COVID-19 - Wuhan Coronavirus (a non-political thread, see pg. 36 #1778)

[GrantDawg]

2 and a half years clean, my wife tested positive for Covid today. The chances she has given it to me is about 99%. So far she has very light symptoms. Hopefully we can both get out light.

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[SirFozzie]

Hope everything is good on your side, GD.

Here, the antibody treatment was friday morning (thankfully here in MA, it's all covered, didn't have to give insurance or anything).

Feeling, well, not great (if I felt great, I wouldn't be you know, sick!), but the major problem right now is fatigue. I have two stages, one where I have to sleep no matter what else I want to do, and the other stage where I can't sleep, no matter how much I really want to. Other than that, the typical covid congestion, lack of voice 3etcetera.

[Kodos]

I hope you start feeling better still soon, Foz.

[GrantDawg]

Glad, to hear, Foz. The wife went from cold like symptoms to flu like symptoms yesterday. Still no real fever, though. Just congested and achy. I am always congested, so it is hard to tell. Home test was negative for me yesterday.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Hope everything is good on your side, GD.

Here, the antibody treatment was friday morning (thankfully here in MA, it's all covered, didn't have to give insurance or anything).

Feeling, well, not great (if I felt great, I wouldn't be you know, sick!), but the major problem right now is fatigue. I have two stages, one where I have to sleep no matter what else I want to do, and the other stage where I can't sleep, no matter how much I really want to. Other than that, the typical covid congestion, lack of voice 3etcetera.

No rush but can you share what the antibody treatment was?

We talk so much about vaccines but not so much the therapeutics nowadays.

[Ksyrup]

FWIW, a local doctor who has been the media go-to since COVID began said the other day that we're seeing more negatives on first test for positive people than any other variant. He said many of those same people test again 3-4 days later and come back positive.

If that's the case, it seems like testing could do more harm than good in helping the spread because if I'm negative, I'm more likely to chalk it up to allergies or another illness.

[PilotMan]

The virus has figured out how to beat the tests to propagate faster!

It's ALIVE!

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Edward64

No rush but can you share what the antibody treatment was?

We talk so much about vaccines but not so much the therapeutics nowadays.

bebtelovimab.

Just to go into the procedure... the company (a florida based company, CDR Maguire) contracted with Massachusetts to provide the treatment

Monoclonal Antibody Therapy to Treat COVID-19 - CDR Health and Medical

It took about 2 hours from arrival to departure. They sent three folks to do the treatment (the people are based out of Florida). One of the hardest parts was finding a vein, like most infusions, they need a really good vein that can withstand the infusion, so there was a lot of tapping, asking me to open and close my hands rapidly to make the veins stick out (my veins are not really robust, so it took two attempts and the clean up of a little blood from the 2nd attempt before the infusion started).

From the term infusion, I was expecting something like an IV stand with drip, etcetera, but no, it was one needle plunger full, and then it was monitoring time. I felt bad for them during that part, they had to sit and watch me for an hour, taking blood pressure and temperature readings every fifteen minutes or so to make sure I didn't have a negative reaction to the infusion.

They were nice about the whole thing, and allowed me to get up and move around if I needed.

As for the results, 36 hours or so later, the congestion has dropped. Fatigue is still a major issue (as I said, I have two major modes, one where I sleep all the time no matter what I want to do, and the 2nd where I can't sleep, no matter how much I want to). So, a lot of it is just dealing with the current status

One of the keys to dealing with it is to stay hydrated, and understand that fatigue is going to be with you for several days even when you feel generally "better"

Due to my immunocompromising medicine, one of the problems is that traces of COVID will last a LOT longer, so things that require a negative test, like travel, would be out for a while for me. Instead of waiting for the negative test to be allowed to break quarantine, I am to wait 36-48 hours after the last symptoms fade.

I see they have a list price for the treatment of $450 in their Tallahassee FL locations. I don't know if that's pre-insurance (listed for folks who don't have insurance), but it's really comforting to know it's covered, no questions asked, here in MA. Basically, you have to be an adult, and over 88 pounds, and mild-moderate symptoms (not already hospitalized)(

[Edward64]

Hey, thanks for the info. Didn't know about what happens so thanks for sharing your story.

