrition but increased food insecurity for the large proportion of lower income families is expected to be significant.174

One might suspect we would see a decline in obesity if the food insecurity impacts the individuals with overweight and obesity in many low- and middle-income countries. This truly depends on how serious is the food insecurity and loss of income and how are diets shifted, if at all. We will see diet shifts in not only how we eat and drink but also how we move if inactivity grows greatly. If the diets shifts to increased consumption of refined carbohydrates, fried food and other unhealthy aspects of the traditional diet or to increased highly or ultraprocessed food we may experience increases in the prevalence of individuals with obesity. One can speculate but we truly do not know. Surveys on this topic are not published to date. Similarly studies in higher income countries suggest weight gains or no shift in weight.175 At the same time, some studies from higher income countries suggest potential increases in obesity.175, 176

While we do not have data on sales of ultraprocessed foods and beverages, many reports both from organizations monitoring food purchases and global company reports suggest that in higher and middle-income countries access to fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables is impacted due to breakdowns in local supply chains, and the demand for packaged processed food has increased, especially in the ready-to-eat and -drink categories.8, 177 These foods tend to be ultraprocessed and high in energy density, saturated fat, sodium and sugar. The attraction is partially that these foods require less storage and are highly palatable. In addition, they are relatively inexpensive due to the large economies of scale in their production. Particularly where costs loom greatly in food-purchasing decisions, as among the lower income segments of the population, these cheaper products may be consumed in much greater quantities. However, ultraprocessed foods are a major contributor to obesity and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The literature linking ultraprocessed foods with adverse health outcomes is large and consistent.178-195

Additionally, the lockdown and fear of contact with the virus will likely have reduced walking and other movements among all age groups while enhancing sedentary living, TV and computer and video games. We would expect significant declines in energy expenditures from this combination of reduced movement and increased sedentary behaviours. Concurrently, the rapid increase in consumption of ultraprocessed foods and reduced energy expenditures in almost all low-, middle- and high-income countries are expected to heighten the risks of overweight, obesity and other NCDs.196

This paper highlights another concern—that is, vaccines may not be as effective in individuals with overweight/obesity. Given the large prevalence of the world population that is composed of individuals with overweight/obesity, it is imperative that governments ensure that testing and research focus not only on the general efficacy of vaccines and therapeutics but also on how they will impact individuals with obesity.

These studies are proving what I have been saying and will continue to say....Since we humans have begun living in this lifestyle of urbanization (city life) due to the mass production of products and these factories needing workers to produce these products, hence the localization of workers close to these factories, and also mines, we are witnessing the consequences and outcomes of the choice to live this lifestyle. It's proving to be detrimental rather than beneficial for the overall health of humans. As I said as well, we would've been fine from this virus and many other viruses if not for the expansion of this mindset of Industrialization and Consumerism that spread across the world from Europe. This domination led us humans to be forced to live under this detrimental lifestyle and it will continue to get worse, unless we humans realize and analyze the benefits and detriments of living under this current system.

It's not easy, it's not simple, it can't be done simply fast (like how our world wants and demands everything to be instant) and it will take a lot of work and dedication from every human being on this planet.

[Nekov]

Well, one of the unexpected symptoms of Covid, at least for me and my wife, is less appetite. So I guess covid is helping us in a way? 

On a more serious note, I agree with you that we as a race need to change our way of life, and I think covid is actually helping us. Through the past two years lots of people have started moving away from cities since some employers are letting people work remotely. I honestly hope that this trend continues and we get less crowded cities and more living space for each person. There needs to be a massive investment in infrastructure for this happen, but I think we are going that route.

[lonestar]

Damn Marc. Hoping for the best.

My sister has Covid for the second time. She had it last fall, got fully vaxxed, and now has it again. She got it from her vaxxed BF.

I was away for the holiday with my GF. We got a cabin in PA for the week of Christmas. My Aunt and Uncle hosted, and there were a bunch of people there. Huge outbreak despite the majority being vaccinated. My parents didn't want to go because that was their fear. So it looks like they dogged a bullet. Seems like even the ones who were vaxxed are taking it on the chin pretty hard, but no hospitalizations yet, which is good. My mom works at the library in town, and they've been closed off and on for a few weeks now. There are only 5 employees there, and people keep testing positive. It's crazy.

Me and my wife both got it even though we got the most recent shot in October. It seems that the reports that Omicron doesn't give a shit if you are vaccinated or not are holding true. This damned virus keeps mutating and dodging our efforts to end the pandemic. I think we all need to go back to being more careful, using masks and trying not to be crowded so much.

