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

[athena53]

I realize that people can be asymptomatic carriers, but the people we know will cancel participation in an event if they feel ill in any way. Pre-COVID, I think more people came to gatherings with a cold or sore throat without thinking as much about spreading it.

This. I'm skipping church today because I've been congested for 2 days. No other symptoms at all, feels like every garden-variety cold I've had, but I don't want to spread it or cause alarm when people see me getting the tissues out ever 5 minutes.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

My extended family is going through the results of a small Christmas spreader event right now.

My sister-in-law appears to have first contracted the virus. She started noticing symptoms on Christmas Day evening. By that time, she had already visited my 83 year old mother on Christmas Eve. Sister-in-Law tested positive on Monday and Mom started showing symptons on Tuesday. Mom tested positive on Wednesday.

The sister-in-law's own family gathered on Christmas day as well, before her symptoms showed up. As of now, my niece has symptoms, but tested negative. Not sure if that's a false negative or if she just has a cold. But her unvaccinated brother tested positive and has bad symptoms. His girlfriend is also unvaccinated. I haven't heard about her health yet.

My exposed, but not yet symptomatic, Mother visited my other brother the day after Christmas. On Friday, that sister-in-law started having symptoms. I haven't heard yet how they tested or if they've even been able to get tested yet due to the holiday weekend. They are both unvaccinated as far as I know. They've been vocal anti-vaxers all along and doubt they have changed their mind.

I visited my exposed, but not yet symptomatic, mother on Christmas Day. But, so far I have not had any symptoms. I also wore my mask when I was with her as I've tried to do all along to protect her. I wasn't with her long either -- maybe 15 minutes, and we sat across the room from each other. I assume that's why I appear to have missed out on the virus.

We will see where this unfolds. Mom has not been bad. Congestion, cough, and sneezing. All manageable. She appears to be improving also now.

The unvaccinated relatives... we will see.

 

[Andre1969]

I finally got to experience, first-hand, some of the shortages. My uncle came down with COVID and had to go in the hospital. Thankfully it was fairly mild, and he's out now, recovering at my house, isolated in the master bedroom suite on the first floor.

Yesterday, I ran out to Shoppers Food Warehouse to pick up some groceries for him. He only wanted a few things, but I still had to make substitutions. For instance, he normally drinks those sodas that aren't just diet, but "Zero". He likes Seven Up Zero. Well, their soda inventory looked a bit thin overall, but for diet and especially that "zero" stuff, the pickings were really slim. I ended up getting him Diet Sprite Zero or something like that. He prefers bottles, but all they had were cans. He can be picky, but at this point my attitude was you'll take it and you'll like it.

He also wanted some Robitussin cough syrup. Not surprisingly, the cough syrup aisle was just about stripped bare. I found an off-brand cough syrup that has "tussin" in its name. They only had small bottles, so I got him two of those.

I also wanted to pick up some chocolate milk for myself, but they were out of the store-brand and I wasn't paying $6.49/gal for the high-tone stuff. It's actually somewhat common though, for stores to run out of that, though. Even pre-COVID, I noticed that an outage of chocolate milk was somewhat common.

In the overall scheme of things though, I've been lucky. My inconveniences have been minor. I really feel for those of us who have been truly impacted by this.

 

[Winemaker]

Life, for the most part, never changed for DW and I. We followed the mask mandates while preforming our daily and usual activities; now only when we fly or go to doctor appointments. Still shop at local grocer, attended a Steeler game and all Pitt football games, dine out occasionally and we go to Church weekly. DW has a TNK replacement scheduled for later in the month, and when she is "back on her feet", we will resume our regular life. We have shared caretaker duties with siblings/niece the past year for Mom, but she recently passed.

 

[Hamlet]

I’m expecting that the rapid spread of Omicron will probably cause disruptions at stores/restaurants/schools in January. Here in Minnesota, we were just seeing the Delta wave start to recede. We had a case in each of our daughters’ classes right before Christmas break that we had to test for ( everyone was negative). Hospitalizations have been inching back down from that wave, but are still elevated.

