Coronavirus Thread v.2

[Skeever]

You'll forgive me if I don't board up the windows and spend my life savings on sandbags for a light drizzle, no matter how many of my neighbors hysterically scream "hurricane!"

Well, like XJ already pointed out, it's not hysterical neighbours screaming, but virologists, the medical system, epidemiologists ... but whatever.  Make the facts fit into your worldview.

These people tell us how the virus works, how it spreads and mutates, the potency of it, and so on. They do not tell us what we as a people should tolerate, or what sacrifices are worth stopping it. They tell us how it can be stopped, and then we have to decide what is worth what.   The guidance published by the CDC allows us to go on with life reasonably safely.  No scientist can tell you what amount of death is worth going into a full lockdown for.

[XJDenton]

So how much is, in your view?

[Skeever]

So how much is, in your view?

This is not worth a prolonged lockdown to me especially because there is no end in site and we'll be living with the virus for years to come even if we the USA board people in their homes and have the national guard deliver rations to their doors.

What I am in favor for is doubling down on the restrictions we already have that we know allow us to be safe while greatly diminishing the transmissabillity of the virus. Temperature checks, masks in crowded places, 6 ft distancing, and of course VACCINES. I had to run out to Walmart today for some supplies and holy shit, what a zoo. Obviously we're not doing even what the CDC have suggested. That is the problem, IMO. Not people who have found ways to go to the gym and so on safetly.

[Ben_Jamin]

I am more amazed at how many people are out Christmas Shopping. If you wanted to stop this spread you would have had to also cancel christmas or at least get people to not go out and shop.

But that is an impossible task as people are out there buying the presents, packing the stores. If there were a time to implement the crowd limits this would've been that time. Also, the companies went out of their way to promote all the christmas crap, you think the department stores would want to take that loss again.

I'll say though, that this pandemic basically reality checked the entire structure of the western civilization the world currently lives by. That's what is being weighed by many people, and it will continue to be weighed as things keep going the way they are. People are going to snap, they're going to reach their breaking points and do things (hopefully beneficial). It's all because no one can control people. I have said this when this pandemic started and I myself am just sitting back watching the testing, and gradual unraveling, of the western civilization.

When humans gather to discuss and analyze life, a lot of them do not agree with one another. So how can you expect everyone to follow what one person determines for all to follow?...You can't as there will always be people who do not come to the same conclusion. That's why Leaders should listen to every word from every person of their society and gather a consensus to enact what the people want. If that's what the people want, that's what the people get. It's not beneficial at all for the leaders to ignore and neglect what the people want, it leads to turmoil from the people and the people have a threshold to how much they will take. When a storms been brewing and it rains, it pours.

I will also say this. I do not mind wearing a mask when required by the business, I do not care if the business doesn't require me to wear one either, so I won't if not required. I do not mind testing, it's what my tribe has been doing since the pandemic started and what I had to do to continue attending my university for the fall semester. I also always try to wash my hands under mid-way between warm and hot water, sometimes I would let my hands sit in the water because it's warm and feels good. I don't like having nasty things on my hands and will wash them whenever I get stuff on them. If anything, I am glad that more people are actually washing their hands, because why would you not wash your hands after taking a dump at wal-mart. 

[gmillerdrake]

Sister in law who is fully vaccinated/boosted just tested positive. Spent the past two days with her. Everyone we were around the past two days are fully vaxxed. Our kiddos area scheduled to get their first shots Wednesday at their pediatricians….will have them tested then.

No symptoms here yet obviously but we spent two straight days with that side of the family so we shall see.

[Orbert]

I got an email Sunday afternoon from my church saying that someone who was at both services on Christmas Eve (we had two) has been diagnosed with Covid-19.  They were vaccinated, masked, and asymptomatic.  First, I'm wondering why if they weren't showing symptoms two days ago, how have they been diagnosed now.  Apparently they started showing symptoms Saturday or Sunday, severe enough to get tested, and the test was positive.  Dammit.  I too was at both services, vaccinated and masked, but this is possible exposure.

