Are you preparing for life disruptions from this winter/Omicron COVID surge?

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This thread caused me to finally order some N95 from Amazon - they'll come in w/ a bunch of other assorted things we ordered to 'retool' for 2022. We're wandering around in the desert (not just metaphorically) in AZ for the winter. No large gatherings for us, avoiding the masses at Quartzsite, hanging outdoors with known-to-be-careful folks.

This is similar to what we did in 2021. We get to frequently update our outdoor views, spend a lot of time outdoors, avoid large groups, etc.
 
We are double vaxxed and boosted. We had never stopped wearing masks when out in indoor public places. We have upgraded to the KN95 masks (from cloth). Still going to the grocery store. We don't eat out that much but now are only eating outdoors. I have resumed zoom yoga classes (after attending in-person classes the last few months). DH still playing golf (as he has the whole pandemic). No trips planned for immediate future. Hoping Omicron will pass soon. "they" say it's mild, but at ages 75 and 69 we are not taking any chances.
 
We've seen many COVID patients this week who went to Christmas gatherings where everyone was vaxxed and everyone tested in advance and within a few days, multiple attendees had COVID.

People don't realize that testing doesn't necessarily prove anything. It can take 2-3 days from exposure for a rapid test to become positive. If you tested on the morning of 12/23 before flying to see family on 12/24 and 12/25, you might have been negative then but positive by the time you arrived.

We'll be swamped again next week with the folks who just had to party for NYE.

People need to stay home and wear a good (N95/KN95) mask at all times when they need to go out around other people.
 
Nope, if you look beyond the news to the medical data, Omicron does not replicate in the lungs. It's a wonderful gift to end the pandemic with natural immunity.
 
Jenna said:
Nope, if you look beyond the news to the medical data, Omicron does not replicate in the lungs.
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I'm not sure what you mean by "look beyond the news" because that info has been reported by most major news outlets. Omicron appears to multiply much more in airway tissues, hence the higher rate of spread, but more slowly in lung tissue, hence the more mild disease. That data is still quite preliminary but it is promising if it holds true.
 
We've been "COVID hermits" for the past 2 years for the most part as we're both high risk, so don't expect to change much since we've already been about as cautious and hunkered down as you can reasonably get..I still do all the grocery shopping (curbside only, though I did do in-store a few times after getting the second shot before I became aware the protection fades over time) and we pretty much avoid ALL social interactions. It was pretty tough, but we skipped Thanksgiving and Christmas both again this year and aside from dropping off presents (outside and masked) to both families, kept it to just the two of us again.

Cases here in MI are going absolutely BONZO in a bad way. Many family members (both vax'd and unvaxxed) have either had it recently or have it now.

One family member (unvaxxed, early 50s) that just came down with COVID a day or two before Christmas had to be taken to the hospital today with "chest heaviness" and a racing heartbeat. Waiting to hear status but sounds like she is having a rough time of it.

Hopefully everyone is aware of limitations of the vaccines - including fading effectiveness over 4-6 months (Pfizer, not sure about Moderna) and fading booster effectiveness over 10 weeks or so (down to about 45% IIRC with Pfizer and 70% or so with Moderna).

Just sharing that as I continue to see tons of people around here acting like it's 2019. Lots out and about without masks - or wearing ineffective (cloth) masks or wearing them below their noses and/or chins. Crazy, given our exploding case counts. The only thing I can figure is they don't know that the level of vax protection fades and think they are mostly immune once vaxxed. That's obviously not the case, and plenty of vaxxed and boosted people are getting it. My own early 20s niece (vaxxed as her college and employer required it) just got over it..fortunately not a bad case as she's young and healthy, but just another instance of a fully vaxxed person contracting the virus.

We've been wearing KN95s or N95s since this all began and will continue to do so everywhere we go. The one exception was at the Oral Surgeon last week when I had to get a tooth pulled (ugh). That was terrifying as COVID can hang in the air up to 3 hours, and it's easy to breathe in what a patient in the same treatment room before you breathed out potentially hours before - and neither person had a mask on due to the nature of the work being done. And my fear appears to have been well founded as I called back several days later to ask a follow-up question and got a recording saying they were closed until Jan 5 "due to illness". Only "illness" I know of with a defined quarantine time is COVID. So suspect strongly that someone at the Oral Surgeon's office tested positive either the day I was there or shortly after, and they had to shut down.