Glad you seem to be doing well.

[Edward64]

Article from The Atlantic. Essentially predicting there will be lack of vaccines and confusion this Fall when it's time for the updated booster shots.

From The Atlantic (link is messing up the post).

Not so long ago, America’s next COVID fall looked almost tidy. Sure, cases might rise as the weather chills and dries, and people flock indoors. But Pfizer and Moderna were already cooking up America’s very first retooled COVID vaccines, better matched to Omicron and its offshoots, and a new inoculation campaign was brewing.

There really is no excuse if it's a mess again.

Article said Biden hasn't gotten his $ yet but that's really no excuse. I'm sure the can move funny money around and get whatever funding he needs (and Congress won't say crap).

Plenty of time to come up with a "risk/issues log" and the mitigation/contingency plans. Put the right people in charge to get this done.

So Biden, I'm rooting for you but if it's a mess this Fall, it's all on you.

[sterlingice]

"Wuhan Coronavirus (a non-political thread, see pg. 36 #1778)" - lol


SI

[cuervo72]

Yeah, pointed that out probably a hundred pages ago.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Yeah, pointed that out probably a hundred pages ago.

Which part?

The part where it's still called the "Wuhan" thread despite no one calling it that for years and the inherently political nature of that?

The part where the OP comically declared "non-political" despite the fact that so many aspects of the pandemic are inherently political?

The part where the OP who declared it non-political is often who likes to stir the political pot in the thread?

I wonder if we're going to get some new rules declared (and probably ignored) in this thread about how only certain people can respond or how it has to use Robert's Rules of Internet Order - the Sealioning, Goalpost Moving, and Concern Trolling Edition?

"Yes, yes, it's all a rich tapestry."

SI

[cuervo72]

Any and all of that, yes.

I've long maintained that the OP's only reason for being on this board is to stir the political pot, and I'm still not sure why he picked FOFC (I don't believe he ever played FOF). Why that isn't more broadly acknowledged, I don't know.

(I have the OP on mute; I have been tempted to tell Flasch that it's a no-win situation -- argue and you go mad, don't argue and you basically don't push back against the crap -- but I largely have opted for mental health. I know others have opted out altogether, to quote another forumite: "I was curious about the state of FOFC after roe v wade and some of the other recent shit, logged in and saw edward spamming a thread trying to rationally "both sides" florida's don't say gay bill and logged off.")

[cuervo72]

Two years to the day, pretty much: COVID-19 - Wuhan Coronavirus (a non-political thread, see pg. 36 #1778) - Page 118 - Front Office Football Central

(But only 93 pages, so apologies on that front. And I guess Lathum and ISiddiqui beat me to it upthread, really.)

[Edward64]

Ow, that really hurts. But whatever.

On Wuhan, I guess you guys really didn't care that much to follow-up.

It's fair to ask why not change the name and remove Wuhan. I think my rationale is it wasn't political in the beginning, it was just a way to identify the virus. It's not political now, more an outdated term. If lots of FOFC members have a beef on this, sure I'll change it np.

On the political aspect of the post, I'll consider it political and also informational about forthcoming vaccination campaign.

But tell you what, here's a happy compromise for you.

COVID-19 - (a political thread for SI and Cuervo whine) - Front Office Football Central

[NobodyHere]

I think we need a group hug.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I think we need a group hug.

I'm game.

Or fight it out in a game of Civ 6.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Any and all of that, yes.

I've long maintained that the OP's only reason for being on this board is to stir the political pot, and I'm still not sure why he picked FOFC (I don't believe he ever played FOF). Why that isn't more broadly acknowledged, I don't know.

(I have the OP on mute; I have been tempted to tell Flasch that it's a no-win situation -- argue and you go mad, don't argue and you basically don't push back against the crap -- but I largely have opted for mental health. I know others have opted out altogether, to quote another forumite: "I was curious about the state of FOFC after roe v wade and some of the other recent shit, logged in and saw edward spamming a thread trying to rationally "both sides" florida's don't say gay bill and logged off.")

+1

[Flasch186]

Deleted

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by stevew

+1

+Infinity. I’m almost at the point of leaving FOFC tbh when most of the time I come here and every single thread is last commented on by an obvious troll whose clear goal is to stir as much shit as humanly possible.

