Personal covid experiences

[Porridge]

6 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

So I have been wondering about that but I can't figure out how to make it happen.  Will a cardiologist see me without a referral? My insurance doesn't require a referral but I don't have a cardiologist so not sure how to get into one. I could go to er but my deductible is high enough that I do not want to go that route.  

If your insurance doesn’t require a referral, you can just call the cardiologist office to make an appointment. You could ask your PCP if they have any cardiologists they specifically recommend.

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 hour ago, busymama7 said:

So I have been wondering about that but I can't figure out how to make it happen.  Will a cardiologist see me without a referral? My insurance doesn't require a referral but I don't have a cardiologist so not sure how to get into one. I could go to er but my deductible is high enough that I do not want to go that route.  

My insurance doesn't require referrals either but some specialists do require them before they will see you.  What I've done:  asked my primary care doctor for a referral anyway.   Some doctors have a referral line at their offices where you call, tell them what kind of specialist you want, and they will give you the names of some doctors from a prescreened list.  If they won't give a referral, then I google, look at reviews and call the specialist's office directly. 

[TravelingChris]

5 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Please schedule with a cardiologist if you can. You can't "hear" cardiomyopathy just listening during a regular doctor appointment. And do take it easy. (my late, ex husband died of cardiomyopathy that may have been induced by a virus,  and the symptoms are easily overlooked or thought to be "just" lungs...but shortness of breath, fatigue, rapid heartbeat for the level of exertion, etc are the signs. Please get checked out. It likely will take a while to be seen, so if you schedule now and feel better before the appointment you can cancel.)

How is ca4diomyoparhy detected?  Would an echocardiogram catch it?

[importswim]

1 hour ago, kand said:

I’m so sorry! I can’t remember, does your ds22 Live at home? I’m trying to think of who might be able to help you out with getting laundry washed. That really adds insult to injury. do you have any friends or family who have already recovered from Covid might might take some laundry for you? I hope everyone is all better very soon.

This thread is kind of eerie the way the cases touching board members seem to be ever increasing. In the beginning, it seemed rare for anyone to know someone with it  I hope to goodness the trend slows down and reverses soon and everyone heals up well.

 

 

This week 3 of my friends tested positive and 2 other friends have said they are "sick" but are canceling Christmas travel because of it so I suspect it's probably Covid (they're Covid deniers). This is after being possibly exposed to a positive covid case of which we were also exposed to and were the only ones who quarantined (we were essentially made to feel like we were over-reacting). Sigh.

I can't trust friends/people here to actually quarantine their whole family if one of the members are sick so I'm having to make some "hard" decisions about church and get togethers (easy decision to make but hard on the kids as we're the only ones not participating. I'm weary of having to defend myself. Double sigh.)

[TravelingChris]

Dd2 who is not living at home but was overnight in our home s few days before she got symptoms ( about 2.5 days and she wax staying away from us as she was thinking she may have been exposed) is finally sort if getting better.  She does have her smell and taste back which she only lost for two days but has been having to use her nebulizer a lot because it really affected her asthma. .

Dh and I are not sick and haven't been and except back in February when there was no testing and even then we didn't have the symptoms of Covid really.

[Porridge]

17 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

How is ca4diomyoparhy detected?  Would an echocardiogram catch it?

Yes, Echo usually should detect cardiomyopathy.

Echo is first line screening for cardiomyopathy. They’ll also do an EKG but it’s much less sensitive. If the Echo is abnormal, depending on the situation, they may recommend further testing such as cardiac catheterization or MRI or even biopsy (but rarely do they biopsy).

Edited December 18, 2020 by JHLWTM

[Starr]

I have an uncle that died this week in another state. Cases are popping up in the community and church members are calling to ask for prayer for positive family members and some deaths. We are a small rural community with several universities. The students went home at Thanksgiving. We had such low numbers compared to many places that I don't think people really believe it's here. 😞

[Garga]

My uncle and aunt have covid. They both went to the hospital. Aunt was released yesterday, but uncle is still there. He has medical issues that are making covid worse for him. 

