wuhan - coronavirus

[lewelma]

10 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Do you guys have much flu around?  We haven’t.

Last winter they said that the flu had basically been eradicated in NZ. I think they were saying they were aware of like 10 cases in the whole country. With the April 2020 lockdown being strong enough to wipe out covid, it was also strong enough to wipe out the flu. And then with the borders closed, it simply wasn't reseeded from overseas. Add to that the number of people who got the flu vaccine (record numbers). Flu here was gone along with covid in winter (June-August) 2020 and 2021. 

[ktgrok]

4 hours ago, KeriJ said:

Where can I find this? I'm in a different county in FL and have a hard time finding info.

It is on the department of health website here https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/

Scroll down to the part that looks like the image I'm including, and click on the "read report" button. Keep in mind as you look at the county data that the left hand side is cumulative, the more recent stuff is on the right hand columns. 

Another good website is the NY Times one - times.com/interactive/2021/us/florida-covid-cases.html

 

[Kanin]

1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

My kid’s school district just announced they’re starting Christmas break early due to large numbers of staff out.  However, it seems to be mostly flu, not Covid, which is good(not good, because the flu we’re starting to see is severe-ish even in flu vaccinated people, but it’s not severe Covid)

Mine too. Ours is covid.... A combo of people quarantined bc of being close contacts, and 7 out of 150 kids having covid. 

[regentrude]

5 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

I got my flu shot early, along with my COVID booster. Maybe they'll adjust it and I can get another later in the season? 

I don't think that's possible since it takes so long to produce the flu vaccine.  That's why they always have to make an educated guess about the expected strains, since they can't wait and see which is coming.

[Ausmumof3]

 

[regentrude]

Quote

Act 3: Kids die from Covid but don’t worry, only kids with pre-existing conditions die

And that somehow makes it okay... how exactly? That is such a bizarre rhetoric.

Edited December 19, 2021 by regentrude

[wathe]

14 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Do you guys have much flu around?  We haven’t.

Super low here.  55 cases in the entire country last week. 

Our flu monitoring system is pretty good.

Thought higher than last year, when we only had 69 cases in the entire country over the entire flu season.

Edited December 19, 2021 by wathe

[ieta_cassiopeia]

8 minutes ago, regentrude said:

And that somehow makes it okay... how exactly? That is such a bizarre rhetoric.

It gives false reassurance to parents whose children have no pre-existing conditions (false because, apart from people with pre-existing conditions being people too, COVID-19 is quite capable of initiating "pre-existing conditions" in its own right).

I had my flu shot a few weeks ago. There is flu in the UK, including some in various hospitals, but not as severe as last year and nowhere near as many people as pre-COVID. The worldwide extinction of one major strain is definitely being felt here, even if the flu vaccine may not be hitting every variant that's circulating.

My COVID vaccination went well. Queuing was an issue - the people in front of me weren't socially-distancing, so I made sure I put in a 2 metre gap and this seemed to encourage the people behind me to give each other space in turn. Someone did eventually tell the people in front to sort themselves out and give each other space.

Nearly everyone wore masks (it's mandatory, lots of people checking, but exemptions exist).  The system was organised, apart from forgetting to mention in advance that everyone was meant to bring ID. (This is a big deal - 24% of people in the UK don't have valid ID of any kind, although it turned out that less formal means of identifying people were also in use).

Injection went well. The volunteer clearly knew what they were doing; there was only a little scratch at the time and at no point since did it hurt or display any symptom. Then came the surprise.

No mandatory observation.

I got observation due to my reaction to the first vaccine and me specifically requesting, but most people were told they could leave immediately. The vaccine uptake where I live means nearly everyone was getting a booster, and I suspect the medics reason that people who were going to react would have done so with one of the first two if their booster was the same vaccine (I got a third Pfizer, but Moderna and OxfordAstrazeneca were also available and I get the impression from questioning that matches were being aimed for where possible).

Someone did collapse in my visit - I did not enquire about the circumstances, though I don't think hospital transport was required - so clearly observation has merits. I was just surprised most people didn't get asked to stick around for at least 10 minutes (the seating and staff were there for everyone to wait, it just didn't get used much).

Everyone got a sticker, hand sanitiser and a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" on the way out.

