This is why I’m still nervous.

I am concerned about Covid and am interested in the origins of the virus, but can’t summon up the gumption to keep up with the research on it, as there are so many other things to keep track of. Something that I do find interesting is the seeming inconsistency of those who think the theory that it was engineered and deliberately released is true. If that is the case, I don’t understand how they can look at what China is doing to try and contain outbreaks and not be concerned. But all the people I know, who believe that to be true, do absolutely nothing to avoid contracting it. Extreme fatalism I guess, but it is so surprising to me.

We flew to Europe during the summer, to the UK and then to Italy. We wore masks on the plane and surprisingly we did not end up getting covid. I wore an N95 during boarding and deplaning and a KN95 once the plane was on its way and the air handling system in operation. My dd and dh just wore KN95s but we all managed to avoid it. In my opinion it’s definitely worth a try to mask when flying. Having said that, I still also wear a mask indoors when I’m out and about, usually a KN95. I don’t think I’ve had covid yet. Just got the bivalent booster yesterday. I would really like to avoid it until we have more information about the longer term effects.

I had the Moderna bivalent booster this morning. I was disappointed to read the headlines about no greater effectiveness, but am hopeful that real world data will be more positive, so it was good to read this!

When I worked on an advice line we would advise people to wash their underwear in hot water and use a very hot dryer setting. Another thing to try is ironing underwear with a hot iron.

I don’t know if anything has changed with more recent variants but on TWIV it has always been said that bacterial infections are not common when you have Covid (that is secondary infections because of course Covid is viral), especially in the early stages, so antibiotics should not be routinely prescribed. That, unfortunately, does not stop some Drs from prescribing them anyway.

@wathe thanks for your posts. I listen to the TWIV medical update each week and Dr Daniel Griffin remains pretty keen on paxlovid, so it’s interesting to see more information about it. I’ll probably get this mixed up, but his take on it not being beneficial for vaccinated younger people is that something isn’t going to lower your risks much if they are already very low anyway because of being vaccinated. Another interesting thing he says is that the rebound that occurs is a factor of the disease, not the paxlovid. I think he mentioned a study that had similar rates of rebound in both the group that took paxlovid, and the group that didn’t. If it does help the high risk groups I hope they can figure out a way to ensure they get it. They get a number of emails from people who are told all kinds of crazy things about it by their Drs. I’ve never taken tamiflu and have always been a bit skeptical of it, so have wondered if paxlovid would be similar, but don’t know a lot about it, so good to have the resources posted above.

I think vaccination does reduce blood clot risks

We still have to mask at the hospital where I work. I’m glad they haven’t removed the guidelines there, although I don’t know how long it will last. I feel very strongly that HCWs should be masked when they are with a patient at the very least. I read a study, I think from the UK, that found that getting Covid, while hospitalized after a hip fracture, increased mortality risks by over 30%. That was testing positive for Covid, not necessarily having severe Covid, or having Covid pneumonia. We still know so little about all the implications of this virus. Some modicum of caution seems the least we can do.

I hope that in the future there will be more information and data about which behaviors were more and less likely to result in exposure. It won’t necessarily help with Covid too much but might be useful for future pandemics. I have my theories of course, but if I’ve learned nothing else in the last 2.5 years, I have learned how strong confirmation bias is, and how little introspection is undertaken by so many of us. In my area church services seem to have been places of huge exposure, and my personal theory is that eating in restaurants is another big exposure opportunity. My dh is a counselor and sits in a smallish room, unmasked, for 50 minutes with multiple people a day. He has had many know exposures, and has switched to working online and testing, even when asymptomatic, after each exposure, and he has never tested positive. He has had a hepa filter machine in his office, between him and the client, virtually from the start, thanks to advice from Plum on this board. He’s also had 3 Moderna vaccinations. I think he is someone they should do a research study on lol.

None of my immediate family have had it, and have tested with any symptoms at all. That is despite me looking after Covid patients for months on end.