They live in CA (opposite coast to me) and haven’t been taking covid seriously, so while it’s sad that they caught it, it’s not surprising. 

They are in their 80s.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Garga

[lovinmyboys]

On 12/14/2020 at 9:55 PM, lovinmyboys said:

My ds8 tested positive today. I have no idea where he got it. June-October we were doing more things (outside) than we are now. I think it is just so much more prevalent now so everything is just more risky.

He had no symptoms until this morning when he woke up with a fever. Later in the afternoon I felt like he was breathing weird so I took him to the dr. His oxygen was fine, but his fever was 104 and dr said the breathing probably sounded weird because of the high fever. (He explained why too). He says he has a headache and he can’t taste. 
 

So far he is the only one in our family with symptoms. I’m trying to keep him away from others, but it hasn’t gone perfectly. 

Dh and I also tested positive this week and my other 3 kids tested negative. Ds8 is back to normal after a rough day and a half and Dh and I so far have very minor symptoms.

[YaelAldrich]

Update to the update. DH has tested negative twice this week and going again today. I tested negative from Wednesday's test and an going again today. Sounds like there was a second case in his classes. Northeastern did everything right EXCEPT letting kids go home for Thanksgiving and THEN come back for the end of the semester. 😤 No more new cases in the community or schools. But people were away last and this weekend due to holiday breaks. ☹️

[Starr]

20 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

Update to the update. DH has tested negative twice this week and going again today. I tested negative from Wednesday's test and an going again today. Sounds like there was a second case in his classes. Northeastern did everything right EXCEPT letting kids go home for Thanksgiving and THEN come back for the end of the semester. 😤 No more new cases in the community or schools. But people were away last and this weekend due to holiday breaks. ☹️

Oh my, letting students come back after Thanksgiving. 😞  I'm glad you're all testing negative.

[Scarlett]

Tulsa, where dh works, has issued a resolution encouraging businesses who can to let employees work from home.  Dh certainly can.  He and the entire office did for about 6-8 weeks during shut down earlier this year.  I can't even remember when it was now.  Anyway, I sense resistance from his bosses and dh of course doesn't want to be a trouble maker...but he mentioned it to a few co-workers yesterday who had not even heard of it yet and he said he is not done discussing it.  

[ktgrok]

11 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

How is ca4diomyoparhy detected?  Would an echocardiogram catch it?

Yes - that is the standard way of screening for it. (EKG will NOT really screen for it). They need to look on the echo to see if heart is enlarged, and see how much blood is being moved. 

[Lecka]

23 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Tulsa, where dh works, has issued a resolution encouraging businesses who can to let employees work from home.  Dh certainly can.  He and the entire office did for about 6-8 weeks during shut down earlier this year.  I can't even remember when it was now.  Anyway, I sense resistance from his bosses and dh of course doesn't want to be a trouble maker...but he mentioned it to a few co-workers yesterday who had not even heard of it yet and he said he is not done discussing it.

Good for him!!!!!!!!!

[Spryte]

FIL’s floor in his nursing home continues to have an outbreak.  Two more residents and two more staff positive.  All residents are immediately moved to the better ventilated quarantine wing, and cared for by different staff.  So far, FIL is still negative.  His roommate is still sick, I believe.

MIL had been waiting out a two week quarantine in the quarantine wing, so she could join him (they haven’t seen each other since March, haven’t lived together in 18 mos, due to different care needs), but because she can’t be moved to the floor with the outbreak, she has been languishing in the Covid wing.  It appears they are moving her into another area now. A relief. She is also negative.

Their facility is asking for vaccine consents to start coming in.
 

DH’s company (Munich) has been having people go in once or twice a week, but with German schools closed, they’ve excused anyone with kids under 13.  They are considering extending the Christmas break into the first week of January, and just giving everyone extra vacation.  It sounds like things in Munich have been very stressful lately, with rising cases.

[fairfarmhand]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wkrn.com/community/health/coronavirus/cdc-tennessee-worst-in-country-for-new-covid-19-cases-by-population/amp/
 

welcome to Tennessee...

my dd15 is feverish and chilled today.

dh feels slightly under the weather.

ds13 and dd18 both have sore throats. 