I’m seeing convenience stores and restaurants shorten hours due to staff shortages already. I suspect that so people many will be sick in the next few weeks that we’ll see some of them close up for a couple of weeks.

Hopefully we won’t overwhelm the hospitals around here again. They are just now getting out of the crisis mode caused by delta. It sounds like Omicron has been producing fewer hospitalizations, plus we have pretty good vaccination numbers, so I’m hoping it is manageable.

On the plus side, it isn’t likely to last very long. Omicron spreads so fast that we’ll probably be on the decline again by February.

 

[Sunset]

I now wear N95 inside buildings.

Went grocery shopping just before the new year, noticed the Aldi store had some empty spots on the shelves.
At the JewelOsco grocery store, saw a line up of cars for pickup, about 7 cars, and normally never even see any. Inside folks were serious about their masks, and the store employee even told a clump of folks waiting for cash registers to get into a line.

Made me think , I should go back to ordering online and pickup for groceries.

All family parties were cancelled as some distant relatives and friends of others that were invited tested (+).

 

[harllee]

My Church has had a Covid outbreak and now all services are on Zoom. We took all precautions--services outside, everyone distanced and masked, all the adults vaccinated. Several people are very sick but no one hospitalized yet. One poor person tested positive for Covid AND flu, she is probably the sickest in our congregation but so far not hospitalized. One big problem in our area--no home tests to be found and no test appointments available until next Friday.

 

[Turbo29]

That would be great if that was what was happening, but it's not. Hospitalizations are climbing rapidly. At my hospital system, we're up nearly 5-fold since early November from about 50 to about 250. The hospitalization rate of children is alarmingly high. As Alan said, even if a smaller percentage are being hospitalized, it's a smaller percentage of a much larger number. Many places are seeing their worst levels yet since this whole mess began nearly 2 years ago.

Newsweek --Anthony Fauci Downplays Child COVID Hospitalizations Hitting Record High

" Speaking to MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin, who was filling in for Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night, Fauci suggested that some of the children currently being treated at medical facilities were hospitalized with COVID as opposed to "because of COVID."

"He added that some children who are currently listed as being in hospital with COVID may actually be receiving treatment for "a broken leg or appendicitis," rather than for a severe reactions to the virus."
.
"The other important thing is that if you look at the children are hospitalized many of them are hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID,"

 

[Major Tom]

I can empathize and relate. I had awesome tickets to see the 'farewell' / final tour of my all-time favorite band (Genesis) that I bought last Spring, when it was looking like we might be able to get this God forsaken virus behind us by the fall. Concert was end of November, and the tickets cost me ~$500. Wasn't comfortable going by the time October rolled around, as I knew even if proof of vax was "required" that it would be very unlikely to be enforced. (Turns out I was right, based on social media reports I read after the show). Tried to sell the tickets for about a month prior to the event, and got zero takers - even though I priced them well below what I bought them for.

Seems a lot of people are not comfortable sitting among thousands of others at the moment, regardless of whether we're told proof of vax is required. Hopefully most know by now that even the vaccinated can pass COVID to others, and even if you're vaccinated yourself, you can still get it. It seems the only thing most people agree on is being vaccinated does "seem" to lower your risk of having a severe case..but aside from that, even if the event had checked every single person's proof of vax, not sure that would have done that much overall..

I was super bummed out to miss this. The band members are all north of 70, and this was the "final, final, we REALLY mean it this time" show. To miss the last tour ever was heartbreaking for a lifelong fan who followed the band for 45+ years. Not to mention the much smaller problem of losing out on $500...

I'm sorry to hear that you missed out on that show, but completely understand the reasons. I only saw Genesis once. It was in the early 80's in the UK. My memory of that event is very fuzzy, but I think it was at the NEC. My school pal and I decided to go on the spur of the moment. We bought our tickets outside the venue from a scalper for the grand sum of £6 each. If only ticket prices today were so reasonable!