[Edward64]

I don't know how effective nasal/oral vaccines are vs injections but think they are much less effective. If Covid or other vaccines can be delivered this way effectively, it'll be great and probably increase our vaccination rates.

We're used to doing the home tests now, why not take the vaccine at home (assuming like no refrigeration requirements).

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/18/healt...-19/index.html

Injected vaccines against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 have been hugely successful, saving nearly 20 million lives globally in their first year of use and slashing the pandemic's death toll by an estimated 63%, according to a recent study. Yet good as these shots are, they have not stopped the virus from spreading from person to person.

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads, it changes. That's helped it get past our firewalls, the immunity created by vaccines or left behind after we recover from an infection. Which is why, well into the third year of the pandemic, we're in the midst of another wave of Covid-19 caused by the most immune-evasive variant yet, BA.5. And more variants are coming.

Even as vaccine manufacturers race to update the first-generation shots in the hopes of patching up our protection for the fall, other scientists are taking a different approach, making vaccines delivered via nasal sprays or tablets that would deploy more immune defenders to the body's front lines: the lining of the mouth, nose and throat.

[GrantDawg]

Update: Wife is starting to feel better. I feel like a truck hit me.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Update: Wife is starting to feel better. I feel like a truck hit me.

Glad to see her strength is improving.

[Edward64]

Yup, glad she (and you) are doing better.

In the past couple months, my daughter and SIL have caught it (no close relatives had reported catching Covid past 2 years) so I can easily believe this is a more contagious strain.

Wife and I were talking about family Thanksgiving/Christmas plans to see her mom & dad in Dallas. There's also a wedding trip in Sept.

If this does blow up and there are significantly more hospitalizations, may have to rethink this. Not really for us personally but more so less chance for her parents catching it.

But it will be 3 years since grandparents have seen the kids live.

[Ksyrup]

At this point, between work and home, I feel like I'm a finalist on survivor. I suppose it's possible I've already had it, but no positives and no symptoms despite my wife and two kids having it and everyone in my office getting it except one other person, I think. It's just a matter of time, I suppose.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Update: Wife is starting to feel better. I feel like a truck hit me.

Glad one of you is starting to feel better at least. Now let me get this truck out of here for you...

[bob]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I don't know how effective nasal/oral vaccines are vs injections but think they are much less effective.

They stopped using nasal for flu shots years ago because it wasn’t as effective.

[miked]

My wife currently has it, caught it in Ireland most likely. We had to cancel our soccer game last night because half the dudes have Covid. At the hospital, we have several folks out and lots of people pulling extra shifts. Just gives the anti-science crowd more to crow about.

[SirFozzie]

So, a bit of a setback here, running a low grade fever (100.3), which officially has my doctor "concerned". It's still tylenol, fluids and rest, but if it doesn't get better with treatment or worsens, it's off to the ED for me. (not a certainty, not even a probability, but just a reminder that this thing SUCKS!)

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

...but if it doesn't get better with treatment or worsens, it's off to the ED for me. (not a certainty, not even a probability, but just a reminder that this thing SUCKS!)

Tell me about it

[GrantDawg]

The tale of two workplaces: I am in the middle of the busiest time of the year. My work has so much going on along with several people taking time off for vacations. I have been ready to go back to work by Thursday or Friday at the latest regardless of how I felt. My boss called to check on me tonight and made it clear I was not to come back till next week. He said "we will cover it. Get better."
Meanwhile, my wife's office is at the slowest point in the year, with her "doctor" on vacation so there are no patiences. They are riding her to get back to work. The front desk worker tested positive with no symptoms, and she is still working. There is next to zero reason for them to even be open, but they are forcing them to continue to work.

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[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The tale of two workplaces: I am in the middle of the busiest time of the year. My work has so much going on along with several people taking time off for vacations. I have been ready to go back to work by Thursday or Friday at the latest regardless of how I felt. My boss called to check on me tonight and made it clear I was not to come back till next week. He said "we will cover it. Get better."
Meanwhile, my wife's office is at the slowest point in the year, with her "doctor" on vacation so there are no patiences. They are riding her to get back to work. The front desk worker tested positive with no symptoms, and she is still working. There is next to zero reason for them to even be open, but they are forcing them to continue to work.

