Post Vaccination Behavior

[skyking1]

I know that my employer wants to know about any illness symptoms, he does not care what. They have had many people out with it.
I worked with a guy yesterday who had his first shot, and then promptly got infected. He figured he jinxed himself by even talking about it
He has recovered, been tested negative, and got the second shot almost two weeks ago. We commuted together to a distant jobsite in my truck. The other employee going to that job has not had his vaccination yet and my buddy would not ride with him, or anyone who is not fully vaccinated.

 

[W2R]

Thank God! I finally got my pandemic growth of long hair cut off!!!

Congratulations! Just in time before the hot summer weather sets in, too.

 

[harllee]

Thank God! I finally got my pandemic growth of long hair cut off!!!

My pandemic growth hair is now long enough to wear in a pony tail and I like it--easy and cool and DH likes it. I guess age 70 may be too old for a pony tail but who cares.

 

[Ronstar]

......I guess age 70 may be too old for a pony tail .....

Most guys would disagree.

 

[audreyh1]

My pandemic growth hair is now long enough to wear in a pony tail and I like it--easy and cool and DH likes it. I guess age 70 may be too old for a pony tail but who cares.

For decades I had very long hair and I wore it in a pony tail most of the time. But a few years ago I started getting it cut progressively shorter, and then shoulder length, and ultimately about chin length and really liked it best. The longer hair had been driving me crazy recently getting in my face during the night among other things. So it’s a relief to have it short again.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I think there's some truth to this. Many employers are also more vigilant and when an employee is sick, they're being sent home not to return without a negative COVID test.


Still, I'm seeing a lot of patients coming in 4, 5, 6 days into their illness or even more saying, "I figured it was my allergies until the fever started" or "I lost my sense of smell and taste and that never happens with my allergies" or "I thought it was just my asthma acting up" or "I thought it was my normal sinus infection". So there are still plenty of people ignoring clear COVID symptoms because they just figure it wouldn't happen to them, or they already had their first shot and thought they were safe (you're not).

I only speak for myself, but if I started to get COVID symptoms I probably wouldn't go to the doctor unless they got really bad. If I called up the doc every time I got "COVID like symptoms" I would be blacklisted like Elaine from Seinfeld.

I think a lot of people think the same thing (especially those that are under 65 and would be considered low risk for severe illness).

If I recall, you work urgent care and so I would think that a lot of your patients wouldn't seek care at an UC clinic until they really start feeling like crap as opposed to a general practice.

 

[disneysteve]

I only speak for myself, but if I started to get COVID symptoms I probably wouldn't go to the doctor unless they got really bad. If I called up the doc every time I got "COVID like symptoms" I would be blacklisted like Elaine from Seinfeld.

I think a lot of people think the same thing (especially those that are under 65 and would be considered low risk for severe illness).

If I recall, you work urgent care and so I would think that a lot of your patients wouldn't seek care at an UC clinic until they really start feeling like crap as opposed to a general practice.

The problem, which we've been dealing with all along, is then those patients who aren't seeking testing and are just assuming it's not COVID are out infecting others.


If you have symptoms, at the very least you should quarantine even if you aren't going for a test right away. There are actually now home tests available. They're only about $20 at the pharmacy, so you can easily test yourself and avoid the doctor or urgent care if you'd like. But make sure you don't have COVID before you go about your normal routine and risk making others sick.


I also think patients are more likely to come to UC than their PCP because it's much easier and more accessible. You don't need an appointment. We're open 12 hours a day. You can just walk in whenever it's convenient for you. Patients often come in within hours of onset of symptoms. They don't all wait until things get bad.

 

[Gumby]

... I don't understand why the case counts haven't declined more, given all the vaccinations....maybe all the "opening up/loosening up" behavioral changes have offset the vaccination benefits to spread, so far. ...