The one unavoidable risk - and my greatest fear of contracting this thing - is the Dentist. There's literally no way to protect yourself short of being the first one in the treatment room that day, and praying that your Dentist doesn't have it - because as we now know, even fully vaccinated and boosted people can pass COVID to others. Even if they are asymptomatic, which there's a good chance they will be due to being vaxxed. So even if your Dentist is vaxxed, if they're a carrier, the risk of exposure is pretty high. Not sure how to get around that one and if I ever do get it, that's going to be the most likely place..

ETA - there's no way on earth I'd get on an airplane or other public transit at this time for any amount of money. And we haven't been inside a restaurant since 2019. Did carry-out a few times in 2021 but that's it. Even walks outside make me a little uncomfortable when encountering other people on a trail - because being an airborne virus, what they're breathing out can easily blow right into your path. And while our so-called "experts" will say you need prolonged exposure to catch it..let's face it..the odds are very (perhaps astronomically) high that they just plain don't know how much or how little exposure a person needs to catch COVID - like so many things they truly haven't understood after all since this all began.
 
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No we're looking forward to getting back to normal in fact. Everyone we know is triple vaxxed now and it looks like Omicron is so contagious that the relatively small number of unvaccinated people in our area will also obtain some immunity. Indications suggest that the respiratory risks of Omicron are much lower so hopefully the acquired immunity won't come at too great a cost.
 
I count on the vaccinations to do their job and we are up-to-date on that front. No change in anything. Came back before Christmas from a Mexico trip. Weekly trips to a casino. We always wear masks indoors. I actually walk to the Kroger store almost every day. I think we have to face the virus one way or another and hope the vaccinations make any reactions mild. I will do a number of overseas trips in 2022 if the restrictions are not too complicated. I am OK with antigen tests for flights and country entry, but don't want to do PCR tests.
 
We are both vaxxed and boosted. We live our lives normally, other than holding off on international travel.
We know folks who have had Covid and they describe it as a bad head cold.
 
COcheesehead said:
We know folks who have had Covid and they describe it as a bad head cold.
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And I know more than a few that have died from COVID. I actually read the Facebook posts made by one of them (early 50s) who for whatever insane reason wanted to share what he was going through as he died. He described it as his lungs "filling with cement" to the point he couldn't get air. His writings on inability to get oxygen are going to stay in my mind a very long time, as that's gotta be a truly horrible way to die - not being able to get air.

We've lost 800,000+ Americans to COVID so far. I personally think a big part of why we're all still dealing with it is that a lot of people haven't taken it seriously enough to take basic precautions or modify their behavior accordingly - and the "bad head cold" description repeated by many is contributing to that callousness in my experience.

In fact, the family member I wrote about above is one of those people. She and her husband did not want to get vaccinated and took a "it won't be too bad if we get it - we'll get through it just fine" attitude all along. (After all, they'd heard it was just "a bad cold"). Continued to live their normal lives. Tonight, she's in the hospital with COVID side effects that sound quite serious including "chest heaviness" and a racing heartbeat. They just did an EKG on her and we're all waiting to hear the results. That doesn't happen with a bad cold..
 
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24601NoMore said:
And I know more than a few that have died from COVID. I actually read the Facebook posts made by one of them (early 50s) who for whatever insane reason wanted to share what he was going through as he died. He described it as his lungs "filling with cement" to the point he couldn't get air. His writings on inability to get oxygen are going to stay in my mind a very long time, as that's gotta be a truly horrible way to die - not being able to get air.

We've lost 800,000+ Americans to COVID so far. I personally think a big part of why we're all still dealing with it is that a lot of people haven't taken it seriously enough to take basic precautions or modify their behavior accordingly - and the "bad head cold" description repeated by many is contributing to that in my experience.