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In GA, there's that sign that says (paraphrasing) I can't sue an establishment when I enter the premises and catch Covid. I agree with that sentiment (otherwise a bunch of small businesses would be sued out of existence, or spending resources fighting threats of lawsuit).

But does that cover negligence and knowingly exposing a customer (e.g. by a front desk worker) to Covid? Or does the GA law assume the customer accepts the risk that anyone inside the establishment has Covid.

I'm thinking the latter but never really thought of "knowingly exposing".

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

In GA, there's that sign that says (paraphrasing) I can't sue an establishment when I enter the premises and catch Covid. I agree with that sentiment (otherwise a bunch of small businesses would be sued out of existence, or spending resources fighting threats of lawsuit).

But does that cover negligence and knowingly exposing a customer (e.g. by a front desk worker) to Covid? Or does the GA law assume the customer accepts the risk that anyone inside the establishment has Covid.

I'm thinking the latter but never really thought of "knowingly exposing".

How pro-business laws in Georgia are written, my guess is they would face no liability. Of course, if she totally refused to go to work, I think she is federally protected. There is really zero chance she would lose this job if she stayed out, but she loves her co-workers and doesn't want to pay the emotional price that would be tolled if she stayed out.

[Edward64]

I asked a prior question why the 2nd booster hasn't yet been approved for < 50 regular folks. It doesn't have to do with further testing or data, just a disagreement internally, see below article.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/healt...ess/index.html

CNN: Will adults who are under 50 be able to get their second booster anytime soon?

Wen: Federal health officials are discussing expanding the eligibility of second boosters. My best guess is that in the next month or so, they will make at least a permissive recommendation, meaning that those who want to get another booster should be able to receive one.

The decision about who should get a booster and how often is not straightforward. At the end of the day, there is a fundamental disagreement among scientists and public health experts on the purpose of the Covid-19 vaccinations.

Some believe that the goal of these vaccines is to prevent severe illness, and as long as the vaccines continue to protect against hospitalization and death, additional boosters aren't needed.

Others point to vaccines also being able to reduce symptomatic illness. That effect is not as long-lasting as the protection against severe illness, so those who hold this second point of view would advocate for more frequent boosters. The answer isn't straightforward.

[whomario]

Such a damn waste ...

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...-rates/670591/

everal studies, for example, have shown that America’s life expectancy has tailed behind other comparable countries since the 1970s. By 2010, that gap was already 1.9 years. By the end of 2021, it had grown to 5.3. And although many countries took a longevity hit because of COVID, America was once again exceptional: Among its peers, it experienced the largest life-expectancy decline in 2020 and, unlike its peers, continued declining in 2021. But Bor says that people often misinterpret life-expectancy declines, as if they simply represent a few years shaved off the end of a life. Someone might reasonably ask: What’s the big deal if I die at 76 versus 78? But in fact, life expectancy is falling behind other wealthy nations in large part because a lot of Americans are dying very young—in their 40s and 50s, rather than their 70s and 80s. The country is experiencing what Bor and his colleagues call “a crisis of early death”—a long-simmering tragedy that COVID took to a furious boil.

(...)

This isn’t to minimize COVID’s impact; it simply shows that in the Before Times, America had “very successfully normalized to an extremely high level of death on the scale of what we experienced in the pandemic,” Justin Feldman, a social epidemiologist at Harvard, told me. And when COVID drove those levels skyward, America proved that “we’ll accept even more deaths compared to our already poor historical norms,” Feldman said.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I asked a prior question why the 2nd booster hasn't yet been approved for < 50 regular folks. It doesn't have to do with further testing or data, just a disagreement internally, see below article.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/healt...ess/index.html

The data has been pretty clear that even the pre-Alpha vaccine provides a couple of months of sterilizing immunity against BA.4 and BA.5. And if you think that even 20% of people will take it, I would say that's 1 in 5 people that aren't passing it along or are passing it along at a much lower rate during a peak. It would make a good bridge until the Omicron vaccines in late Fall (I keep hearing October or November) and it might even dampen some of the increase that happens at the start of the school year.