Edited December 18, 2020 by fairfarmhand

[teachermom2834]

@fairfarmhandyes, it is bad here in TN.

I feel like it is absolutely closing in on us. 

As of yesterday our county was averaging over 130 new cases/100,000 population per day over the last week. That number makes me gasp and then I see that a full half of the state is worse than that. 
 

Yet, things are just chugging along. Very few masks. Church Christmas programs in full swing. Indoor dining is packed etc.  I feel like I am the only one who even knows what is going on. It is a very strange feeling. 

[MEmama]

Update on best friend's husband: it’s been 4 weeks since he came down with symptoms and tested positive. He’s still feeling fatigued, is experiencing random headaches and back pain. He figures he’s in this for the long haul. He’s a strong, athletic Navy guy in his 40's.

He is certain this is his second time with Covid, the first was back in February when they weren’t testing here yet. At that time he had recently been out to Southern California and his job puts him in contact with people all over the world so it doesn’t seem unlikely, even though there wasn’t an outbreak here at the time. He was sicker than he’d ever been then, and this time around he said he felt the same. 

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Update on best friend's husband: it’s been 4 weeks since he came down with symptoms and tested positive. He’s still feeling fatigued, is experiencing random headaches and back pain. He figures he’s in this for the long haul. He’s a strong, athletic Navy guy in his 40's.

He is certain this is his second time with Covid, the first was back in February when they weren’t testing here yet. At that time he had recently been out to Southern California and his job puts him in contact with people all over the world so it doesn’t seem unlikely, even though there wasn’t an outbreak here at the time. He was sicker than he’d ever been then, and this time around he said he felt the same. 

With all the reinfections happening, it's possible this disease is just going to become endemic, especially with the possibly low vaccination rates 😞 . Like, it might not ever leave us alone... I guess eventually it may mutate to become less lethal, and we'll produce more effective drugs, but ugh. 

Man, that is a depressing thought. 

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, teachermom2834 said:

@fairfarmhandyes, it is bad here in TN.

I feel like it is absolutely closing in on us. 

As of yesterday our county was averaging over 130 new cases/100,000 population per day over the last week. That number makes me gasp and then I see that a full half of the state is worse than that. 
 

Yet, things are just chugging along. Very few masks. Church Christmas programs in full swing. Indoor dining is packed etc.  I feel like I am the only one who even knows what is going on. It is a very strange feeling. 

That sounds fantastic compared to my area! Our numbers haven't been that good in many weeks. Our county has had over 896 cases per 100,000 over the last 14 days. A nearby county is 1147/100,000.

[The Governess]

3 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

That sounds fantastic compared to my area! Our numbers haven't been that good in many weeks. Our county has had over 896 cases per 100,000 over the last 14 days. A nearby county is 1147/100,000.

I think these are two different measures being compared? 130*14 = 1820/100,000 if translated into a 14-day rate. Of course, they are all terrible. 😞

[Spryte]

46 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Update on best friend's husband: it’s been 4 weeks since he came down with symptoms and tested positive. He’s still feeling fatigued, is experiencing random headaches and back pain. He figures he’s in this for the long haul. He’s a strong, athletic Navy guy in his 40's.

He is certain this is his second time with Covid, the first was back in February when they weren’t testing here yet. At that time he had recently been out to Southern California and his job puts him in contact with people all over the world so it doesn’t seem unlikely, even though there wasn’t an outbreak here at the time. He was sicker than he’d ever been then, and this time around he said he felt the same. 

Oh no.  I hope he improves soon.

These reinfection stories with people just as sick or worse the second time are so very frightening.  
 

I have wondered if we might have had it here in Dec or Jan, we were all terribly ill, like fearing for our fragile child kind of ill, and it went on and on.  Not strep or flu, we tested over and over.  I think we logged over 12 trips to doc offices and urgent cares between us.  It’s part of why we’ve been so cautious - I never want to be that ill again.  Though I don’t really think it was Covid.  I guess it’s possible, with all of DH’s overseas work, but still seems early. And with our health issues, I’d expect Covid to be worse, honestly.