[Ausmumof3]

16 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

It gives false reassurance to parents whose children have no pre-existing conditions (false because, apart from people with pre-existing conditions being people too, COVID-19 is quite capable of initiating "pre-existing conditions" in its own right).

I had my flu shot a few weeks ago. There is flu in the UK, including some in various hospitals, but not as severe as last year and nowhere near as many people as pre-COVID. The worldwide extinction of one major strain is definitely being felt here, even if the flu vaccine may not be hitting every variant that's circulating.

My COVID vaccination went well. Queuing was an issue - the people in front of me weren't socially-distancing, so I made sure I put in a 2 metre gap and this seemed to encourage the people behind me to give each other space in turn. Someone did eventually tell the people in front to sort themselves out and give each other space.

Nearly everyone wore masks (it's mandatory, lots of people checking, but exemptions exist).  The system was organised, apart from forgetting to mention in advance that everyone was meant to bring ID. (This is a big deal - 24% of people in the UK don't have valid ID of any kind, although it turned out that less formal means of identifying people were also in use).

Injection went well. The volunteer clearly knew what they were doing; there was only a little scratch at the time and at no point since did it hurt or display any symptom. Then came the surprise.

No mandatory observation.

I got observation due to my reaction to the first vaccine and me specifically requesting, but most people were told they could leave immediately. The vaccine uptake where I live means nearly everyone was getting a booster, and I suspect the medics reason that people who were going to react would have done so with one of the first two if their booster was the same vaccine (I got a third Pfizer, but Moderna and OxfordAstrazeneca were also available and I get the impression from questioning that matches were being aimed for where possible).

Someone did collapse in my visit - I did not enquire about the circumstances, though I don't think hospital transport was required - so clearly observation has merits. I was just surprised most people didn't get asked to stick around for at least 10 minutes (the seating and staff were there for everyone to wait, it just didn't get used much).

Everyone got a sticker, hand sanitiser and a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" on the way out.

I’ve seen a bit of talk about dropping the mandatory observation time because it serves little purpose and slows the process down as well as increasing risk of covid spread while people are waiting.

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2021/1214/1266790-pharmacists-niac-booster-observation-period/
 

Here is one example.

[wathe]

18 minutes ago, ieta_cassiopeia said:

It gives false reassurance to parents whose children have no pre-existing conditions (false because, apart from people with pre-existing conditions being people too, COVID-19 is quite capable of initiating "pre-existing conditions" in its own right).

I had my flu shot a few weeks ago. There is flu in the UK, including some in various hospitals, but not as severe as last year and nowhere near as many people as pre-COVID. The worldwide extinction of one major strain is definitely being felt here, even if the flu vaccine may not be hitting every variant that's circulating.

My COVID vaccination went well. Queuing was an issue - the people in front of me weren't socially-distancing, so I made sure I put in a 2 metre gap and this seemed to encourage the people behind me to give each other space in turn. Someone did eventually tell the people in front to sort themselves out and give each other space.

Nearly everyone wore masks (it's mandatory, lots of people checking, but exemptions exist).  The system was organised, apart from forgetting to mention in advance that everyone was meant to bring ID. (This is a big deal - 24% of people in the UK don't have valid ID of any kind, although it turned out that less formal means of identifying people were also in use).

Injection went well. The volunteer clearly knew what they were doing; there was only a little scratch at the time and at no point since did it hurt or display any symptom. Then came the surprise.

No mandatory observation.

I got observation due to my reaction to the first vaccine and me specifically requesting, but most people were told they could leave immediately. The vaccine uptake where I live means nearly everyone was getting a booster, and I suspect the medics reason that people who were going to react would have done so with one of the first two if their booster was the same vaccine (I got a third Pfizer, but Moderna and OxfordAstrazeneca were also available and I get the impression from questioning that matches were being aimed for where possible).

Someone did collapse in my visit - I did not enquire about the circumstances, though I don't think hospital transport was required - so clearly observation has merits. I was just surprised most people didn't get asked to stick around for at least 10 minutes (the seating and staff were there for everyone to wait, it just didn't get used much).

Everyone got a sticker, hand sanitiser and a cheerful "Merry Christmas!" on the way out.

Post-vaccine observation time was cut to 5 min today in my province. 

I think the rationale is balancing the need for speed in getting as many people boostered as possible with the risk of a shortened observation time.  The math apparently predicts that that speedy vax with shortened obs time will save more lives than slower vax rate with standard observation time.