In fact, the family member I wrote about above is one of those people. She and her husband did not want to get vaccinated and took a "it won't be too bad if we get it - we'll get through it just fine" attitude all along. (After all, they'd heard it was just "a bad cold"). Continued to live their normal lives. Tonight, she's in the hospital with COVID side effects that sound quite serious including "chest heaviness" and a racing heartbeat. They just did an EKG on her and we're all waiting to hear the results. That doesn't happen with a bad cold..
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It attacks people in different ways. Some are more susceptible. Vast majority recover and survive.
 
COcheesehead said:
It attacks people in different ways. Some are more susceptible. Vast majority recover and survive.
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That's true. But it would not be so great to wind up in the 1.5 - 1.8/1.9% (depending on your state) or so that die after testing positive. Or the more than 100 million worldwide (roughly 43%) that have long-term health issues after recovery. Many experience "long COVID" that can wreck one's life for quite a while even after "recovery", and AFAIK it's still unknown what percent of those have issues that will never fully go away.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20211118/millions-worldwide-long-covid-study

I'm always surprised by the "the vast majority recover" perspective. If you had to choose a marble from a bag of 100 marbles, and there were 2 black ones in there that if pulled, meant you'd be painfully (and perhaps slowly) killed - would you actually pull from the bag?
 
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24601NoMore said:
That's true. But it would not be so great to wind up in the 1.5 - 1.8/1.9% (depending on your state) or so that die after testing positive. Or the more than 100 million worldwide (roughly 43%) that have long-term health issues after recovery. Many experience "long COVID" that can wreck one's life for quite a while even after "recovery", and AFAIK it's still unknown what percent of those have issues that will never fully go away.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20211118/millions-worldwide-long-covid-study
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I am not going to get into it with you on New Year’s Eve. So my last response to you.

I think you are doing what’s best for you. Stay hunkered down like a hermit, your words, if it makes you feel like you are doing something.

We are vaxxed and boosted and enjoying our best life.

Cheers.
 
COcheesehead said:
I am not going to get into it with you on New Year’s Eve. So my last response to you.

I think you are doing what’s best for you. Stay hunkered down like a hermit, your words, if it makes you feel like you are doing something.

We are vaxxed and boosted and enjoying our best life.

Cheers.
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Cheers to you as well. Not trying to start anything with anyone..but do get concerned when this gets over-trivialized, as I've personally lost friends and family to it. So do feel it prudent to provide a balanced perspective. Otherwise, people may continue to think it's no big deal, which it can be.

Enjoy the evening..and here's to a better 2022!
 
24601NoMore said:
And I know more than a few that have died from COVID. I actually read the Facebook posts made by one of them (early 50s) who for whatever insane reason wanted to share what he was going through as he died. He described it as his lungs "filling with cement" to the point he couldn't get air. His writings on inability to get oxygen are going to stay in my mind a very long time, as that's gotta be a truly horrible way to die - not being able to get air.

We've lost 800,000+ Americans to COVID so far. I personally think a big part of why we're all still dealing with it is that a lot of people haven't taken it seriously enough to take basic precautions or modify their behavior accordingly - and the "bad head cold" description repeated by many is contributing to that callousness in my experience.

In fact, the family member I wrote about above is one of those people. She and her husband did not want to get vaccinated and took a "it won't be too bad if we get it - we'll get through it just fine" attitude all along. (After all, they'd heard it was just "a bad cold"). Continued to live their normal lives. Tonight, she's in the hospital with COVID side effects that sound quite serious including "chest heaviness" and a racing heartbeat. They just did an EKG on her and we're all waiting to hear the results. That doesn't happen with a bad cold..
Click to expand...
+1

Totally agree. COVID had been nasty to this point and many have died. And although we are hoping that Omicron will be a milder infection, it won't be known if that is the case until it runs its course in any given population.
 
No changes planned. Triple vaccinated. Haven't been wearing a mask but don't go to restaurants much and go to the grocery store early mornings when its not so busy. Golf and walking the dog keeps me busy and those 2 things are pretty safe.
 
When making a grocery run yesterday, I drove by a community college where there has been a drive-through testing facility set up out in the parking lot. There was a long serpentine line of cars of people waiting to be tested. This was just like last year at the peak of the pandemic. The line went away after the availability of the vaccines, and it is now coming back. It does not look good.