What a fucking mess.  My daughter is in town and will fly back Thursday.  I've got a test scheduled for Monday morning, results in "1-2 days".  I'm not afraid that I've got it; I'm dreading the nasal drilling.  If I've got it, presumably it will be a relatively mild case since I'm fully vaxxed and boosted.  Hopefully.  Well, hopefully it comes back negative.  Yay.  If I'm negative, I'll assume the rest of my family is negative.  Is that how it works?

[Lonk]

I can't speak to other places but in a news segment about NYC they posted a side by side of current hospitalizations vs the height of the pandemic and it was about 970 at the worst and 54 currently which made me laugh. They're trying hard to make omicron seem scary but I'm not surprised that the vast majority of people aren't buying what they're trying to sell.

Not sure where you got those numbers from, but they are not accurate. Yes, the current situation is not as bad as it was on spring of 2020, but I wouldn't underestimate what could happen over the next few weeks, given how hospitalization went up 100% in the last 7 days alone. At the beginning of the Pandemic, we had more than 18K people in the hospital, 5000 of which were in an ICU.

https://www.cp24.com/news/model-projects-10-000-covid-19-cases-daily-by-january-in-ontario-without-more-boosters-and-public-health-measures-1.5709731

And this is a precise example. These models have consistently over-projected the consequences of COVID by multiple orders of magnitude. Either the people making and publicizing this model are too stupid to understand that or they are deliberately stoking panic for no reason.

With all due respect, I do not see what you are stating here. Most models that we have seen have either been accurate or underestimated the numbers(Not over-projecting). Summer/Fall of 2020 the projections were "We might see 100K cases a day if we don't take action", well, we saw almost 300K cases a day(I think we surpassed 300K one day). "We will see 500K total death if we do not control the virus", we are well over 500K, and I wouldn't be surprised if we reach 1M before March.

[cramx3]

If the hospitals are getting swamped, that is a legit concern.  Plus the medical staffing can be a big concern as well, my doctor friend who had covid bad last year, triple vaxxed, and just got covid again.  As a doctor, he is now out for the week it seems.

Having said that, I know quite a bit of people with covid right now and so far none have more than a cold.  BUT the older and more immunocompromised portion of the population can still have severe illness and also the unvaccinated could get pretty sick. (I'm assuming these are the people ending up in the hospital)  Hopefully those people can do their best to stay safe because it's not going to get any better in the immediate future. 

[King Postwhore]

My sister in law (Unvaccinated) and my brother in law (Vaccinated) both got it and were hit hard for 2 weeks. They are Trumpsters so it was funny that they kept silent about it because I'd guess of embarrassment for being so vocal that the vaccine was a sham.  Brother in law was forced to get it or lose his job. 

We didn't make a big deal about it. We waited for them to tell us then we asked questions in case we should ever get it.

[emtee]

It's going through our hospital staff like wildfire. 27 were sent home over the weekend. All were vaccinated. Symptoms were like a cold. Some with high fever, others without. It's uber transmissible but mild compared to previous strains. Maybe this will infect everybody and we will get herd immunity.

[Stadler]

I can't speak to other places but in a news segment about NYC they posted a side by side of current hospitalizations vs the height of the pandemic and it was about 970 at the worst and 54 currently which made me laugh. They're trying hard to make omicron seem scary but I'm not surprised that the vast majority of people aren't buying what they're trying to sell.

Not sure where you got those numbers from, but they are not accurate. Yes, the current situation is not as bad as it was on spring of 2020, but I wouldn't underestimate what could happen over the next few weeks, given how hospitalization went up 100% in the last 7 days alone. At the beginning of the Pandemic, we had more than 18K people in the hospital, 5000 of which were in an ICU.

https://www.cp24.com/news/model-projects-10-000-covid-19-cases-daily-by-january-in-ontario-without-more-boosters-and-public-health-measures-1.5709731

And this is a precise example. These models have consistently over-projected the consequences of COVID by multiple orders of magnitude. Either the people making and publicizing this model are too stupid to understand that or they are deliberately stoking panic for no reason.

With all due respect, I do not see what you are stating here. Most models that we have seen have either been accurate or underestimated the numbers(Not over-projecting). Summer/Fall of 2020 the projections were "We might see 100K cases a day if we don't take action", well, we saw almost 300K cases a day(I think we surpassed 300K one day). "We will see 500K total death if we do not control the virus", we are well over 500K, and I wouldn't be surprised if we reach 1M before March.