[Pawz4me]

13 minutes ago, lovelearnandlive said:

I think these are two different measures being compared? 130*14 = 1820/100,000 if translated into a 14-day rate. Of course, they are all terrible. 😞

You could be right. Stats are definitely NOT my thing!

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Spryte said:

Oh no.  I hope he improves soon.

These reinfection stories with people just as sick or worse the second time are so very frightening.  
 

I have wondered if we might have had it here in Dec or Jan, we were all terribly ill, like fearing for our fragile child kind of ill, and it went on and on.  Not strep or flu, we tested over and over.  I think we logged over 12 trips to doc offices and urgent cares between us.  It’s part of why we’ve been so cautious - I never want to be that ill again.  Though I don’t really think it was Covid.  I guess it’s possible, with all of DH’s overseas work, but still seems early. And with our health issues, I’d expect Covid to be worse, honestly.

I won’t be surprised to find out in time that Covid was here long before the government either knew or admitted it. 

[Not_a_Number]

5 hours ago, MEmama said:

I won’t be surprised to find out in time that Covid was here long before the government either knew or admitted it. 

Eh, I dunno. Maybe random instances, but not a serious outbreak, or trust me... we'd have KNOWN. You can't hide the refrigerated trucks. 

[fairfarmhand]

Pizza and veggies taste the same.

feeling a bit better but my chest is heavy, like there’s a weight on it.

everyone else has it to one Degree or another so I guess I don’t have to hide in my room so much.

[Spryte]

6 minutes ago, kand said:

I agree. This is what I hear the epidemiologists saying as well. There could have been a random instances, but certainly all the people who think they had it last Fall couldn’t have. It’s why I figure it’s most likely what I had in March wasn’t it, because there was clearly something else circulating this past winter that was similar symptom wise, but without the high hospitalization and mortality rate. I know there was a really bad adenovirus circulating, which wouldn’t show up on strep or flu tests, and the symptoms fit. That’s what my bet is on for the majority of people who think they had it in December or January.

That’s my guess, too.  We were - 4 of us - very ill.  But with our particular constellation of pre-existing conditions, I cannot believe we had Covid.  I think it would have been much worse.  But I sure as heck never want to be that sick again.  It was a nightmare.  DS and I have a tendency to get really sick (both immune compromised), but DD and DH were really bad, too.  Whatever it was, it was awful.  I remember exclaiming to one pediatrician, on the umpteenth visit, “it can’t be a virus!  A virus can’t make us all this sick for this long!” ... little did I know... 

[matrips]

9 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wkrn.com/community/health/coronavirus/cdc-tennessee-worst-in-country-for-new-covid-19-cases-by-population/amp/
 

welcome to Tennessee...

my dd15 is feverish and chilled today.

dh feels slightly under the weather.

ds13 and dd18 both have sore throats. 

Oh no! Was everyone at the funeral? Or is it just going through the house at this point?

My family in PA has a funeral coming up and I’m worried for them.  Any advice you’d give?

hope you all feel better soon!

Edited December 19, 2020 by matrips

[Not_a_Number]

15 minutes ago, Spryte said:

That’s my guess, too.  We were - 4 of us - very ill.  But with our particular constellation of pre-existing conditions, I cannot believe we had Covid.  I think it would have been much worse.  But I sure as heck never want to be that sick again.  It was a nightmare.  DS and I have a tendency to get really sick (both immune compromised), but DD and DH were really bad, too.  Whatever it was, it was awful.  I remember exclaiming to one pediatrician, on the umpteenth visit, “it can’t be a virus!  A virus can’t make us all this sick for this long!” ... little did I know... 

I mean, some COVID cases are mild, so you can't be sure based on that. I just wouldn't assume you had COVID if there wasn't an outbreak in your area, since it's improbable. (Not impossible or anything, but improbably.) 

[fairfarmhand]

8 minutes ago, matrips said:

Oh no! Was everyone at the funeral? Or is it just going through the house at this point?