But that costs money and time and resources. If the goal was just to keep people out of the hospital and you only look in isolation, maybe you can justify keeping your powder dry on this one and just hold your breath and wait 3 months. I think, at this point, anyone worried about vaccine confusion or pandemic fatigue is mostly just pissing in the wind - we're already there. Giving another option isn't going to significantly affect it - those paying attention will do what they think is best, no one is creating mandates off of this policy, and people who won't get a shot aren't suddenly going to swayed one way or another.

I think the silo'd mentality of "hey, we're just looking at the pandemic from an individual atomic point of view" has been foolish from the start. The average 40yo office worker or 25yo grocery store has a very low rate of hospitalization or death from COVID, if vaccinated, but they do interact with older, more vulnerable populations so if you can reduce their spread, you can indirectly save lives, even if we can't put it to a spreadsheet because we never created any sort of contact tracing apparatus in this country. And that's before taking into account the long term effects and reduction in long COVID.

SI

[sabotai]

Started feeling sick last night. Ordered Covid tests today, but I also found out that a few people that were at the wedding I attended last weekend tested positive for Covid today so chances are good that's what I got.

[miami_fan]

Bring it back, Bring it back!

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/healt...lio/index.html

(CNN)A person from Rockland County, New York, has been diagnosed with polio, the first case identified in the United States in nearly a decade.
The unvaccinated young adult began experiencing weakness and paralysis about a month ago, county Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said Thursday.

[miami_fan]

Dola: Yes I know. No need to overreact. We are going to need to wait for at least one million cases and at least a 20 year study to make sure it really is a thing.

[PilotMan]

god has given our bodies the ability to heal itself and fight diseases on it's own. Don't fear polio. It's just a construct to keep you owned by the man and corporate America!

[JPhillips]

They haven't said it, but I wonder if the polio case is in one of the orthodox Jewish communities. There's a lot of anti-vax sentiment in those communities and a lot of international travel.

[PilotMan]

Funny how when the right is talking about how 'foreigners' can't assimilate and they don't fit in, that when you ask them about orthodox Jews and the Amish they just stare at you dumbfounded.

[QuikSand]

Why it feels like practically everyone has COVID right now | The Hill

[Edward64]

We still have plenty of hand sanitizers and regular masks. May stock up on N95 masks (they're pretty cheap now on Amazon).

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Why it feels like practically everyone has COVID right now | The Hill

One of the points in the article kindof grinds my gears. It says case rates are down because of at home testing. Case rates have always been unreliable. From the start, we didn't have adequate testing and we've never been able to get a handle on the number of cases, especially in surges. But as long as you have a large enough sample size, case positivity has been a pretty reliable metric (in the way that polling won't catch all the cases but the numbers are pretty close even with a small sample). And case positivity is about as high as it's been during the pandemic for Harris County, running about the same as last winter (we lost our best dataset here but the CDC still maintains running tallies)

SI

[Drake]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Started feeling sick last night. Ordered Covid tests today, but I also found out that a few people that were at the wedding I attended last weekend tested positive for Covid today so chances are good that's what I got.

Same (minus the wedding part). Haven't had Covid yet, but by late yesterday, checked off all the symptoms. Off for testing this morning.

(And like a dumbass, I'm just working from home in the meantime, because apparently even being sick doesn't stop me from checking my e-mail.)

[Ksyrup]

Kentucky peaked at over 30% in mid-January and we're right now about 17%. But it feels like more people I know are getting it now than before.

[Ksyrup]

A new variant causing concern, but also, random dude named it and it caught on.

It is wild to me that some random guy on Twitter decided that the BA.2.75 variant was going to be known as "Centaurus" and it completely worked. pic.twitter.com/ZLfwAVxp6g

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) July 12, 2022

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Started feeling sick last night. Ordered Covid tests today, but I also found out that a few people that were at the wedding I attended last weekend tested positive for Covid today so chances are good that's what I got.

At home test was negative (but the people I know who got covid from the wedding also tested negative the first time). Am going to test a few more times over the weekend to be sure, but my temp is still normal and the pulse oximeter keeps telling me 99% SpO2, so if it is Covid that vaccine and booster I took because I'm a sheep not a lion is doing its job.