[wathe]

10 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’ve seen a bit of talk about dropping the mandatory observation time because it serves little purpose and slows the process down as well as increasing risk of covid spread while people are waiting.

Yes, this.

[Faith-manor]

18 hours ago, Frances said:

In my state one explanation given for a woeful lack of public nursing school slots is the difficulty finding instructors because nurses can make more being nurses with less education than they can teaching, which usually requires more education. But I honestly don’t know why they just don’t increase pay for the nursing instructors. Lots of colleges pay higher salaries to profs in fields like computer science where it is harder to lure people away from non-academic jobs.

We also rely way too much in almost all healthcare fields on continuing to be a state that attracts people from other states. Which sucks for young people here who want the opportunity to pursue a healthcare career. I have zero hope anything positive will come of this in my state. A recent local article I read talked about the need to increase interest in healthcare careers among young people. Which is ridiculous because just about the only fields without tons of qualified, interested people but way too few training slots are low level jobs like CNA.

My mother in law's income dropped by 50% from her work as a med/surg recovery nurse to becoming a nursing instructor. It goes back to the lack of respect for educators across the board. We pay poorly for academia from birth - graduate school.

We need more paramedics, desperately, and the pay in my state is finally going up decently. But, when the powers that be refuse to allow more instructional slots, it doesn't matter. Same with nursing, doctors, etc. 

Our system is utterly broken. Two people from my area just died of readily treatable conditions. An ambulance response time of 6-7 minutes pre-covid is now several hours. Relatives took them to the ER themselves, and the wait time was 12 hours, and people had to wait in their cars. They died in their seats. Their relatives finally called local funeral homes to ask for someone to help them.

It is the dark ages out there, and yet the "Freedumbs", " Capitalism cannot be regulated" folks keep beating that drum all the way to their own graves. So damn stupid!

[Faith-manor]

On 12/18/2021 at 8:00 AM, Longtime Lurker said:

I really think there is no way you could have contracted it under these circumstances. Good job getting out of there fast!

I came. Everyone pleaded. We have had a marvelous day today doing some decorating, and playing with the kiddos. Tomorrow we are making a gingerbread house, and Tuesday we are doing something called "Tinsel Tree Walk" it is outdoors and we will mask if other folks are there. Then we are doing the drive through light show at the Botanical Gardens. Wednesday is a big play with trains day. Thursday we do cookie baking.

We are using curbside pick up for a grocery supply. Also tomorrow, N is helping his Papa Mark make elf houses for the flower gardens.

[Ausmumof3]

59 cases for QLD and 7 deaths eek

NSW and VIC numbers fairly steady today and no deaths.

ACT 13

[Longtime Lurker]

43 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I came. Everyone pleaded. We have had a marvelous day today doing some decorating, and playing with the kiddos. Tomorrow we are making a gingerbread house, and Tuesday we are doing something called "Tinsel Tree Walk" it is outdoors and we will mask if other folks are there. Then we are doing the drive through light show at the Botanical Gardens. Wednesday is a big play with trains day. Thursday we do cookie baking.

We are using curbside pick up for a grocery supply. Also tomorrow, N is helping his Papa Mark make elf houses for the flower gardens.

Sounds wonderful!

[Jean in Newcastle]

On 12/17/2021 at 7:12 PM, SeaConquest said:

I graduated from nursing school in June of this year. You would think that it would be easy to find a hospital job in this environment, but you would be wrong. Every new grad residency in my area gets 500-1000 applicants for every spot. I am now 6 months out from graduation and still have not been able to land a hospital residency, so I am what they call an "old" new grad -- too old to qualify for a residency at many of the hospitals around here (which won't take you if you are past 6 months out from graduation), but also lacking the year of hospital experience that is required to be hired as an "experienced" nurse. So, I am basically stale goods and totally screwed. I've been sending out resumes and interviewing, but so far have nothing to show for it except RN experience at our county psych hospital (which is not viewed as acute care) and as a nurse vaccinator at CVS.