Around here, the pandemic appears to have shifted more to children, who have not yet been vaccinated. https://www.nhregister.com/news/cor...ing-shots-to-ages-12-to-15-a-big-16151062.php

Thank you, could be the reason. Not sure that type of analysis is readily available here, in my county to confirm; the County Health Dept publishes the cumulative total cases by age, but not the daily new cases by age.

...

We get this report once a week. The graphs on pages 9-10 support the statements in the newspaper article.

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Coronavirus/CTDPHCOVID19summary5062021.pdf

 

[tmm99]

According to this (the New England Journal of Medicine), with Pfizer, if you do not get the 2nd shot, your chances of being able to fight off the UK and S. African variant aren't very good. In fact, not good at all IMO.

The table shows

Efficacy of one dose against infection
Against the UK variant - 29.5%
Against the S African v - 16.9%

Efficacy against severe, critical or fatal
Against the UK variant - 54.1%
Against the S African v - 0.0%

14 days after the second dose, the efficacy for severe, critical or fatal increases to 100% (81%-100% and 75%-100%) for both variants.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2104974

I'm in Canada and I won't get my second dose until August and the interval of two doses is prolonged and this delay hasn't been tested anywhere in the world (16 weeks apart) so I don't even know if I'll get the same protection as people who get the 2nd shot in 3 weeks.

I know that some people are afraid of the side effects from the 2nd shot and are not planning to get the 2nd shot, but they really should.

 

[Aerides]

I only speak for myself, but if I started to get COVID symptoms I probably wouldn't go to the doctor unless they got really bad. If I called up the doc every time I got "COVID like symptoms" I would be blacklisted like Elaine from Seinfeld.

I think a lot of people think the same thing (especially those that are under 65 and would be considered low risk for severe illness).

I'm well under 65, and haven't had any symptoms of anything in the past 15 months. If I had anything that felt like any actual illness, I'd be off to get a test that day - you can get those anywhere now. That way I could quarantine as soon as possible too, to help reduce DH's risk, or anyone else around me.

If I got a diagnosis of covid, I'd be finding the threads here that talked about how to get mAb treatments the moment I felt truly ill, and well before I hit the 10 day mark.

 

[Nature Lover]

We get this report once a week. The graphs on pages 9-10 support the statements in the newspaper article.



https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Coronavirus/CTDPHCOVID19summary5062021.pdf

Yep, that’s a thorough report. Wish our published data included that. Maybe I’ll email County Health and see if they have something they can add to their web page (they’re actually really terrific[emoji4][emoji106]).

 

[W2R]

I'm well under 65, and haven't had any symptoms of anything in the past 15 months.

I'm 73 and IIRC I haven't had a cold or virus like illness since I retired. I did have a lot of these illnesses while attending university, and also some while w*rking.

 

[sengsational]

I'm well under 65, and haven't had any symptoms of anything in the past 15 months. If I had anything that felt like any actual illness, I'd be off to get a test that day - you can get those anywhere now. That way I could quarantine as soon as possible too, to help reduce DH's risk, or anyone else around me.

If I got a diagnosis of covid, I'd be finding the threads here that talked about how to get mAb treatments the moment I felt truly ill, and well before I hit the 10 day mark.

I hadn't had any symptoms beyond those as a result of the vaccinations themselves (had 2 shingles and 2 covid events). But 3 weeks after my 2nd covid vaccination, I had a fever, which "never happens" to me. So DW went to get a BinaxNow test from CVS and I learned within an hour of deciding to test that I was negative. But I'm the same as you...I wanted to know ASAP if it's Covid so I can isolate and get treatment. My doctor already prescribed ivermectin, and I had it on the shelf, read to go, if needed.

But I'll say "Cinco de Mayo" to get the thread back on track! DW and I met our buddies at the local cantina for a big celebration. It was great. They had a DJ who was having contents for making noise (they handed out maracas, tambourines), hats, goofy glasses, and other props. I went all-in with the props and celebrating. That, and today went out to lunch with BIL/SIL "just because". Getting out feels great!