^This.  Current status in Ontario:

Hosiptalized/ICU:
Unvax'd - 236/89
Vax'c - 578/54

Proportionately, it's hitting more unvax'd; but on the whole, vax'd are filling up the hospitals.  And the more the hospitals fill, the more healtcare workers will be exposed and have to isolate - another cascading consequence... a shortage of ambulances on the road last night here in Ontario due to a combination of THOSE workers out with COVID, and having to stay with patients that can't be admitted into a hospital (due to staff shortages, and high demand).  This is going to be a very rough few months until this spike reaches its peak.

Don't mean to sound hysterical - just pointing out the facts.

I was listening to a report this morning, and they were talking about the numbers from the UK, and how even though the initial spike was violently quick, it also peaked very quickly, and based on this modeling, the NA peak could be as soon as later this month.

[millahh]

I was listening to a report this morning, and they were talking about the numbers from the UK, and how even though the initial spike was violently quick, it also peaked very quickly, and based on this modeling, the NA peak could be as soon as later this month.

That squares with what I'd been hearing regarding South Africa...it spread incredibly quickly, but as a result peaked in like a month and was already on its way back down even before Christmas.

[jingle.boy]

Hef I hope so.

[hefdaddy42]

Hef I hope so.

Well, I'll see what I can do.

[lonestar]

I was listening to a report this morning, and they were talking about the numbers from the UK, and how even though the initial spike was violently quick, it also peaked very quickly, and based on this modeling, the NA peak could be as soon as later this month.

That squares with what I'd been hearing regarding South Africa...it spread incredibly quickly, but as a result peaked in like a month and was already on its way back down even before Christmas.

Always nice to have my heresay professionally confirmed.

[ProfessorPeart]

My daughter tested positive from a test on Saturday. My wife and son are off getting tested now. My wife had a slew of appointments this week and physical therapy, all of which had to be canceled/moved. This is also affecting her return to work post-surgery. She was supposed to get initial clearance tomorrow but now she can't see her surgeon.

My daughter had symptoms on Saturday when she got tested but by Sunday they were gone. None of the rest of us have any symptoms but we are all triple-vaxed. My daughter had not gotten boosted yet and she is 6-8 months or so post her 2nd shot.

[gmillerdrake]

We were exposed to Covid on 12/24 and 12/25......told that person was positive on the 26th. Our whole household exhibited mild symptoms starting on Monday 1/27 with the worst of the symptoms being a stuffy head and a dry cough at it's height. I ran a 100 degree fever on tuesday night for a few hours but it broke on it's own.

I sit here today literally with no symptoms or residual effects. Very fortunate to have had it so mild.....BUT....we all have had it before and my wife and I are vaccinated. The kids were set to get vaccinated but could not due to testing positive last Wednesday but they as well were very mild symptoms.

[Ben_Jamin]

Well, one of the unexpected symptoms of Covid, at least for me and my wife, is less appetite. So I guess covid is helping us in a way? 

On a more serious note, I agree with you that we as a race need to change our way of life, and I think covid is actually helping us. Through the past two years lots of people have started moving away from cities since some employers are letting people work remotely. I honestly hope that this trend continues and we get less crowded cities and more living space for each person. There needs to be a massive investment in infrastructure for this happen, but I think we are going that route.

It's interesting to think about that and makes you wonder about the industrialization and density of China...I do wonder if there are studies done about the Industrialization, urbanization and density of China's cities playing a role in their peoples overall health.

Over here, a lot of people are starting to get into buying fresh foods locally from the farmers markets. The prevalence of Farmers Markets here shows that change of behavior and mindset of the benefits of eating nutritiously. We have one at the railyards called the Railyards Market that has lots of local farmers, and locally made products. So, we have good nutritious foods being sold, and also there are programs there that are available to help those less fortunate to acquire these nutritious foods.

Again though, we are not a big major city like New York or LA, and we have a big cultural background with both Native and Spanish culture being vital for the community of the cities, towns, and pueblos of our state. We have a lot of farmers in our state, and we notice the expansion of Albuquerque and I do notice the impact it is having on everything in the city, from the development of modernized infrastructure to the congestion of the highways as the people only have 4 bridges to cross the river to get from one side where they work, to the other where they live. Albuquerque can not expand East because of the mountain, North because my rez is there, South because another reservation is there, so the only option is to expand West.