Recently, I thought I had an ICU position, only to be ghosted by the hiring manager that seemed pretty keen to hire me. It turns out that the ICU had to put hiring on hold after our interview because they simply did not have enough preceptors to bring any new grads on board. That's the problem with us newbs -- someone has to be around to at least answer our questions and supervise, if we run into trouble, and nurses are so stretched right now they simply don't have the ability to bring on new grads because they don't have the time to precept us. So, here we sit on the sidelines watching everyone drown, wanting to help, but not being allowed in to do so. It's awful.

I wish I thought single payer would solve these problems, but as much as I support Medicare 4 All, I don't think it is a panacea for these issues, alas.  

Dh (RN nurse manager) suggests that you work for an agency. They will give you (quick) orientations but you get to know the people and procedures in various local hospitals and units. It will give you the experience you need. 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/disease-index-covid-19/surveillance-reports/daily-hospital-surveillance-datcov-report/
 

Hospitalisation data from South Africa here.  Last week is most likely not up to date.  You can see the increase in Gauteng relative to the other areas.

[GoodGrief3]

23 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Dh (RN nurse manager) suggests that you work for an agency. They will give you (quick) orientations but you get to know the people and procedures in various local hospitals and units. It will give you the experience you need. 

Agency work is typically not a good fit for new grads, because they don't have the experience to think on their feet, and hospitals are hiring agency nurses because they are short staffed. They don't have the experienced staff available to oversee the new nurse.

I graduated during a nursing shortage back in the late 80s, and even then it was difficult to find a nurse residency/internship, and ICU jobs were also hard to come by. The search for that sort of thing is what took me to rural Alaska, which I was freer to do because I was young and unencumbered. Certainly not everyone is free to take off.

I'd suggest looking in med-surg, assisted living, surgical centers for work for now. That's where I see our local new grads getting initial experience, before they move on to additional schooling or other work.

Edited December 20, 2021 by GoodGrief3

[Mom_to3]

23 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Ugh. Our flu shots are scheduled. I wonder if we should cancel.

 

We probably won't get the flu shot this year. We will wear high-quality masks and be very careful over the next few months, and realistically, flu is sooo much less infectious than covid that these covid precautions should work pretty well against the flu. We had hoped to get the flu shot after the kids got their covid shots - but covid cases are now so incredibly high that I can't imagine heading to a crowded pharmacy or doctor's office (I still don't understand why there are no drive-through flu - or covid - vaccination clinics around here!!). 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

3 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

59 cases for QLD and 7 deaths eek

NSW and VIC numbers fairly steady today and no deaths.

ACT 13

That figure of 7 deaths for QLD is the total for the whole pandemic.

Although our current case numbers are going crazy, there have been no recent deaths that I'm aware of.

[Ausmumof3]

105 cases for SA today now up to five hospitalisations.

emergency National cabinet meeting on for tomorrow to discuss omicron
 

no doubt any failures of the reopening plan will be put down to the omicron variant 

[Ausmumof3]

We’re supposed to be able to book 5-11 year old vaccines but the website hasn’t been updated.

there has been no update to exposure locations in 48 hours.

paramedics have been ramped with Covid patients due to an issue with the access to the hospital for Covid patients or something. 
 

everything’s great!

[chocolate-chip chooky]

12 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

We’re supposed to be able to book 5-11 year old vaccines but the website hasn’t been updated.

there has been no update to exposure locations in 48 hours.

paramedics have been ramped with Covid patients due to an issue with the access to the hospital for Covid patients or something. 
 

everything’s great!

We're following in your path.

Our exposure list is so long that I'd be surprised if many people are following it closely.

This is so so so different to everything we've done in the past two years. I'm so thrown.

I'm trying to get my head around the fact that we need to adapt to a whole new normal here. It isn't going to go away, because there are no lockdowns or lockouts in our future (or so it seems). 

We just cancelled our extended family Christmas.

[lewelma]

Just now, chocolate-chip chooky said:

We're following in your path.

Our exposure list is so long that I'd be surprised if many people are following it closely.

This is so so so different to everything we've done in the past two years. I'm so thrown.

I'm trying to get my head around the fact that we need to adapt to a whole new normal here. It isn't going to go away, because there are no lockdowns or lockouts in our future (or so it seems). 

We just cancelled our extended family Christmas.