 

[Alan]

I only saw Genesis once. It was in the early 80's in the UK. My memory of that event is very fuzzy, but I think it was at the NEC. My school pal and I decided to go on the spur of the moment. We bought our tickets outside the venue from a scalper for the grand sum of £6 each. If only ticket prices today were so reasonable!

Genesis was the first group I ever saw, in DeMontfort Hall in Leicester, in 1973. I was 18, had recently left home, went with 2 new friends I shared a house with. Magical memories even now.

I can understand how disappointing it must have been to have missed them recently because of Covid.

 

[jollystomper]

Newsweek --Anthony Fauci Downplays Child COVID Hospitalizations Hitting Record High

" Speaking to MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin, who was filling in for Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night, Fauci suggested that some of the children currently being treated at medical facilities were hospitalized with COVID as opposed to "because of COVID."

"He added that some children who are currently listed as being in hospital with COVID may actually be receiving treatment for "a broken leg or appendicitis," rather than for a severe reactions to the virus."
.
"The other important thing is that if you look at the children are hospitalized many of them are hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID,"

This sort of echos what a couple of local hospitals have stated. Essentially, everyone who is admitted, regardless of the reason, is tested for COVID. They find folks testing positive but asymptomatic, the root cause of why they are in the hospital is not COVID.

 

[disneysteve]

One good thing that has come out of COVID is that I think everyone is much more respectful of trying not to spread anything.

If only this were true things would be so much better. Sadly it's not.

 

[gayl]

...
On the plus side, it isn’t likely to last very long. Omicron spreads so fast that we’ll probably be on the decline again by February.

[emoji106] agree 100%

 

[Surewhitey]

Personal experience with travel.

DFW airport was 90% masked. Our flight was 1/3 full & everyone had their own row to Cancun. People are mixed here @ Isla Mujeres. Locals are masking. Cops are enforcing masks on public transportation (new experience for us here).

Hoping to get home without event in a week...

We don't eat out @ home but we have to here. Not much uneasiness for me...

 

[RobbieB]

Not doing anything different than before. Stopped on the way back from LA yesterday to enjoy a delicious indoor dinner at Harris Ranch Steakhouse, place was packed for New Year's Day and the prime rib was the best we ever had.

Not stocking TP, sani wipes, alcohol and not doing anything but my fav double cotton/poly tshirt masks that stuff in my pocket when needed. No N95, no triple layer, no crimp the metal around your nose. And never ever when outdoors. I go out the building, off goes the mask and back in the pocket.

We're both triple vacc'ed and doing the usual -

 

[Helen]

We leave on January 12th for a 3 day drive down to Palm Springs and will stay until early May. We plan to go grocery shopping once we get there so hopefully there will be a few cans of food left on the shelves.

We would take food with us, but we adopted an eight year old Maltese dog in August. She only weighs about 7 pounds but I'm guessing we have 50 pounds of gear we will be taking for her. :^)

I sure hope the Omicron is the last of the covid variants. I would love for this pandemic to be behind us.

 

[Scuba]

If only this were true things would be so much better. Sadly it's not.

Maybe not among your circle of people, but it’s definitely true among our friends and family. In the past, we would still get together if someone had a cold, for example, especially if it was a special occasion like Christmas. Now people are staying home if they have the least bit of possible infection or illness. I’ve had several people in the social group I run not attend events they prepaid for out of an abundance of caution. Everyone I interact with is trying to be very careful and considerate of others.

 

[Scuba]

We leave on January 12th for a 3 day drive down to Palm Springs and will stay until early May. We plan to go grocery shopping once we get there so hopefully there will be a few cans of food left on the shelves.

We would take food with us, but we adopted an eight year old Maltese dog in August. She only weighs about 7 pounds but I'm guessing we have 50 pounds of gear we will be taking for her. :^)

I sure hope the Omicron is the last of the covid variants. I would love for this pandemic to be behind us.