Of course, even if all the numbers are spot on, there is still the fatal flaw in all that:  "if we don't take action"; "if we don't control the virus".  We can't control the fucking virus, and we have to stop with the delusion that we can.    California, Florida.  The "action" only serves to potentially, maybe increase - again, maybe - our individual odds with all these measures.  We're not "stopping" shit, we're not "controlling" shit.

[Cool Chris]

Shitton of Xanax lady has been making the internet rounds. She is certainly "taking action!"

[jingle.boy]

Goddamn I hope that is sattire

[Adami]

Goddamn I hope that is sattire

Doubtful. Some people take pride in that kind of stuff. Got me.

[XJDenton]

Poe's Law in full effect there.

[KevShmev]

Found out a co-worker (who doesn't sit close to me) got a negative COVID test last week, but it was said that she had been coughing like mad for a week which is why she went and got the test.  And of course my first thought was, "Thanks for coming to work for a week with a coughing fit." 

[gmillerdrake]

So our whole family is coughing up a storm. That dry cough where you always feel like your throat needs to be cleared. I took a home Covid test last night that came back negative.....the boys have an appointment tomorrow at 10:00am to get their first vaccination shot but obviously they're going to be tested prior to see if they're positive or not.

Had my sister in law not tested positive I'd say what we have is just a little cold or light flu.....but being that we spent two days in a row with her I'd wager we probably have Covid again. Reading through some things I see that I could have taken that at home test too soon which could have caused a false negative.

Going to wait to get tested until after we see what happens with the boys. My work has three people out with Covid right now.....all tested positive over Christmas break.

[MirrorMask]

Three days shy of the second anniversary of the news breaking (it's been already 2 years? geeez I feel that the lockdown was still "last spring"), I had to take a test, my very first one, a coworker resulted positive.

It's negative!  phew, I'll take another one in 48-72 hours just to make sure but I should be in the clear.

[bosk1]

Trying to navigate the maze of what the international travel restrictions are.  What a convoluted mess.    I wish there was a straightforward description of exactly what is required.

[KevShmev]

My 16-year old nephew and 15-year old niece both tested positive this morning.  Ugh. 

[T-ski]

Just took at-home tests before heading to my folks for Christmas and our 14 year old came up positive.

Merry Christmas.

Both my wife and I have been boosted and the kid has his two shots as well, so we hope everything is mild.

Been four days, the kid basically had symptoms associated with a mild cold and is now close to symptom free but now my wife has the same symptoms while I feel headachy. We all got officially tested yesterday and are awaiting the results.

How exciting.

[Orbert]

My test came back negative.  Yay.  Life goes on as usual before.

[T-ski]

Just took at-home tests before heading to my folks for Christmas and our 14 year old came up positive.

Merry Christmas.

Both my wife and I have been boosted and the kid has his two shots as well, so we hope everything is mild.

Been four days, the kid basically had symptoms associated with a mild cold and is now close to symptom free but now my wife has the same symptoms while I feel headachy. We all got officially tested yesterday and are awaiting the results.

How exciting.

Kid is still positive, me and the wife are negative though my wife appears to have worse symptoms currently than our son did.

I don’t even know anymore.

[gmillerdrake]

Our kiddos just tested positive....gonna do an at home test here in a bit to see if I have it as well. I'm sure we do......got me some fresh antibodies 

[bosk1]

Everyone feeling ok?

Hasn't really hit where we are.  But Omicron ran through my sister's and mom's town right before Christmas, causing us to have to cancel our Christmas get together plans, unfortunately.  Last I checked with her, about a dozen people in her circle of friends were positive.  But only one of those felt sick enough to have to just stay in bed, and zero hospitalizations.  Seems pretty consistent with the reports.

Finally got boosted yesterday too.  The process was a lot faster and easier than the first round.  Scheduled it at our local Sam's Club.  Only hangup was that the guy who got there and got in line right before me for my appointment time along with his 3 kids was that he is not a Sam's member, which apparently caused a log jam in their computer system and caused us both to have to wait a bit.  But no ill effects from the shot itself, other than a bit of arm soreness, just like last time.