You guys have really done a u-turn.  It is really hard for me to get my head around and I'm not even there. I'm so sorry your government is failing you. 😞

[lewelma]

Every time I open this thread I see the 2 hearts and me writing "DS got home 3 hours ago!" March 15 2020 in his race back to NZ before all the borders closed and the flights got cancelled.  I can't believe we are here again.  My ds just cancelled his visit to his grandparents house because he is currently with his 92 year old paternal grandmother and it was a 3 day roundtrip with 6 airports and 4 flights to get to his maternal grandparents and back to his paternal grandma 3 days later.  He is not boosted and she is 92. So we cancelled with 2 hours to go and lost $250. 

And Harvard has just announced that they are going remote for most of January, and MIT is likely to follow suit and announce tomorrow.  Sigh. I hope he does not lose his last semester.  😞

 

[Melissa in Australia]

3 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

We’re supposed to be able to book 5-11 year old vaccines but the website hasn’t been updated.

there has been no update to exposure locations in 48 hours.

paramedics have been ramped with Covid patients due to an issue with the access to the hospital for Covid patients or something. 
 

everything’s great!

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

When I looked before it said no clinics have doses check back in a few weeks. When I first looked there was no mention of it at all. Will try again now.

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

Woohoo! This worked.  Booked in and so happy though a little nervous 

[Ausmumof3]

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-links-26-year-old-mans-death-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-2021-12-20/
 

NZ death confirmed linked to myocarditis from Pfizer 

[Ausmumof3]

 

[Faith-manor]

13 hours ago, Longtime Lurker said:

Sounds wonderful!

It is. I am starting to relax a little. Cases are much lower here than in our county in Michigan, and of course on the mountain, we are naturally distanced. We have a curbside pick up for Kroger, one for Whole Foods, one for JoAnns, and one for Michaels this week so we are getting everything we need to make Christmas special, but staying away from the general public so my anxiety is abating.

All of our discussions now hover around outdoor vacation ideas for all of us together. We are having a lot of fun. We played some zany games with our grandson last night and then when he was in bed (C, our almost 2 year old grandboy was already asleep), we played a pretty zany game of Apples to Apples. Mark is baking GF bagels this morning for bagel sandwiches for lunch.

I think Omicron is going to sweep the nation. Michigan's healthcare is broken, just bereft. I know there are other places like this as well. I think we will top a million dead just of covid and another quarter million or so dead from the side effects of not being able to get healthcare they needed for other conditions. I also think that at this point, at least in our area, everybody 65 and up are locking down again which means many of these covid deaths will be in working age individuals. So all those nutters that didn't want to lock down long enough to controp covid nearly two years ago because "economy" have a lot of reckoning to do because you just can't kill this many people and break your healthcare system and NOT have a massive economic fall out.

[Dmmetler]

9 hours ago, lewelma said:

Every time I open this thread I see the 2 hearts and me writing "DS got home 3 hours ago!" March 15 2020 in his race back to NZ before all the borders closed and the flights got cancelled.  I can't believe we are here again.  My ds just cancelled his visit to his grandparents house because he is currently with his 92 year old paternal grandmother and it was a 3 day roundtrip with 6 airports and 4 flights to get to his maternal grandparents and back to his paternal grandma 3 days later.  He is not boosted and she is 92. So we cancelled with 2 hours to go and lost $250. 

And Harvard has just announced that they are going remote for most of January, and MIT is likely to follow suit and announce tomorrow.  Sigh. I hope he does not lose his last semester.  😞

 

I'm terrified that L' school will do the same. They have been very conservative WRT to COVID. L has been so much happier and less anxious in a vaccinated, masked, tested bubble on campus, where it has been possible to have a relatively normal life. Right now, the kids are chatting online and on video calls, and most of the higher years are very pessimistic because they were there in March of 2020 and spent all of last year online. 

 

It is so frustrating to me that the kids at schools which have been taking precautions and have been careful, the kids who tested before coming home and will test before returning and have been testing multiple times per week are the ones who likely stand to lose their Spring term, but the state U's will reopen and let it rip, probably with no masks or anything else-thereby making it even less likely that the kids who did everything right have a normal Spring! 

[Longtime Lurker]

19 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

It is. I am starting to relax a little. Cases are much lower here than in our county in Michigan, and of course on the mountain, we are naturally distanced. We have a curbside pick up for Kroger, one for Whole Foods, one for JoAnns, and one for Michaels this week so we are getting everything we need to make Christmas special, but staying away from the general public so my anxiety is abating.