 

[audreyh1]

14 days after the second dose, the efficacy for severe, critical or fatal increases to 100% (81%-100% and 75%-100%) for both variants.

Very interesting. I noticed the paper said

Vaccine effectiveness against severe, critical, or fatal disease due to infection with any SARS-CoV-2 (with the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants being predominant within Qatar) was very high, at 97.4% (95% CI, 92.2 to 99.5). Sensitivity analyses confirmed these results (Table S3).

So very very high protection against severe disease or worse, regardless of the variant.

This should be in the Fantastic Vaccine Results thread!

 

[tmm99]

Very interesting. I noticed the paper said
So very very high protection against severe disease or worse, regardless of the variant.

This should be in the Fantastic Vaccine Results thread!

I was looking at this article from my point of view, I guess? With just one shot, the protection is minimal against the UK and S. Africa variant. I will wait to go out until my 2nd shot scheduled in August and even then, with such a long interval, I may not be getting the same protection as people who get their second shot after 3 weeks. But yeah, for the people who get both shots, after 14 days, things are looking very good

 

[RAE]

. My doctor already prescribed ivermectin, and I had it on the shelf, read to go, if needed.

That's interesting. I was just reading the other day that the WHO is now recommending that ivermectin be used to treat COVID patients in clinical trials only. My first thought after reading that was, "well, the pharmaceutical industry has once again been successful in deterring the use of a low-cost, non-patended drug, because they can't make any money off of it". As you probably know, there are quite a few published studies now that have found ivermectin to be quite effective at preventing a COVID infection from becoming serious, especially if taken early (I can provide citations if anyone wants to read those studies). And it has been around for quite a while (since 1981), it's cheap, and has a proven safety record. I was wondering how many doctors were still prescribing it(?), but clearly yours still is. And he/she even prescribed it before you had any COVID symptoms, which is even more interesting. I wonder how many doctors around the country would do the same thing? My guess is not many.

 

[rather be in hawaii]

We missed our month on Maui for 2020. My DF and I are going to Maui this year for 5 weeks, starting in middle of October. We're flying first class again, thanks to airlines miles upgrade. We're both fully vaccinated. I have a medical referral for massage therapy, so I started getting massages in Feb. 2021. Only one client and one massage therapist at a time in the office. Masks still required. I started a new tattoo on Halloween 2020, finally finished on Jan. 23. Shop was operating at reduced capacity, and we were all masked up.

 

[cbo111]

We just returned from our first commercial flight in 15 months to visit my elderly mother. Felt pretty confident being vaccinated but would have been very uncomfortable doing this without the shots. The airport and airline protocols are, in my opinion, a mixed bag. They have floor markings in the ticketing areas to keep you 6' apart, yet after checking your bags you cram into the transport train with a hundred other travelers to get to your terminal. Southwest makes everyone wear masks (over the nose) and reminds you several times during the flight, but all four legs of the flights were 100% full. It was a bit painful wearing the mask for ~11 hours each travel day. Previously, our longest mask periods were about an hour in the store or doctor appointment. Big difference, gives me a whole new respect for workers that wear these things every day.

 

[simple girl]

We just returned from our first commercial flight in 15 months to visit my elderly mother. Felt pretty confident being vaccinated but would have been very uncomfortable doing this without the shots. The airport and airline protocols are, in my opinion, a mixed bag. They have floor markings in the ticketing areas to keep you 6' apart, yet after checking your bags you cram into the transport train with a hundred other travelers to get to your terminal. Southwest makes everyone wear masks (over the nose) and reminds you several times during the flight, but all four legs of the flights were 100% full. It was a bit painful wearing the mask for ~11 hours each travel day. Previously, our longest mask periods were about an hour in the store or doctor appointment. Big difference, gives me a whole new respect for workers that wear these things every day.

Thanks for the update. We'll be flying quite a bit this summer. I've only booked direct flights due to trying to avoid having to wear our kf-94's any longer than necessary. Ugh. It's fantastic to be vaccinated but I definitely still do not feel comfortable indoors with crowds.