I don’t think asking for data is being dismissive. It’s extremely important to look at these possible problems to see if they really are an issue. I don’t think it’s acting in good faith to make a strongly negative claim about something- for instance months and months of no periods - and then not be prepared to provide supporting evidence. It’s a very serious and important matter. Pregnant women can be at high risk from Covid. My dd’s 22 year old friend, who was pregnant, died from it last year. If you’re going to possibly influence a potentially life or death decision someone makes, it seems only responsible to back up the information being passed on.

Could you link the evidence for the ‘months and months of no periods’ so we can look at it?

I think this may have been who I was remembering. Thanks!

Thank you for those suggestions. Looking at them now.

We are worried about my in laws who are near Arcadia, FL. I know there is a really knowledgeable weather reporter on FB, who gives accurate information, but I can’t remember his name.

@BlsdMamaI’m so sorry you’re sick! I’m sure you don’t feel like making lots of phone calls and chasing things up, but it would definitely be a good idea for you to get the appropriate treatment for your situation. Is there anyone who can do it for you and advocate on your behalf? The sooner you can get treatment the better! Praying for you, and praying for you to be able to get started on the right treatment today.

Losing my sense of smell is pretty motivational to me trying to avoid Covid. If I get Covid, I really hope I’m one of the lucky ones that doesn’t experience it! I work with several people who say they haven’t smelled a nice smell in a couple of years now.

Also, it’s my dd’s second week of classes at university and already 2 of her professors are off with Covid. No mitigations being attempted at this college at all.

I was wondering if anyone has any insight into whether including the original Wuhan strain in the new booster, along with BA.5, is a good thing or a bad thing. I’ve been waiting for that for a booster, but was reading, although not really understanding, some stuff about OAS. Could someone explain it? The other option might be Novavax as a booster, if that is an option. Any insights would be very appreciated.

It doesn’t matter what the guidelines are, just about nobody follows them in any way where I am and haven’t since just about the beginning.

https://www.propublica.org/article/covid-maternity-stillbirth-vaccines-pregnancy Read this article this morning. So very sad. We just found out that one of my dd’s friends from when she was in school, died last year after having Covid while she was pregnant. She was only 22. Her baby survived. The article said the placental problems resulting in the still births were only found in people who had not been vaccinated. I wish this information was more widely known so women could make a more informed decision.

I’m still masking with at least a KN95 when I go inside anywhere and I don’t eat inside restaurants but will eat on some patios. I do find the study that long Covid is less likely with Omicron reassuring, but I’m also concerned about the cardiovascular risks post infection. I just read that it may be equivalent to uncontrolled hypertension or smoking. I would like more information on that before I risk more exposure. I also find it hard to really, fully understand what we really know. A study posted above on neutralizing antibodies seems to contradict another I read about, that appeared to show a 68% reduction in Omicron infection in HCWs who had had 4 vaccines. It’s all so hazy. I have come across a number of surprisingly youngish people with cardiac issues at work recently. It seems like a lot more than we usually have. My dsil had very mild Covid, and a week or so later had some sort of weird eye thing, where some tissue detached, leaving her with a permanent hazy spot in her vision. These things may not be connected to Covid, but I would love to have more information confirming that. That is why I’m still cautious.

I think it may be that many people have moved on from cloth and surgical masks to KN95 and N95 masks which are much more protective of the wearer, although they also protect those around.

This isn’t Omicron anecdata in the traditional sense I guess, but might be of interest. I have not had Covid yet, have had 2 Pfizer and 1 Moderna booster. We recently flew to the UK and then over to Italy and back, and then back to the US. In the UK there were many people coming down with Covid. I wore a KN95 when going inside anywhere. On the plane I wore an N95 for take off and landing at least, and then a KN95. We did not get Covid. I was amazed. There were very few people masking on any of the flights. My dd and dh had their 3rd shot, both Moderna, a few weeks before we traveled. My dd couldn’t tolerate an N95 but was really good about wearing a KN95. I was convinced there was no way we’d avoid it, even though masking. My dh did mask on the plane but was quite a bit less careful than my dd and I were. I think masks work better than we think. I work in healthcare and if we test positive we have to stay off work for 10 days. Someone I work with just came down with it for the 3rd time, I think her last episode was during Delta. There are a number of them getting repeat infections now. Some are not vaccinated and just about none of them are masking outside work.