How I Got Covid by Letting My Guard Down (e.g. Stupid)

[USGrant1962]

I am triple vaxxed. My wife double and we got it. It’s like a cold or the flu.

Yup. CDC said recently that 57% of Americans (and 75% of children) have had Covid through February, based on antibody results. That is around 200M people. It is undoubtedly over 60% now - it's endemic.

 

[Koolau]

If everyone had access to PCR tests (for cheap), we'd probably have more accurate results.

I've had the PCR test (prior to hospital admittance) 3 times and I couldn't do the "up your nose with a rubber hose" to myself. Each time, I expected some brain matter to come out on the swab!

My philosophy is I'll test only when I'm already (virtually) certain I have the disease. Probably doesn't make sense. But if I'm not shedding enough virus to be really sick, I'm guessing it's unlikely the test would be positive.

I'm not a doc (nor do I play one on the FIRE forum) so don't pay attention to me as YMMV.

 

[tmm99]

I've had the PCR test (prior to hospital admittance) 3 times and I couldn't do the "up your nose with a rubber hose" to myself. Each time, I expected some brain matter to come out on the swab!

My philosophy is I'll test only when I'm already (virtually) certain I have the disease. Probably doesn't make sense. But if I'm not shedding enough virus to be really sick, I'm guessing it's unlikely the test would be positive.

I'm not a doc (nor do I play one on the FIRE forum) so don't pay attention to me as YMMV.

I've never had the PCR test myself, but I've seen it done on TV - It looks pretty scary to see how far the swab can go in.

 

[Koolau]

I've never had the PCR test myself, but I've seen it done on TV - It looks pretty scary to see how far the swab can go in.

Yeah, the swab goes in until it stops - then they go a bit farther, just to be sure, I guess. Personally, I'd rather have a DRE but I don't think that works for Covid.

 

[tmm99]

Yeah, the swab goes in until it stops - then they go a bit farther, just to be sure, I guess. Personally, I'd rather have a DRE but I don't think that works for Covid.

 

[harllee]

I guess every nose is different but I have had several Covid tests (at home kind and the kind the hospital gives) and I barely feel it. One advantage of a large nose I guess.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Many people around me have had Covid. Covid ruined our Christmas concerts. I play in 3 wind bands and run a flute choir. I have told my fellow musicians that the controlled air flow of playing a wind instrument is much safer than talking to one another, with all of our spitty consonants.

My flute choir has had three people and a conductor with Covid, exposing the rest of us. They became sick 1-2 days after rehearsal. Our first concert in 2-1/2 years, an outdoor concert, was cancelled due to our conductor getting Covid two days before the concert.

The biggest problem is human behavior. Not masking when they can and should. I believe our current surge is because of the ending of mask mandates, and people deluding themselves into thinking it will never happen to them.

I sure hope OP had a great time attending the festival where he caught Covid. If I didn’t take a few risks, the quality of my life would be worse. Wearing a KN95 or N95 mask when needed reduces one’s own risk by 30-70%, depending on the study. I go to every band rehearsal wearing a mask, and only remove it to play flute. And I am prepared with a response for my mask wearing choices. I have never been challenged.

 

[JoeWras]

The virus is a sneaky SOB and the result is it appears to seek out populations. I know, it isn't smart like that, but that's what we are seeing. It is after US, the demographic of this site.

Looking at our state data, there's a definite tilt to older compared to last winter's surge, which was tilted younger.

After these two years, suddenly many of my friends are getting it both in my personal and on-line life, like Midpack. We are "fresh meat" for this thing because we've all been so careful and holed up for so long.

My best friend currently is going through it. He goes nowhere. He's had 4 vax shots. He had to go to the hospital when his niece was in an accident. Everyone in the hospital must wear a mask. He always wears his. Still got it. It found him. Of course, hospitals are petri dishes for the virus, so it is a dangerous environment.

We can't all live in a hole forever. We need our young people to procreate. Go to bars, see those beautiful mouths, kiss them, fall in love, have sex. Our retirement depends on them and their kids paying in to social security!

 

[Koolau]

The virus is a sneaky SOB and the result is it appears to seek out populations. I know, it isn't smart like that, but that's what we are seeing. It is after US, the demographic of this site.

Looking at our state data, there's a definite tilt to older compared to last winter's surge, which was tilted younger.

After these two years, suddenly many of my friends are getting it both in my personal and on-line life, like Midpack. We are "fresh meat" for this thing because we've all been so careful and holed up for so long.