 

[disneysteve]

We just returned from our first commercial flight in 15 months

I flew once in February and again last week. Flights were packed. And over a year into this, it's truly sad how many people still refuse to wear a mask properly, if at all.

It was a bit painful wearing the mask for ~11 hours each travel day. Previously, our longest mask periods were about an hour in the store or doctor appointment. Big difference, gives me a whole new respect for workers that wear these things every day.

Welcome to my world. 12 hours/day, mostly in a surgical mask but an N95 for every patient with possible COVID symptoms.

 

[sengsational]

That's interesting. I was just reading the other day that the WHO is now recommending that ivermectin be used to treat COVID patients in clinical trials only. My first thought after reading that was, "well, the pharmaceutical industry has once again been successful in deterring the use of a low-cost, non-patended drug, because they can't make any money off of it". As you probably know, there are quite a few published studies now that have found ivermectin to be quite effective at preventing a COVID infection from becoming serious, especially if taken early (I can provide citations if anyone wants to read those studies). And it has been around for quite a while (since 1981), it's cheap, and has a proven safety record. I was wondering how many doctors were still prescribing it(?), but clearly yours still is. And he/she even prescribed it before you had any COVID symptoms, which is even more interesting. I wonder how many doctors around the country would do the same thing? My guess is not many.

I actually have two local doctors that were on-board with ivermectin (after I got done schooling them). The first one, young guy in a megapractice that took over for my long-time guy was a solid "no" at first (said the group he was in wouldn't allow it). Then the NIH came out with the "not for or against" stance, which I forwarded to him, and the next thing I knew, I was getting a call from CVS to pick-up the "upon first symptom" doses, aligned with the FLCCC protocol at the time (which I'd schooled him about earlier). I had an email discussion with another old codger doc who works in a kind of a small "office space" practice (not a mega). He doesn't give a cr*p what anyone thinks, and nobody is looking over his shoulder. I didn't ask for a prescription from him, but after looking at the documentation I provided, he thanked me, said he'd be using ivermectin for his patents, and said give him a call if I "got it". Luckily I didn't "get it"!

 

[RAE]

I actually have two local doctors that were on-board with ivermectin (after I got done schooling them). The first one, young guy in a megapractice that took over for my long-time guy was a solid "no" at first (said the group he was in wouldn't allow it). Then the NIH came out with the "not for or against" stance, which I forwarded to him, and the next thing I knew, I was getting a call from CVS to pick-up the "upon first symptom" doses, aligned with the FLCCC protocol at the time (which I'd schooled him about earlier). I had an email discussion with another old codger doc who works in a kind of a small "office space" practice (not a mega). He doesn't give a cr*p what anyone thinks, and nobody is looking over his shoulder. I didn't ask for a prescription from him, but after looking at the documentation I provided, he thanked me, said he'd be using ivermectin for his patents, and said give him a call if I "got it". Luckily I didn't "get it"!

Thanks for the info.. I guess I need to develop more of a relationship with my PCP (mostly for the future, not for right now). He's a young guy, and seems to be somewhat open to at least listening to new information, so maybe he would be open to a discussion like you had with your doc..

 

[USGrant1962]

CDC just lifted mask recommendations for vaccinated individuals in essentially all environments (indoor and out) except mass transportation.

https://news.yahoo.com/cdc-lifts-in...-people-you-can-shed-your-mask-184707179.html

 

[disneysteve]

CDC just lifted mask recommendations for vaccinated individuals in essentially all environments (indoor and out) except mass transportation.

https://news.yahoo.com/cdc-lifts-in...-people-you-can-shed-your-mask-184707179.html

Note that this doesn't counteract state and local mandates. Individual businesses may still require masks. Medical facilities, nursing, homes, and other places may still require them. But it certainly is a huge step toward normalcy.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, there are still a lot of unvaccinated folks and not yet fully vaccinated folks and businesses/facilities aren’t going to know who is or who isn’t.