[cramx3]

Trying to navigate the maze of what the international travel restrictions are.  What a convoluted mess.    I wish there was a straightforward description of exactly what is required.

What are you trying to figure out?  It's messy with each country being different, but basically you just need a negative test within 24 hours and proof of vaccination.  At least that's what I needed last week when I travelled internationally.

Our kiddos just tested positive....gonna do an at home test here in a bit to see if I have it as well. I'm sure we do......got me some fresh antibodies 

It's very odd that I'm seeing a lot of stories where everyone in the household is sick accept like one person.  It's not that different than the other strains we saw earlier that there's always like some exception to the rule or something odd.  My brother in law was testing positive every day for a week and my sister was negative living in their small apartment together.  My sister was the one exposed too to start the process of them getting tested.  My good friend is covid positive, but his old immunocompomised parents are not (and yes, a near 40 year old living with his parents still) and that also happened when he got covid last year.   

NJ is setting daily records for cases right now.  It's like EVERYONE has cold symptoms right now.  But not everyone is testing positive.  I really get the feeling like everyone over here is getting exposure to the virus and some people have the robust immune system to not test positive IMO.

I went to a general admission concert last night.  It was "sold out" but you could tell a lot of people didn't show up.  It was far from packed, which was a good thing, but it felt like the deadest concert I've been to all year.  It definitely seemed like covid was a concern and at least half the crowd was masked (it was usually like 10-20% in earlier shows at that venue).

[T-ski]

Just called my folks to fill them in on our situation and my Dad says, “if you go looking for trouble you’ll find it.”

For the first time in my life (I’m 49), I went completely off on my Dad.

I was shaking the whole time, dropping f-bomb after f-bomb and he just shook it off like I was the conspiracy theorist. My Mom told to shut up, which was nice, but his lackadaisical attitude to the the whole situation just put me over the top. Instead of thanking us for being proactive for testing ourselves before we met for Christmas, he’d rather scoff at us for “looking for trouble”.

[lonestar]

Our kiddos just tested positive....gonna do an at home test here in a bit to see if I have it as well. I'm sure we do......got me some fresh antibodies 

I don't remember, did your sons catch it the first time Gary?

[gmillerdrake]

Our kiddos just tested positive....gonna do an at home test here in a bit to see if I have it as well. I'm sure we do......got me some fresh antibodies 

I don't remember, did your sons catch it the first time Gary?

Yep RJ.....we all tested positive last December 18th and had it over Christmas. I will say this though....having been vaccinated my symptoms this time around were pretty tame. First signs were Monday with a dry cough.....worst being yesterday with some body aches and a fever. But today....outside of coughing every now and then I feel fine. That goes for everyone. We all seemed to have had the 'worst' of it yesterday.

Bummer part is the boys were set to be vaccinated today but instead it turned into being tested and finding out they're positive. The Dr. told me and the wife that there's really no point for us to get tested given the similarity in symptoms....timeframe and the fact that the rest of our family who came in contact with my sister in law have tested positive....that we're most certainly positive as well. So, we're unofficially covid positive.

[King Postwhore]

Just called my folks to fill them in on our situation and my Dad says, “if you go looking for trouble you’ll find it.”

For the first time in my life (I’m 49), I went completely off on my Dad.

I was shaking the whole time, dropping f-bomb after f-bomb and he just shook it off like I was the conspiracy theorist. My Mom told to shut up, which was nice, but his lackadaisical attitude to the the whole situation just put me over the top. Instead of thanking us for being proactive for testing ourselves before we met for Christmas, he’d rather scoff at us for “looking for trouble”.

That's maddening man.  I'm so sorry.

Our kiddos just tested positive....gonna do an at home test here in a bit to see if I have it as well. I'm sure we do......got me some fresh antibodies 

I don't remember, did your sons catch it the first time Gary?

Yep RJ.....we all tested positive last December 18th and had it over Christmas. I will say this though....having been vaccinated my symptoms this time around were pretty tame. First signs were Monday with a dry cough.....worst being yesterday with some body aches and a fever. But today....outside of coughing every now and then I feel fine. That goes for everyone. We all seemed to have had the 'worst' of it yesterday.