All of our discussions now hover around outdoor vacation ideas for all of us together. We are having a lot of fun. We played some zany games with our grandson last night and then when he was in bed (C, our almost 2 year old grandboy was already asleep), we played a pretty zany game of Apples to Apples. Mark is baking GF bagels this morning for bagel sandwiches for lunch.

I think Omicron is going to sweep the nation. Michigan's healthcare is broken, just bereft. I know there are other places like this as well. I think we will top a million dead just of covid and another quarter million or so dead from the side effects of not being able to get healthcare they needed for other conditions. I also think that at this point, at least in our area, everybody 65 and up are locking down again which means many of these covid deaths will be in working age individuals. So all those nutters that didn't want to lock down long enough to controp covid nearly two years ago because "economy" have a lot of reckoning to do because you just can't kill this many people and break your healthcare system and NOT have a massive economic fall out.

I'm starting to wish I could get out of Michigan, too! Case numbers have been declining in my county over the past two weeks, but now I'm worried that omicron will send them right back up again. Our hospitals really cannot take much more 😞

[catz]

15 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

 

 

It is so frustrating to me that the kids at schools which have been taking precautions and have been careful, the kids who tested before coming home and will test before returning and have been testing multiple times per week are the ones who likely stand to lose their Spring term, but the state U's will reopen and let it rip, probably with no masks or anything else-thereby making it even less likely that the kids who did everything right have a normal Spring! 

To be fair, plenty of public U's have been doing it right.  The big 10 local to me is fully vaxxed, my son's big 10 in a neighboring state is 95% vaxxed.  That one is has fantastic testing protocols, required for many kids in the dorm.  I am just following that one closer since my kid is there.  Both have mask mandates that are just 2nd nature to kids now.  They did have a slight uptick in cases after thanksgiving, I expect testing will uptick again after the holidays.  

So I won't be surprised if those schools stay in person.  Neither resumes until mid to late January. But I also think it won't be a disaster.  There are both public and private colleges out there not handling covid well but it's hardly uniform and I've been super impressed with my own kids community of 50K+ 95%+ vaccinated.  They've been highlighted at different points my national media for their handling.  

[1234]

1 minute ago, FuzzyCatz said:

To be fair, plenty of public U's have been doing it right.  The big 10 local to me is fully vaxxed, my son's big 10 in a neighboring state is 95% vaxxed.  That one is has fantastic testing protocols, required for many kids in the dorm.  I am just following that one closer since my kid is there.  Both have mask mandates that are just 2nd nature to kids now.  They did have a slight uptick in cases after thanksgiving, I expect testing will uptick again after the holidays.  

So I won't be surprised if those schools stay in person.  Neither resumes until mid to late January. But I also think it won't be a disaster.  There are both public and private colleges out there not handling covid well but it's hardly uniform and I've been super impressed with my own kids community of 50K+ 95%+ vaccinated.  They've been highlighted at different points my national media for their handling.  

Yes, Ds is at a big state uni and vaccines and masks are mandated. They’ve done a good job thus far and we’ve been told it is highly unlikely they will go back to online.

[MEmama]

DS is also at a large university. They don’t have a vax mandate because the vaccination rate is so high that excess regulation isn’t needed (the international students are required to be vaccinated). They do have a mask mandate for all indoor spaces.

I am reasonably sure he will be able to return after break— although Ireland may impose stricter limitations this winter, it is unlikely they will close their border entirely. We assume his second semester might well look vastly different than his first; I won’t be surprised if classes go online and social opportunities are certain to be curbed. Still, I’d rather have him there with his friends than stuck at home with us.

[OH_Homeschooler]

Can I vent? For the first time I know two people who are close to me who tested positive. My niece (sister's daughter), and my brother. Niece is a teacher in an elementary school, brother is a custodian at another elementary school. My niece was vaccinated but not boosted. Not sure on my brother's status--he might be anti-vax but he cares about his children, one of whom is special needs. And schools in our state require vaccines or frequent testing. 

Anyway, my issue is with my mother. I am not in contact with her but I hear things. Up until I cut off contact I thought she was careful, she was vaccinated at least. My brother stays with my mother and stepdad on weeknights after a divorce, long story. So I can only imagine he has exposed them to his Covid.