We have always worn the masks when shopping, starting with leaving the car and until getting back into the car. We still have the habit of sanitizing our hands when getting back to the car, then washing them again when we get home.

I have to admit we have gone grocery shopping more often than prior to the vaccines. But we still try to keep distancing with other shoppers. I observed that more than 90% of shoppers wore masks.

I have eaten out exactly once since the Covid breakout, and the place was nearly empty.

Everyone in the family has been triple-vaxxed. Even my 5-year-old grandniece has had her 2 shots recently, in addition to contracting Covid 6 months ago (very light symptoms) and causing a breakthrough infection to her father (also very light symptoms).

Looking ahead, we may want to cut back on our grocery shopping. The contact with family members will drop off after the holiday season.

I don't think we will take a flight anywhere soon. Not just the risk of infection, but the hassle of getting flights canceled is enough to make me stay home. Maybe I will do an RV trip in summer 2022. Will see how things work out.

24601NoMore said:
We've been "COVID hermits" for the past 2 years for the most part as we're both high risk, so don't expect to change much since we've already been about as cautious and hunkered down as you can reasonably get...
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You have to do whatever makes you comfortable. In contrast with people who may imperil others, your cautiousness has positive effects on the overall public health. Don't be bothered by people who say that your attitude is too extreme. You are not causing anybody harm.
 
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Tonight, while watching some sports on New Years eve, I noticed an interesting dichotomy on how different places are responding to Omicron. In Toronto, the Raptors game with the LA Clippers was played in front of an empty arena since they are restricted to a max of 1000 fans who must wear masks and there is no food or drink service. Meanwhile the college football game in Dallas at the Jerry Dome had 80 or 90 thousand fans who were packed cheek to jowl unmasked and screaming (I only saw one or two fans with masks). You can guess which place has fewer COVID deaths. Not judging, just stating the facts.:confused:
 
Which facts are those?

A quick search shows this:
The population of Toronto is more than 5 times that of Dallas. However all of Ontario has less than double the number of deaths of Dallas. Looks like the death rate is much higher in Dallas, as one would expect.
 
I upgraded my double surgical masks to kn95 mask.

Curbside pickup is the next step but right now I am still going into the grocery store at 7am when they open. I have enough frozen/dry foods to last me a month so maybe I will live on that alone sometime in Jan/Feb when the transmission level is the highest.

It is all about the perception. Though new case number exceeds the worst in the past two years, the general population thinks it is ok to not make dramatic changes to adapt because omicron only gives mild symptoms.

Well guess what that is essentially saying let everyone get infected, just another flu. No biggie.

Evolution machine continues to work and with the help from the high transmission variant, the next concerned mutation, when (not if) it appears, it will likely come with the vaccine resistance and higher mortality rate.

Omicron just paves the way for what has yet to come. It is a number game and refusing to take measures to eradicate it just means we are not doing enough.
 
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disneysteve said:
Which facts are those?

A quick search shows this:
The population of Toronto is more than 5 times that of Dallas. However all of Ontario has less than double the number of deaths of Dallas. Looks like the death rate is much higher in Dallas, as one would expect.
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Yup..The death rate is much higher in Dallas/Texas than in Toronto.
 
Less people in stadiums or less vaccinated? I think we know the answer,
 
We are still talking about a virus with a 97% - 98+% survival rate.
If you watch the nightly news, you wouldn’t leave your house. They play it up so much, day after day.
Get the shots, get the virus then get immunity, but get on with your lives.
 
Vaxxed and boosted. I think we will curtail some of our shopping and such for the next month. I will go if I need something but will avoid unnecessary trips until this kind of blows through.

We had started going to indoor restaurants again (since Delta) about a month ago. Now, we are back to takeout only.

We had used grocery pickup for over a year (most of the time) but quit a few months ago as the grocery story was always delaying orders due to not having enough staff for orders.

I am tempted to go back to pickup but suspect we will end up with a lot of cancelled/delayed orders so maybe DH will go back to doing grocery runs very early in the morning when not many peopla are around.

We wear KN95 masks.

I have 2 out of town medical appointments this month. These are driving trips so we will eat in our car only and the places we are visiting require masks
 
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