The rural people of our state do not have the same mindsets as the people in the cities, priorities are different and overall behaviors are different as well. This needs to be addressed when dealing with social issues and why there is no one size fits all solution for anything. And why handling the pandemic is a state issue, which the federal government can not handle as there are too many different mindsets. Isn't this the reason for why this country has states to begin with?

Since food prices are increasing, and all mass produced products will be increasing in price as the pandemic effects each of the production factories, we might want to look into being more self-sufficient and start relying on our selves, more so than the mass productions of the factories for certain needs like food.

[cramx3]

My dr friend got me in to get a PCR test today which won't get results for 3-4 days, I feel mostly fine on day 3, just congested and tired at this point.  Sadly, my gf started feeling symptoms today and she's experiencing what I was yesterday... the difficulty of getting a test.  So luckily for her, it looks like my online order is coming early and I should receive it tomorrow with 2 at home tests she can use. 

[Harmony]

Sorry if this has been discussed before but heads up for Covid testing, especially at home.  It appears testing for Omicron is more accurate if you include a throat swab with the nasal swab.

https://slate.com/technology/2021/12/throat-swab-rapid-testing-omicron-effective.html

[Grappler]

My county's health department urged against swabbing your own throat.  They cautioned that users should follow the instructions for the at-home test closely and not try to get too crazy.

[lonestar]

The office I work for is requiring all employees and contract workers to test negative before returning from the holiday break.

I tested negative

[ProfessorPeart]

The hospital system I work for has a thing in their My Chart app to report covid close encounters. My wife went to that this morning and did it for both her and my son and in less than an hour our doctor had tests ordered in the system. She drove to the urgent care and said there was orders. They got their tests and left.

We don't even think about at home tests. We can get official orders like it's nothing.

[jingle.boy]

My county's health department urged against swabbing your own throat.  They cautioned that users should follow the instructions for the at-home test closely and not try to get too crazy.

I’ve read and seen the same info in interviews.  Hard to discern the truth. This (swabbing with saliva) could be more accurate, or it could be social media dis / misinformation.

[Stadler]

The hospital system I work for has a thing in their My Chart app to report covid close encounters. My wife went to that this morning and did it for both her and my son and in less than an hour our doctor had tests ordered in the system. She drove to the urgent care and said there was orders. They got their tests and left.

We don't even think about at home tests. We can get official orders like it's nothing.

It's so...  confusing, honestly.  And I consider myself a smart guy, so for those that aren't... well, I don't want to be arrogant, but you know where I'm going with this, it has to be an utter morass of conflicting data.

Here in Connecticut, the state has issued millions of free at-home kits.   People are standing (well, they are in their cars) in line for these things like it's a Beatles reunion.   The local news station had a local reporter - Tony Terzi (his dad was a legend in the state as well) - at one of these and he reported that in THREE HOURS, he saw the line moved like 50 feet.  This is per town, at least the towns that have them, and so is a state-wide phenomenon.

Having said that, I flew last week and upon returning, I walked right in to a testing lab at Bradley airport, there was one person in front of me - check that, a couple in front of me - and I was tested before the luggage on my flight came out.   When my daughter flew in in December, she did the same thing, and later, during her trip, I drove her to the airport, she went in and got a test in about 15 minutes.   So I wonder if it really IS that hard, or if people are making it harder than it needs to be.

I'm wondering for my area, so if it is markedly different somewhere else and people ARE struggling I apologize in advance.

[Stadler]

So, some of you know I've had to put my folks in assisted living over the last month and a half; mom has Alzheimer's, and my handicapped dad, who was taking care of her (I only add "handicapped" so you can get a full picture) fell in early November and severely broke his femur ("split it like a young sapling" according to the doctor).   Mom went immediately to assisted living and dad went to the hospital and then into a month long rehab facility.   Now they are together in the assisted living, and despite some hurdles (dad's short term memory is severely compromised; we're not sure if it is age, from the fall, stress or all three) they are, thank God, thriving.

Except I got a call last night that they both have the COVID.  82 and 84, and thankfully both vaccinated and under care, but this is going to be quite the next five days or so.  My brother just had it, in November, so we're hoping he's got antibodies, and I tested negative on my return to CT and via a home kit last night, so there's that.  The facility is really good, though, and they are on top of it.  My parents are quarantined in their unit, and have all their meals and meds brought to them.  But we'll see.  So far, symptoms seem to be mild, but both are pretty susceptible to the ravages of the virus, so we're going to be on alert.

