Covid Getting Closer to Home

[Dreamer]

I just read where the couple who owned the local drive-in died within 10 days of each other. She was 57 and he was 58. They sounded like a great couple and were very community minded. They had 3 sons. It is so sad.

 

[Chuckanut]

I had a scare a few weeks ago when a friend I had met for coffee informed me that a relative he had been with before me had tested positive for Covid. I stayed home for two days untl the friend called me and let me know that he had tested negative and his relative was called back for a new test as somehow they had messed up. The new test showed the relative to be negative.

I must admit I am amazed at how many people here have friends and relatives who have personally had Covid. Among close friends and relatives I know several people who have had it, but non severely. I do know of some who have had sever cases and a few who have perished.

I sincerely hope that all of you who have had to deal with Covid among your near and dear people, are doing well.

 

[6miths]

DW and I must have a small circle of acquaintances and have a relatively low local case rate as between us we know one person who has had COVID. A guy that I play hockey with had it last December and said that it left him fatigued and winded for a few months afterward. He is back at hockey now and said he feels pretty much back to normal. DW and I got boosters today. We were a little tardy for our third dose but finally got it in. She has had three Pfizer shots while I went for the trifecta of AZ, Pfizer and finally Moderna today. Hopefully we continue to be lucky.

 

[audreyh1]

Sibling’s family in Netherlands all have Covid except one kid. Parents with breakthrough infections. Suspected that kids brought it home from school as parents have been out very little and taking precautions. Dad was first to experience unusual symptoms but hasn’t yet tested positive in spite of testing several times, however three others in household recently tested positive all with symptoms. Dad has same symptoms as one of the kids - really bad headaches. Considering everything they don’t seem to be doing too badly - knock on wood! Considering everything that don’t seem to be doing too badly - knock on wood!

 

[Ronstar]

Stats from the local hospital. 35 of its 78 hospitalized patients have Covid. 29 out of the 35 are not vaccinated and 5 are in ICU.

 

[sengsational]

Here's the page I'm looking at to decide whether to go to Florida or not. It's looking pretty tame at the moment. If there is capacity at the hospitals, no matter how many talking heads are freaking out over it, I'm going to stick with the numbers. And this includes all of those scary counties, like Dade and Broward that have high positivity rates (not going to the east or west coast).

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/hospitalization-7-day-trend/florida

 

[audreyh1]

Sibling’s family in Netherlands all have Covid except one kid. Parents with breakthrough infections. Suspected that kids brought it home from school as parents have been out very little and taking precautions. Dad was first to experience unusual symptoms but hasn’t yet tested positive in spite of testing several times, however three others in household recently tested positive all with symptoms. Dad has same symptoms as one of the kids - really bad headaches. Considering everything they don’t seem to be doing too badly - knock on wood! Considering everything that don’t seem to be doing too badly - knock on wood!

Well Dad finally tested positive after a week of symptoms, 3 antigen tests and 2 PCR tests - on 2nd PCR test.

 

[Alan]

Well Dad finally tested positive after a week of symptoms, 3 antigen tests and 2 PCR tests - on 2nd PCR test.

Here’s hoping that his symptoms don’t get any worse and don’t last too long.

 

[MichaelB]

Here’s hoping that his symptoms don’t get any worse and don’t last too long.

+1

 

[brett]

Covid is still very much with us.

We believe in science. The stats tell the story. Not difficult to find out the percentage of unvaccinated covid cases in your area hosptial ICUs. We get ours daily on the news. Varies from 85 to 93 percent.

The rest is up to the individual.

 

[disneysteve]

Here's the page I'm looking at to decide whether to go to Florida or not. It's looking pretty tame at the moment. If there is capacity at the hospitals, no matter how many talking heads are freaking out over it, I'm going to stick with the numbers.

I’d be much less concerned with hospital capacity and much more concerned with overall case load and transmission rate in the area. I’m fully vaxxed and boosted so the chances of me landing in a hospital are slim. It’s just getting COVID that I’d to avoid.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

So many stories of the "long haul" patients (as I have recounted about my SIL).

A few weeks ago, I visited a friend at his home and there was a flooring guy working there. He had left the job unfinished for about a month and a half after he contracted and was hospitalized with COVID. He was trying his best to work but could tell it wasn't easy for him. He told us that he isn't sure how he will keep w*rking because he can barely breathe. He had an inhaler that he used a few times and had a pulse oximeter strapped to his wrist/hand that kept going off...apparently when his O2 sat got below 88% or so. He asked if we had been vaxxed and we confirmed that we had...then he said he really wish he had taken the vaccine because now he's in bad shape and doesn't know what that future holds and is scared for his kids. The guy is 43 years old.

It was very awkward to chat with him while he was trying to w*rk yet telling us how miserable his life is.

 

[audreyh1]

Here’s hoping that his symptoms don’t get any worse and don’t last too long.

He was already well over the worst of it when he finally tested positive. Double vaxxed so not much concern over worse outcomes. So all but one of them will be traveling to the US in a little over 2 weeks with papers saying they've recovered. Fingers crossed that the one child with no symptoms and testing negative remains immune.

 

[audreyh1]

I’d be much less concerned with hospital capacity and much more concerned with overall case load and transmission rate in the area. I’m fully vaxxed and boosted so the chances of me landing in a hospital are slim. It’s just getting COVID that I’d to avoid.

same here

But omicron looks like a challenge for remaining uninfected.

 

[Sunset]

Everyone in DD's family got sick, but fortunately they got tested and it wasn't Covid, but some other respiratory illness.
Probably brought home by one of the children.

Here is a weird anomaly I've noticed:
Deaths in USA from Covid ~819,315 so far vs Spanish Flu ~725,000
Deaths in World from Covid ~5,332,147 so far vs Spanish Flu ~17->100 million (with 25->50 million the widely accepted number).

Very strange that here we have had more deaths, but the entire world has had only 10% or 20% of the comparative deaths.

Did they simply grossly mistake the Spanish flu numbers so grossly for the world numbers ? Here in USA I think the numbers would be fairly accurate due to the historical records, the photos of coffins in the streets and piled on the sidewalk.

This is totally separate from the issue of currently Covid has killed less percentage of the population in the USA, compared to the Spanish Flu, which frankly one would expect now that we have better hospital care, vaccines, and knowledge of transmission vectors.

 

[Aerides]

Here is a weird anomaly I've noticed:
Deaths in USA from Covid ~819,315 so far vs Spanish Flu ~725,000
Deaths in World from Covid ~5,332,147 so far vs Spanish Flu ~17->100 million (with 25->50 million the widely accepted number).

Very strange that here we have had more deaths, but the entire world has had only 10% or 20% of the comparative deaths.

Did they simply grossly mistake the Spanish flu numbers so grossly for the world numbers ? Here in USA I think the numbers would be fairly accurate due to the historical records, the photos of coffins in the streets and piled on the sidewalk.

This is totally separate from the issue of currently Covid has killed less percentage of the population in the USA, compared to the Spanish Flu, which frankly one would expect now that we have better hospital care, vaccines, and knowledge of transmission vectors.

The 1918 data is probably inaccurate, and incomplete, to only count the "developed" world, which was much smaller then. Centralized reporting out of Asia, Africa, and S.America was probably not included properly, or as well collected. It's really impossible to compare, especially when you also account for population changes in the different parts of the globe.

 

[Chuckanut]

One interesting figure I picked up yesterday from Eric Topal.

Covid killed 1 out of every 100 Americans over the age of 65.

Then there is this interesting graph from England.....

 

[Koolau]

We've been keeping track of friends on the mainland. It appears that, within our circle of friends, there has been a sudden increase in cases of Covid. As most of our friends are "old", it is quite concerning. Last we were there, folks were taking few precautions and vax rates were low. We're bracing for eventual bad news of yet another loss in our circle of friends and acquaintances. YMMV

 

[Markola]

So many stories of the "long haul" patients (as I have recounted about my SIL).

A few weeks ago, I visited a friend at his home and there was a flooring guy working there. He had left the job unfinished for about a month and a half after he contracted and was hospitalized with COVID. He was trying his best to work but could tell it wasn't easy for him. He told us that he isn't sure how he will keep w*rking because he can barely breathe. He had an inhaler that he used a few times and had a pulse oximeter strapped to his wrist/hand that kept going off...apparently when his O2 sat got below 88% or so. He asked if we had been vaxxed and we confirmed that we had...then he said he really wish he had taken the vaccine because now he's in bad shape and doesn't know what that future holds and is scared for his kids. The guy is 43 years old.

It was very awkward to chat with him while he was trying to w*rk yet telling us how miserable his life is.

That’s so awful, and so unnecessary. One wonders if he will end up on government Disability support.

 

[athena53]

That’s so awful, and so unnecessary. One wonders if he will end up on government Disability support.

Many of the people downplaying COVID on FB would tout the low death rate. I'd reply that I wasn't particularly afraid of dying of COVID- I was more afraid of surviving it and ending up with long COVID. One of my HS friends, a doctor who caught it before vaccines were available, still doesn't have her sense of smell back and she had a very long road with therapy to get back her cognitive function and resolve cardiac issues. She told me that in the beginning she couldn't walk across the Golden Gate bridge without her heart rate hitting 170.

DDIL told me yesterday that their 2-year old tested negative- DS called and told me he had COVID a week before Thanksgiving, DDIL and the 2 older kids (ages 5 and 7) got it and they're all recovered or close to it. The 2-year old either got such a mild case they never noticed or actually did manage to avoid it.

DS and DDIL took a long time to get vaccinated but thank God they did. They've been reluctant to get the 2 older ones vaccinated and I know that now they need to wait after recovering (and they retain some immunity) but I WILL gently work on them when I'm visiting at Christmas. It's an honest concern about the risks of the vaccine, but I disagree with them.

 

[sengsational]

I’d be much less concerned with hospital capacity and much more concerned with overall case load and transmission rate in the area. I’m fully vaxxed and boosted so the chances of me landing in a hospital are slim. It’s just getting COVID that I’d to avoid.

same here

But omicron looks like a challenge for remaining uninfected.

Based on how fast it's tearing through various countries where surveillance is being done and being fairly reported, it does look like a challenge to remain uninfected. It would mean going back to the days of not doing anything, anywhere. I was all about that highly restrictive life when the consequences of taking the dirt-nap were high. But the rate of hospitalizations and deaths compared to numbers getting infected are minuscule with omicron compared to before. And being vaccinated and boosted, you have nothing to worry about. Even just being double vaccinated, the T cell response is expected to be very effective against omicron as indicatec by this MD (and actively practicing clinician). In this 1 minute video, he talks through the various 'flavors' of T cell epitopes and how they stack up in vaccinated and natural immunity people against the omicron variant:

 

[disneysteve]

Based on how fast it's tearing through various countries where surveillance is being done and being fairly reported, it does look like a challenge to remain uninfected. It would mean going back to the days of not doing anything, anywhere. I was all about that highly restrictive life when the consequences of taking the dirt-nap were high. But the rate of hospitalizations and deaths compared to numbers getting infected are minuscule with omicron compared to before. And being vaccinated and boosted, you have nothing to worry about.

I think saying "nothing to worry about" isn't really accurate. My wife has asthma, hypertension, and is a cancer survivor. I sure don't want her getting COVID even fully vaccinated. Even though I have no comorbidities that I know of, just the hassle of having to miss 10 days of work and isolate from my family is something I'd like to avoid.


We have the added issue that our daughter, who lives with us, isn't able to get vaccinated. She has a medical exemption. So I don't want to bring COVID into the house. Nor do I want to possibly pass it along to my 91-year-old mother. Yes she's vaccinated but we know immune response at that age may not be as robust as it is in younger folks.

 

[sengsational]

I think saying "nothing to worry about" isn't really accurate.

That's true. Saying "nothing to worry about" was not accurate. You certainly do have many things to worry about. That's quite a list of worries. I'd be worried too, in your shoes.

Generalizing to a double vaccinated , boosted retiree on this board that isn't living with high risk people, I'd say "nothing to worry about" is even still a bit strong, because "nothing" is absolute, and a poor choice of words. I'd say that a generalized member of this board has "a heck of a lot less to worry about" than the days when a relatively large fraction of people in the same cohort of this board were not making it out of the hospital if they acquired the disease. That was very scary, and very worrying indeed. Thankfully most of us, as my post mentioned, probably has CD4's and CD8's that can kick omicron's butt, to a pretty decent extent.

 

[disneysteve]

I'd say that a generalized member of this board has "a heck of a lot less to worry about" than the days when a relatively large fraction of people in the same cohort of this board were not making it out of the hospital if they acquired the disease.

That I agree with. Even in my case, I'm not nearly as concerned as I was a year ago.

 

[Sunset]

The 1918 data is probably inaccurate, and incomplete, to only count the "developed" world, which was much smaller then. Centralized reporting out of Asia, Africa, and S.America was probably not included properly, or as well collected. It's really impossible to compare, especially when you also account for population changes in the different parts of the globe.

I think it's fair to compare in the USA to the USA as I think our numbers were pretty accurate in 1918, and we are worse in absolute numbers.

The world dead total is far better off than the world in 1918 for Spanish flu in terms of absolute numbers, and even more better off if one thinks many Spanish flu deaths were never counted as some countries were not developed enough.

I find it strange that these 2 populations are having death count growth in such dramatically different velocities.