My sister just told me my mother, in her 70s and poor health, is not boosted. Someone just tagged my mother in a photo from a get-together of 12 elderly people in a Covid hotbed. Not a single person in the photo has a mask on and it doesn't look like they just took them off for the photo (not down around their chins, not holding them). 😡

I'm appalled at how careless people are. We are ALL sick of this, but that doesn't mean it's over. You still have to take precautions. Grrr.

I feel like my mother's death warrant has already been signed. 

Edited December 20, 2021 by OH_Homeschooler

[catz]

I know this is something to watch and our population is much different than SA's, but I do find this encouraging ....

https://twitter.com/ScottGottliebMD/status/1472664060445569026

[MEmama]

44 minutes ago, OH_Homeschooler said:

Can I vent? For the first time I know two people who are close to me who tested positive. My niece (sister's daughter), and my brother. Niece is a teacher in an elementary school, brother is a custodian at another elementary school. My niece was vaccinated but not boosted. Not sure on my brother's status--he might be anti-vax but he cares about his children, one of whom is special needs. And schools in our state require vaccines or frequent testing. 

Anyway, my issue is with my mother. I am not in contact with her but I hear things. Up until I cut off contact I thought she was careful, she was vaccinated at least. My brother stays with my mother and stepdad on weeknights after a divorce, long story. So I can only imagine he has exposed them to his Covid.

My sister just told me my mother, in her 70s and poor health, is not boosted. Someone just tagged my mother in a photo from a get-together of 12 elderly people in a Covid hotbed. Not a single person in the photo has a mask on and it doesn't look like they just took them off for the photo (not down around their chins, not holding them). 😡

I'm appalled at how careless people are. We are ALL sick of this, but that doesn't mean it's over. You still have to take precautions. Grrr.

I feel like my mother's death warrant has already been signed. 

I’m right there with. My MIL apparently doesn’t “believe” in the vaccine. They go to church, out to eat in restaurants and fast food places, shop needlessly, don’t mask… but MIL insists she’s safe because she uses hand sanitizer. 🤬

She is obese, diabetic and on all kinds of meds. I can’t see how she’s going to make it out of this pandemic. 

[Starr]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

And Harvard has just announced that they are going remote for most of January, and MIT is likely to follow suit and announce tomorrow.  Sigh. I hope he does not lose his last semester.  😞

The private NE universities are all debating if they should follow suit. Students and family members complain about testing and isolating protocols and then complain there isn't enough when there's an outbreak. I'm not really sure how institutions can win.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

I'm terrified that L' school will do the same. They have been very conservative WRT to COVID. L has been so much happier and less anxious in a vaccinated, masked, tested bubble on campus, where it has been possible to have a relatively normal life.

I’m really worried about what will happen for the college kids as well. Both possibilities are bad—I want the kids back on campus and having a normalish (with masks) life, but I also think omicron will rip through any college that is back on campus, a la Cornell. I have one who tends to get very ill when sick and I have another who comes home every weekend and really needs that (ASD) and I am super worried about them doing that in January since I also have unvaccinated and only-two-shot kids. I think maybe starting on campus but classes online for the first week or two might be a happy medium? The dorm elevators worry me though. Maybe I can suggest my dc take the stairs. Both are only one floor up. Thinking the dining halls may need to return to the grab and go meals they did last year for January as well. 

[Arcadia]

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-links-26-year-old-mans-death-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-2021-12-20/
 

NZ death confirmed linked to myocarditis from Pfizer 

https://covid19.govt.nz/news-and-data/latest-news/statement-from-the-covid-19-vaccine-independent-safety-monitoring-board/

“Due to the seriousness of these reports, the Board met on 8 December 2021 to discuss the details of these three cases in relation to a possible link to vaccination. The role of the Board is to consider the likelihood of the link of the vaccine to any adverse event. The Board recognises that, in relation to deaths reported to the coroner, it is for the coroner to determine the cause and circumstances of death.

The death a of 13-year-old child, which has been reported to the coroner, was discussed at length, however further information is required before a determination on the role of the vaccine can be made. A further statement will be made when that information is available.

Two of the cases are considered further below. Having reviewed the information, the Board considers that the myocarditis which was implicated in the death of a man in his 60s, was unlikely related to vaccination. The time from vaccination to the onset of symptoms and clinical factors point to other causes and is not consistent with a causal link.”