Bummer part is the boys were set to be vaccinated today but instead it turned into being tested and finding out they're positive. The Dr. told me and the wife that there's really no point for us to get tested given the similarity in symptoms....timeframe and the fact that the rest of our family who came in contact with my sister in law have tested positive....that we're most certainly positive as well. So, we're unofficially covid positive.

Glad you and your family are feeling better today Gary.

[Melphina]

Having been on the road trucking for the last 2 weeks it has been interesting to see the different states and cities I've been in and how pervasive mask use has been. Haven't had any opportunities to get tested but oof. Having to literally only use public restrooms has had me curious about my health. Knock on wood I won't get it or already don't have it but being that I'm quite healthy I'm not too worried if I DO get it.

But, I was supposed to go to Sweden this year and they just upped their travel restrictions and such. Shark farts.

[Cool Chris]

Life has been Covid free for us here. We saw my sister's family and parents on Christmas, and played with the neighbor kids out in the snow. Otherwise just doing our normal thing. Mom and kids are home for winter break, and my interactions at my job are minimal. Have actually been at home all week due to snow. My wife is still concerned we could get it and often goes the extra mile, such as wanting us to wear masks when we go from the car to the grocery store. We have a <5 year old who cannot get vaxxed, so that is a concern of course, as is the possibility that her preschool could shut down for a period should they deem appropriate.

[Grappler]

I've only had one person in my close family that has tested positive - my sister in law came down with covid last summer.  I overheard her telling another family member on Christmas Eve that she swears she got covid "from her dentist's office, since they were putting instruments in her mouth."   

No, the fact that you went out with your boyfriend and partied every night in crowded bars when you were in the Wisconsin Dells wasn't a factor, was it?  Sterilized dental instruments and a hygienist in head-to-toe PPE, including a mask and face shield must have done it to you.


Overall, my family (me, wife, kids, parents, in-laws, siblings) has managed to stay covid-free, including the ones that live in WI and are big anti-vaxxers.  I'm sure we'll all get it eventually, and I'm almost looking forward to it in a way because I feel like I'm always on edge when we get a big wave, not knowing if we'll end up catching it or not.  It would be nice to get it, have it run through the house and then know that we're all good for at least 90 days.  Having one kid that's too young to be vaccinated is driving me crazy. 

[lonestar]

Our kiddos just tested positive....gonna do an at home test here in a bit to see if I have it as well. I'm sure we do......got me some fresh antibodies 

I don't remember, did your sons catch it the first time Gary?

Yep RJ.....we all tested positive last December 18th and had it over Christmas. I will say this though....having been vaccinated my symptoms this time around were pretty tame. First signs were Monday with a dry cough.....worst being yesterday with some body aches and a fever. But today....outside of coughing every now and then I feel fine. That goes for everyone. We all seemed to have had the 'worst' of it yesterday.

Bummer part is the boys were set to be vaccinated today but instead it turned into being tested and finding out they're positive. The Dr. told me and the wife that there's really no point for us to get tested given the similarity in symptoms....timeframe and the fact that the rest of our family who came in contact with my sister in law have tested positive....that we're most certainly positive as well. So, we're unofficially covid positive.

Let's hope this doesn't become a holiday tradition for you all. Feel better bud.

[MoraWintersoul]

Just took at-home tests before heading to my folks for Christmas and our 14 year old came up positive.

Merry Christmas.

Both my wife and I have been boosted and the kid has his two shots as well, so we hope everything is mild.

Been four days, the kid basically had symptoms associated with a mild cold and is now close to symptom free but now my wife has the same symptoms while I feel headachy. We all got officially tested yesterday and are awaiting the results.

How exciting.

Kid is still positive, me and the wife are negative though my wife appears to have worse symptoms currently than our son did.

I don’t even know anymore.

It may have left her upper respiratory tract at that point and come a bit further down where the test can't catch it!

Sorry to hear about your dad being a jerk, bleh. Also sorry Gary has to do this for the second Christmas in a row.