My best friend currently is going through it. He goes nowhere. He's had 4 vax shots. He had to go to the hospital when his niece was in an accident. Everyone in the hospital must wear a mask. He always wears his. Still got it. It found him. Of course, hospitals are petri dishes for the virus, so it is a dangerous environment.

We can't all live in a hole forever. We need our young people to procreate. Go to bars, see those beautiful mouths, kiss them, fall in love, have sex. Our retirement depends on them and their kids paying in to social security!

Hey, you kids. Be fruitful and multiply. And pay into Social Security and Medicare.

 

[explanade]

OP should consider taking Paxlovid to minimize sequelae.

 

[JoeWras]

OP should consider taking Paxlovid to minimize sequelae.

Yes. My friend immediately went on it. Very important.

 

[explanade]

The biggest problem is human behavior. Not masking when they can and should. I believe our current surge is because of the ending of mask mandates, and people deluding themselves into thinking it will never happen to them.

I can understand the mindset, if one has avoided infection for 2-3 years.

Or they've seen a lot of family and friends get it and mostly survive it, though if they have long covid symptoms, they may not be acutely visible.

Then you have all the talk about "mild" Omicron and how everyone is getting infected and reinfected.

But "mild" Omicron has killed more seniors than Delta, which is suppose to be much more virulent.

I flew from SFO to Newark, very few people masking, including a lot of gray-haired passengers, on a 5-6 hour flight.

Then I flew to France, a few more people masked but most people were not making. I had my KN95 in, probably should have used my N95 as well.


Unless we get a breakthrough in vaccines and therapeutics, expect multiple infections over your lifetime. Each time, you're older and may or may not be able to fight off an infection better.

The changing of behavior and the elimination of restrictions would make more sense if the virus got less infectious or less virulent or both. But we now have the most transmissible variants since the pandemic started so great timing to be dropping all measures and caution.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I really do not understand why, this far into the pandemic, we don't have new, better vaccines. We've put all our eggs in one basket and it appears the basket has a hole in it. I'm very thankful that we have vaccines and that they were developed and produced so rapidly. It's great that we've reduced the mortality dramatically. Still, I'm not hearing of new efforts to get a next generation of vaccines. Maybe I missed it. YMMV

From the NY Times:

April 6, 2022
WASHINGTON — Researchers trying to devise an updated coronavirus vaccine for use this fall would have to settle on a formula as early as June to meet that deadline, federal officials said on Wednesday, even though some clinical trials are just now getting underway.

www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/politics/fda-coronavirus-vaccines-variants.amp.html

 

[Midpack]

OP should consider taking Paxlovid to minimize sequelae.

My PCP suggested I do nothing as I had a relatively mild case, she said antivirals come with side effects. I’m sure she’d recommend otherwise had I gotten sicker.

And I much prefer to minimize drugs I take, doctors have learned to overprescribe IME (thanks in-part to patient demands), so I’ll hold off for now. Thanks though.

 

[Scuba]

My PCP suggested I do nothing as I had a relatively mild case, she said antivirals come with side effects. I’m sure she’d recommend otherwise had I gotten sicker.

And I much prefer to minimize drugs I take, doctors have learned to overprescribe IME (thanks in-part to patient demands), so I’ll hold off for now. Thanks though.

I’ve also read that quite a few people who took paxlovoid had COVID relapses shortly afterwards. Sorry you got COVID but glad your symptoms are mild so far.

For whatever it’s worth, I have several neighbors who’ve gotten COVID recently for the first time. They’re all vaxxed and double boosted. Each of them attended a large event shortly before catching COVID, either outdoors or indoors. One went to a university graduation outdoors with 30K in attendance. Another went to Vegas. And another went to a large outdoor festival. Some wore masks and some didn’t, but just being around that many people, whether indoors or outdoors, was the common denominator.

 

[GenXguy]

Or they've seen a lot of family and friends get it and mostly survive it, though if they have long covid symptoms, they may not be acutely visible..

Which is surprisingly more common than I had ever thought months back, even for mild cases.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/02/health/long-covid-asympomatic-cases/index.html

 

[pacergal]

Our DGS, age 6, currently has a bad case. DS picked him up from school yesterday, complaining of headache, sore throat, "hurts all over" and his temp was 102.8! His mother had sent him to school with symptoms--(there is a reason they are divorced-ugh). So she helped expose all the kids at school, too.
His test turned positive faster than the control!
He has had the two kids vaccines when they were first available. He has been in school and they don't wear masks any more that I know of.
Dr on video told DS to watch him closely for wheezing or muscle weakness and just keep him on Tylenol, choraseptic throat spray and hydrated. He's got a lot of pedialyte popsicles for his throat.
Our son has both shots and one booster (teacher, so at risk) and had covid earlier.
Hoping he doesn't catch it again.

 

[Rianne]

Thanks to you and all others on your well wishes, I am certainly much better now 3 days after symptoms first hit, and better each day. Will test again on Friday, fingers crossed. And I'll be back out in the world Monday, but with a mask or distanced around anyone else.

We were more careful than most, but I guess after taking all the recommended precautions and then some, after avoiding Covid for 27 months - we relaxed, and I got bit. I won't be fooled twice, so we're revert to our prior practices, and expect life will be that way for a few more years.

Good news for you Midpack! My DSI in Italy...always very careful, caught it. It's really not stupidity at all as you said. She cannot figure out where she got it.

I recently read an article by a surgeon, cannot find it now. Anyway, he said doctors have been wearing masks around very sick patients for years. Viruses and infectious diseases have been floating around hospitals since hospitals existed. Docs wear masks around sick people and don't get sick, sometimes they do, but they're in the trenches all the time. The patients don't wear masks. Doctors can develop a certain amount of immunity but not always.

 

[explanade]

My PCP suggested I do nothing as I had a relatively mild case, she said antivirals come with side effects. I’m sure she’d recommend otherwise had I gotten sicker.

And I much prefer to minimize drugs I take, doctors have learned to overprescribe IME (thanks in-part to patient demands), so I’ll hold off for now. Thanks though.

There are also drug interactions to consider, though I'm not sure if the interactions are with commonly prescribed drugs.

Mild cases do not mean Long Covid can be ruled out, unfortunately.

 

[audreyh1]

OP should consider taking Paxlovid to minimize sequelae.

My PCP suggested I do nothing as I had a relatively mild case, she said antivirals come with side effects. I’m sure she’d recommend otherwise had I gotten sicker.

And I much prefer to minimize drugs I take, doctors have learned to overprescribe IME (thanks in-part to patient demands), so I’ll hold off for now. Thanks though.

There is no indication that Paxlovid reduces or minimizes sequelae anyway, as no such studies have been conducted. It’s pure hopium at this point.

 

[Dreamer]

Our DGS, age 6, currently has a bad case. DS picked him up from school yesterday, complaining of headache, sore throat, "hurts all over" and his temp was 102.8! His mother had sent him to school with symptoms--(there is a reason they are divorced-ugh). So she helped expose all the kids at school, too.
His test turned positive faster than the control!
He has had the two kids vaccines when they were first available. He has been in school and they don't wear masks any more that I know of.
Dr on video told DS to watch him closely for wheezing or muscle weakness and just keep him on Tylenol, choraseptic throat spray and hydrated. He's got a lot of pedialyte popsicles for his throat.
Our son has both shots and one booster (teacher, so at risk) and had covid earlier.
Hoping he doesn't catch it again.

I hope that your DGS recovers quickly. Sad to hear that his mom sent him to school with the symptoms. Hope your son does not get it.

 

[braumeister]

Maybe you were asymptomatic? Or a strong immune response preventing (serious) infection?

No, I tested myself twice just to be sure. Negative, while DW's test started showing positive after just one minute so she definitely had it.

We both had exactly the same vaccinations, so my escaping it was just inexplicable.

 

[audreyh1]

No, I tested myself twice just to be sure. Negative, while DW's test started showing positive after just one minute so she definitely had it.

We both had exactly the same vaccinations, so my escaping it was just inexplicable.

Yet apparently relatively common among married vaccinated couples.

 

[harllee]

For all the folks on here that have contracted Covid are many of you dealing with "long" Covid where the symptoms continue for months? I know we have a few Forum members with long Covid. My 90 year old mother (vaccinated and 1 booster) caught Covid in February and since then has been dealing with "brain fog". Surprisingly when she got her second booster the brain fog lifted somewhat but she is still not where she was before Covid. I have another friend a healthy age 70 (vaccinated and 1 booster) who caught Covid in March and still has so much fatigue she cannot get back to her daily life, cannot play golf, etc.

Of all the things about Covid the fear of long Covid probably bothers me the most.

 

[Chuckanut]

Right now I am fighting an unusual urge to eat bananas and play with an old pickle barrel. Is that long Covid, or do I have a case of Monkey Pox?