 

[Arcadia]

12 hours ago, lewelma said:

And Harvard has just announced that they are going remote for most of January, and MIT is likely to follow suit and announce tomorrow.  Sigh. I hope he does not lose his last semester.  😞

Stanford has announced that school would be online for the first two weeks and then see how the situation is.

[Faith-manor]

Just now, Starr said:

The private NE universities are all debating if they should follow suit. Students and family members complain about testing and isolating protocols and then complain there isn't enough when there's an outbreak. I'm not really sure how institutions can win.

I don't think they can. It has reached a place where there are no good answers.

Ds is coming up to his last semester and graduation. He is in the midst of a very important senior project. If the go virtual, the project is toast. I am sure they will wave the requirement, but he will be so sad. We are hanging on to hope because his campus is comprised of a "Let's row together" student body. They have  96% vax rate for resident students, and 76% for off campus commuters. 93% among faculty and staff, mandatory masks indoors or in groups of more than five outside. So far less than 75 covid cases for the entire semester on campus of 7500 students and 1150 staff/faculty. However, omicron may be the variant that collapses the system. I hope not! I really want ds to be able too finish with a great semester and senior project.

[kokotg]

My college junior is supposed to be going to Budapest for the semester in mid-January. I don't know whether to hope for it to be canceled or not (and I'm a little surprised it hasn't been yet). And then my high school junior has a bunch of in-person auditions for music schools in January and February, and I'm nervous they'll all end up being virtual (which wouldn't be the end of the world, but would be a big bummer; he already didn't get to do in person visits/sample lessons last year). 

[KSera]

33 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Stanford has announced that school would be online for the first two weeks and then see how the situation is.

Does it seem Stanford and the other schools doing this are having on campus students return to campus but with classes online, or are they delaying the return to campus as well?

[Arcadia]

2 minutes ago, KSera said:

Does it seem Stanford and the other schools doing this are having on campus students return to campus but with classes online, or are they delaying the return to campus as well?

for Stanford https://news.stanford.edu/report/2021/12/16/first-two-weeks-winter-classes/

“To support academic continuity and to provide as much predictability as we can based on what we have seen in recent days, today we are sharing these changes regarding the beginning of winter quarter instruction for students:

• Classes at Stanford will be online for the first two weeks of the winter quarter. The quarter will still begin Jan. 3 for most students, as scheduled. We will resume in-person instruction Tuesday, Jan. 18, after the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. We continue to expect students and instructors to be on campus for the winter quarter.
• We will ask students to take a COVID-19 test before traveling back to campus. Do not travel if you test positive! More information on this is below.
• Students are strongly encouraged to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine booster, if eligible, prior to returning to campus for the winter quarter. And, all eligible students will be required to provide documentation of a booster, unless they have a medical or religious accommodation, by Jan. 31, 2022.

We anticipate this two-week period of online instruction will allow students to settle in, get booster doses and navigate any health issues without the concern of missing the beginning of classes. In planning for these adjustments, please keep in mind:

• Students do not need to change their travel plans and are welcome to return to on-campus housing as scheduled, assuming they are healthy. In the event you do test positive for COVID-19 and need to isolate, you will be able to continue classes online and be able to recover before in-person classes begin on Jan. 18.
• Other operations of the university are not affected, and employees should continue with their existing plans for returning to campus following the winter close. Our concern is not about the safety of classrooms or workplaces at Stanford, but about the logistical challenges of supporting students amid the uncertainties of Omicron.
• Our testing protocols after returning to campus remain the same as announced Dec. 6. A rapid test will be available for newly arriving students, and everyone should complete Color testing twice during their first week back on campus. Student gatherings will also be limited for the first two weeks of the quarter, as described in the Dec. 6 message.”

[KSera]

Thanks @Arcadia  Those seem like a very rational set of guidelines. One of our kid’s colleges has been using isolation dorms for positive students, but I’m thinking that may not be possible with omicron (if Cornell is any indication, they wouldn’t have capacity). Seems there will be a point students will just need to ride it out in their rooms, but that super sucks for their roommates.

[KSera]

Just saw a thread about DC’s omicron response and I’m impressed with what they’re doing (free rapid tests for all, including distributing to schools, reporting of rapid test results indoor mask mandate, and delaying school start by two days to give families time to collect test kits and test). More of this in other cities could help a lot: