Covid-19 Updates & Info

[JazzNU]

I had a bizarre conversation with my brother the other day (the brother I like). He is traveling to Ohio to bring in the New Year with my mother, my oldest brother, and my oldest brother's children + spouses and grandson (4 months old). Everyone is fully vaccinated (whatever THAT means these days) except for the infant. They have discussed whether everyone should wear masks, especially with a new infant around, and I guess they landed on "do whatever your conscience dictates". I am not aware of any protocols or guidance regarding what people should do around an infant, so I assume the best thing to do is to exercise an abundance of caution. That said, masks will be optional, I guess.

Toward the end of the conversation, I remember saying, "Even just 2 years ago, these types of conversations would have been unimaginable." But I'm glad they at least talked about it.

Obviously, I'm not going. That's not so much because I'm worried about being around them. It's more an issue of having very limited control over who we would potentially come in contact with between here and there.

I would say that's a pretty normal conversation these days @dry, minus the "whatever your conscience dictates."

The only thing different about your conversation and the one I had recently is that we all agreed to get tested the week prior to getting together for Christmas as well. And that's what many have clearly agreed to hence the sudden crazy demand for testing.

[JazzNU]

Welp.. the in-laws both tested positive a couple of days after they went to a family member's house for Christmas Eve (lots of kids present and almost everyone in attendance has tested positive). My mother-in-law has cold symptoms and my father-in-law is asymptomatic.

At the current rate of 280,000 cases daily, about 1% of the U.S. population will have gotten it in a ten day span.

Hope your in-laws and the rest of the family are okay. Mild symptoms and asymptomatic are encouraging signs.

[ti-amie]

Here I am again posting something which really defies description.
I hope no-one else has posted this yet, as I'm not sure you all can handle another round of this...

"At the San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting... The board was contemplating whether to support a local health-emergency order extension and the woman, among other local residents, addressed her thoughts when invited to speak."

Try to watch all of it.
I know, I know... but please try to.

I made it 29 seconds.

[Suliso]

The only thing different about your conversation and the one I had recently is that we all agreed to get tested the week prior to getting together for Christmas as well. And that's what many have clearly agreed to hence the sudden crazy demand for testing.

I'd say the best is a self test few hours before going. A test a week prior, no matter how accurate, seems pretty meaningless to me...

We went on a vacation instead of traveling to see family this year, but that was decided before Omicron appeared. Next year we're going for sure covid or no covid.

[ti-amie]

[dryrunguy]

I had a bizarre conversation with my brother the other day (the brother I like). He is traveling to Ohio to bring in the New Year with my mother, my oldest brother, and my oldest brother's children + spouses and grandson (4 months old). Everyone is fully vaccinated (whatever THAT means these days) except for the infant. They have discussed whether everyone should wear masks, especially with a new infant around, and I guess they landed on "do whatever your conscience dictates". I am not aware of any protocols or guidance regarding what people should do around an infant, so I assume the best thing to do is to exercise an abundance of caution. That said, masks will be optional, I guess.

Toward the end of the conversation, I remember saying, "Even just 2 years ago, these types of conversations would have been unimaginable." But I'm glad they at least talked about it.

Obviously, I'm not going. That's not so much because I'm worried about being around them. It's more an issue of having very limited control over who we would potentially come in contact with between here and there.

I would say that's a pretty normal conversation these days @dry, minus the "whatever your conscience dictates."

The only thing different about your conversation and the one I had recently is that we all agreed to get tested the week prior to getting together for Christmas as well. And that's what many have clearly agreed to hence the sudden crazy demand for testing.

Yeah, the testing agreement is muddy though, isn't it? General consensus seems to be that the incubation period for Omicron is about 3 days. So someone could get tested a week before, be exposed a few days later, and still show up in an unknowingly infected, asymptomatic, and contagious condition.

That said, it's better than no testing at all, so I commend the intent behind it. I know my middle brother will be tested. He'll have to be to fly. But I don't know about anyone else.

And yes, I suppose it's a normal discussion. What's bizarre is that we have to have it.

[JazzNU]

Yeah, the testing agreement is muddy though, isn't it? General consensus seems to be that the incubation period for Omicron is about 3 days. So someone could get tested a week before, be exposed a few days later, and still show up in an unknowingly infected, asymptomatic, and contagious condition.

Not at all. You guys are taking the week part in a very strict manner. No one was tested on Dec. 18th. Christmas was on a Saturday. So everyone got tested the week prior, meaning the days leading into Christmas day. We didn't go as some family troupe to get tested, we live in different places. Some of us managed to get PCR tests and the rest did rapid tests, though neither was all that simple to get last week so we're lucky that we were all able to do so. No one was painting the town red from the time of their test to Christmas day, at best someone went grocery store to grab a forgotten item and was masked while in the store.

[dryrunguy]

COVID is hitting where I live. The elderly lady next door with fairly advanced dementia was transported to the hospital yesterday afternoon. She tested positive.

Her daughter also has it. The daughter and her husband live nearby. No word yet on our neighbor's husband. He's not mentally well, either. But he's in better mental shape than his wife. At least for now.

It's just so depressing.

Just got word that our neighbor lady died this evening. I talked to her husband this afternoon. He is also sick, but he's at home, and Shirley's children are checking on him regularly.

Crushed. Just crushed.

[meganfernandez]

COVID is hitting where I live. The elderly lady next door with fairly advanced dementia was transported to the hospital yesterday afternoon. She tested positive.

Her daughter also has it. The daughter and her husband live nearby. No word yet on our neighbor's husband. He's not mentally well, either. But he's in better mental shape than his wife. At least for now.

It's just so depressing.

Just got word that our neighbor lady died this evening. I talked to her husband this afternoon. He is also sick, but he's at home, and Shirley's children are checking on him regularly.

Crushed. Just crushed.

I'm so sorry...

[ti-amie]

COVID is hitting where I live. The elderly lady next door with fairly advanced dementia was transported to the hospital yesterday afternoon. She tested positive.

Her daughter also has it. The daughter and her husband live nearby. No word yet on our neighbor's husband. He's not mentally well, either. But he's in better mental shape than his wife. At least for now.

It's just so depressing.

Just got word that our neighbor lady died this evening. I talked to her husband this afternoon. He is also sick, but he's at home, and Shirley's children are checking on him regularly.

Crushed. Just crushed.

I'm so sorry dry.

[dryrunguy]

Before the dementia got her, Shirley routinely delivered fresh-baked pies to us. They were wonderful. Strawberry rhubarb, apple.... Shirley was a highly skilled baker.

And such a sweet spirit.

But I am also relieved for her. No more moments of thinking her husband is a stranger. No more moments of thinking there is a stranger in her house and feeling like she needed to escape to us for protection.

We will focus our attention on Elmer, her husband. It's awkward now since he is sick with COVID, but we'll do what we can to take care of him, their dog, and their chickens.

You see a lot of couples in their late 70s/early 80s who are together because they have no other choice/don't want to be alone.

Elmer and Shirley were a love story to the end. You could see that clearly every time you saw them together.

[JazzNU]

[dryrunguy]

About J&J, these things always seem to come out a week or two after I make a decision and take action. But when I got my booster, the best evidence at the time was that those of us who started out with a J&J vaccine would be best served by getting a Moderna booster. So that's what I did.

I wonder if J&J immunity will last longer against Omicron than it did against previous variants.

And of course, we know nothing about how any of the existing vaccines will hold up against future variants.

[ti-amie]

[mmmm8]

I tested positive on 12/16, a sore throat was my indicator. I tested negative on 12/23. It wasn't more than the sore throat for a couple days, so I feel lucky to have gotten vaccinated and boosted the first days they became available to me. I take 3 subway lines to my job teaching, it was just a matter of time for me.

Are all subway passengers supposed to be masked there?

Yes, there's a $50 fine for not wearing a mask, but when the police are wandering around the subways maskless.....

I've finally started seeing the police consistently in masks on the subway! Just the last couple of weeks.