[Lonk]

Having said that, I flew last week and upon returning, I walked right in to a testing lab at Bradley airport, there was one person in front of me - check that, a couple in front of me - and I was tested before the luggage on my flight came out.   When my daughter flew in in December, she did the same thing, and later, during her trip, I drove her to the airport, she went in and got a test in about 15 minutes.   So I wonder if it really IS that hard, or if people are making it harder than it needs to be.

I'm wondering for my area, so if it is markedly different somewhere else and people ARE struggling I apologize in advance.

I have not travel since December of 2019, so I cannot speak for how airports are. However, if you try to get a test anywhere in NYC right now you are out of luck, as you will be encountered with a line that has been forming since 5am, if not earlier. There are 2 clinics I drive by on my way to work and without fail, every day since mid December, there has been at least 100 people in line (not exaggerating). I know people who has tried to get tested in some of the other boroughs and they say the same thing.

Testing is so hectic in NYC right now, that the FDNY had to put out a statement telling people to not call 911 for Covid testing. People have been calling 911, with the hope of getting a test faster (easier?) than standing in line at a clinic for hours.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-fdny-no-tests-sick-leave-covid-20211229-o2kfpsx4izgofbud7htb7iy3qe-story.html

Except I got a call last night that they both have the COVID.  82 and 84, and thankfully both vaccinated and under care, but this is going to be quite the next five days or so.  My brother just had it, in November, so we're hoping he's got antibodies, and I tested negative on my return to CT and via a home kit last night, so there's that.  The facility is really good, though, and they are on top of it.  My parents are quarantined in their unit, and have all their meals and meds brought to them.  But we'll see.  So far, symptoms seem to be mild, but both are pretty susceptible to the ravages of the virus, so we're going to be on alert.

I wish both your parents a quick recovery, sorry to hear about your dads broken femur.

[Chino]

Damn, Bill. Real sorry to hear that. Wishing you all the best.

[jingle.boy]

Bill... that's tough news to hear - I can't imagine how much stress and worry it's causing you.  Hope the best for a positive outcome.

Testing here in Ontario is also an absolute shit show.  Gov't is no longer offering discretionary testing for free - the testing system is just so overloaded.  We're supposed to rely on at home tests for vax'd/mild symptom people.  Except they've not distributed tests to the entire province - school children got some before the xmas break, and some were being handed out at random locations in mid December, but there aren't any available anymore.  PCR tests are being reserved for higher-risk cases.

I'm fortunate that for a lot of things, and there aren't a lot of DIRECT health impact to the jingle.family around all of catastrophic handling of this by our Provincial gov't, but the indirect impacts are going to start catching up at some point.

[Harmony]

Stadler, I'll hold your parents in my thoughts.  I can't imagine how stressful this must be for them and your family. 

Regarding the throat/nose swabbing, for those on Twitter, please read through Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding's (yes, I know) posts who is an epidemiologist and health economist (Harvard and John Hopkins).  The UK is beginning to recommend this as a standard of testing and other countries have already been combining throat/nose swabbing.

Of course US health departments are not going to recommend people go against what their home test kits labels recommend.  But inaccurate testing (not going deep enough in the nares, for example) is only going to continue to give false negatives.  I'd like to see more studies but there are plenty of medically credentialed folks chiming in on his threads that they did 2 tests - 1 only nose and 1 both and the one with both came back positive while the one with only the nose came back negative.  YMMV

[hefdaddy42]

So, some of you know I've had to put my folks in assisted living over the last month and a half; mom has Alzheimer's, and my handicapped dad, who was taking care of her (I only add "handicapped" so you can get a full picture) fell in early November and severely broke his femur ("split it like a young sapling" according to the doctor).   Mom went immediately to assisted living and dad went to the hospital and then into a month long rehab facility.   Now they are together in the assisted living, and despite some hurdles (dad's short term memory is severely compromised; we're not sure if it is age, from the fall, stress or all three) they are, thank God, thriving.

Except I got a call last night that they both have the COVID.  82 and 84, and thankfully both vaccinated and under care, but this is going to be quite the next five days or so.  My brother just had it, in November, so we're hoping he's got antibodies, and I tested negative on my return to CT and via a home kit last night, so there's that.  The facility is really good, though, and they are on top of it.  My parents are quarantined in their unit, and have all their meals and meds brought to them.  But we'll see.  So far, symptoms seem to be mild, but both are pretty susceptible to the ravages of the virus, so we're going to be on alert.

That's terrible to hear.

Prayers.

[Stadler]

It goes without saying, even though it shouldn't:  I deeply appreciate the kind words, the thoughts, and the prayers.  It means a lot.