I live in Palm Springs and there is plenty of food here. I haven’t noticed shortages of anything here for months except for appliances and cars and pool parts.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

This. I'm skipping church today because I've been congested for 2 days. No other symptoms at all, feels like every garden-variety cold I've had, but I don't want to spread it or cause alarm when people see me getting the tissues out ever 5 minutes.

I would hope more people would stay home when they have a "garden variety of a cold."

 

[athena53]

I would hope more people would stay home when they have a "garden variety of a cold."

Thanks, but I just listened to part of a 2+-hour podcast with Dr. Peter Attia with an update on COVID- he always brings in really good, credible experts for intelligent discussions.

Wow, have things changed over the last 6 months.

First, they agree that Omicron is a lot less dangerous than the earlier variants and that vaccines have greatly lessened the severity of the disease. Certainly there are exceptions but the vast majority are the elderly or otherwise vulnerable, who also succumb to the flu every year. Is it worthwhile to develop policies that protect them but also enforce them for the entire population?

They believe that there's a ton of natural immunity among survivors but that the government hadn't conducted a proper study. It's easy and cheap to measure antibodies but we really need to look at t-cells.

We have good treatment protocols for those who do get severe cases.

They also pointed out the huge losses we've suffered in terms of mental illness, delays in kids' education, people avoiding or unable to get routine screenings or treatment for other conditions.

I'm still glad I'm vaccinated and boosted and will continue wearing masks indoors but I'm wondering if it's time for 99% of us to relax a bit.

 

[harllee]

Thanks, but I just listened to part of a 2+-hour podcast with Dr. Peter Attia with an update on COVID- he always brings in really good, credible experts for intelligent discussions.

Wow, have things changed over the last 6 months.

First, they agree that Omicron is a lot less dangerous than the earlier variants and that vaccines have greatly lessened the severity of the disease. Certainly there are exceptions but the vast majority are the elderly or otherwise vulnerable, who also succumb to the flu every year. Is it worthwhile to develop policies that protect them but also enforce them for the entire population?

They believe that there's a ton of natural immunity among survivors but that the government hadn't conducted a proper study. It's easy and cheap to measure antibodies but we really need to look at t-cells.

We have good treatment protocols for those who do get severe cases.

They also pointed out the huge losses we've suffered in terms of mental illness, delays in kids' education, people avoiding or unable to get routine screenings or treatment for other conditions.

I'm still glad I'm vaccinated and boosted and will continue wearing masks indoors but I'm wondering if it's time for 99% of us to relax a bit.

It is too early to tell the effect of Delta in the U.S. yet. Right now cases are climbing, in a week or two we will know if hospitalizations climb and then a few weeks later whether deaths will climb. There is still a lot of Delta virus out there too. For me I am staying home for the next 2 weeks until I see what happens.

 

[theo2]

Why is it that this virus is the only thing that comes from China to last so long? Everything else from there is junk!!!!

 

[harllee]

Why is it that this virus is the only thing that comes from China to last so long? Everything else from there is junk!!!!

Not so, I get prescription eyeglasses from Zenni, a Chinese company, they are the best glasses I have ever had, they last for years and very inexpensive

 

[Sojourner]

Thanks, but I just listened to part of a 2+-hour podcast with Dr. Peter Attia with an update on COVID- he always brings in really good, credible experts for intelligent discussions.

Wow, have things changed over the last 6 months.

First, they agree that Omicron is a lot less dangerous than the earlier variants and that vaccines have greatly lessened the severity of the disease. Certainly there are exceptions but the vast majority are the elderly or otherwise vulnerable, who also succumb to the flu every year. Is it worthwhile to develop policies that protect them but also enforce them for the entire population?
[...]
I'm still glad I'm vaccinated and boosted and will continue wearing masks indoors but I'm wondering if it's time for 99% of us to relax a bit.

This sounds like a good podcast to put on my playlist for today. I usually only listed to Dr. Osterholm's weekly COVID podcast. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Gumby]

Why is it that this virus is the only thing that comes from China to last so long? Everything else from there is junk!!!!

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