My family in PA has a funeral coming up and I’m worried for them.  Any advice you’d give?

hope you all feel better soon!

We were all at funeral. What must’ve happened according to what the dr told my dd about exposure to symptom onset is that someone was at the funeral with covid and my dd22 and I were exposed there. 
 

we brought it home and gave it to the rest of the family.

 

****I just had a thought. My family were all on the same pew. Before the service my son in law grabbed a box of Kleenex and we passed it around on our pew during the service. Y’all...it was already opened. Is it possible that it was contaminated? Could we all have gotten sick from a Kleenex box? If so, wow that was so dumb of us. I just wasn’t thinking. But it’s the only explanation that makes sense that my dd and I are the only ones in the family to have developed covid symptoms after the funeral.

[fairfarmhand]

16 minutes ago, matrips said:

Oh no! Was everyone at the funeral? Or is it just going through the house at this point?

My family in PA has a funeral coming up and I’m worried for them.  Any advice you’d give?

hope you all feel better soon!

Bring your own Kleenex and several clean masks. My dd snotted all over hers in the funeral and just had to wear it till we left the graveside because there was no alternative.

[Not_a_Number]

3 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

We were all at funeral. What must’ve happened according to what the dr told my dd about exposure to symptom onset is that someone was at the funeral with covid and my dd22 and I were exposed there. 
 

we brought it home and gave it to the rest of the family.

 

****I just had a thought. My family were all on the same pew. Before the service my son in law grabbed a box of Kleenex and we passed it around on our pew during the service. Y’all...it was already opened. Is it possible that it was contaminated? Could we all have gotten sick from a Kleenex box? If so, wow that was so dumb of us. I just wasn’t thinking. But it’s the only explanation that makes sense that my dd and I are the only ones in the family to have developed covid symptoms after the funeral.

I think I've heard more about aerosol transmission than surface, but it's possible it was the box, I'm sure. It's so hard to know 😞 . 

[matrips]

Oh wow.  Well, I’ll give them a heads up about the Kleenex and back up masks.  And to watch the time of day and see if another group is scheduled before them.  Thanks.  

[Melissa in Australia]

it has broken out in the nursing home that my MIL lives in in Canada. She is 98, will be 99 in a few weeks. she is extremely frail

DH is sad he will not be able to see her again. with the borders closed and the astronomical airfare at the moment.

[Starr]

6 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

it has broken out in the nursing home that my MIL lives in in Canada. She is 98, will be 99 in a few weeks. she is extremely frail

DH is sad he will not be able to see her again. with the borders closed and the astronomical airfare at the moment.

I'm so sorry. It's harder the further away one is. I was listening to the CBC today and it's not sounding good. 😞

[Laura Corin]

6 hours ago, Thatboyofmine said:

Quick question...    if you've been exposed and are waiting to see if symptoms appear, what can you take to help?   Would vitamin c be beneficial?   Vitamin d?   

Here's some real-life research

https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/vitamins-reduce-covid-risk

[fairfarmhand]

I’m feeling much better today. My chest tightness has eased and I have some energy. However, my dh is feverish and still sleeping. I can’t wait to get started cleaning my house since I’ve basically been in bed since Tuesday evening. It really shows that mom was SICK this week.

ive never been that sick before. I don’t ever just stay in bed all day; even with a bad cold or the flu I get up and give my kids direction on what to do even if I can’t do anything. I’m a farm gal. Animals get take care of no matter what. This time, I didn’t care at all and just slept as much as I could. I’m so thankful I didn’t have a cow in milk and I’m doubly thankful we’re using a bull for breeding this year rather than artificial insemination. 
 

still no sense of taste.

I have lost 5 pounds this week. Which is fine. I gained 8 due to covid baking this year so it’s only fair that the covid gods should take it back.

[fairfarmhand]

I woke up feeling better, unloaded dishwasher, started a load of laundry, and halfway through sweeping kitchen was overcome by nausea. And after that was totally wiped out. Short of breath. Been laying around ever since. Dd 15 better today, ds13 so so. Dd19 better. Dh worse, fever and all. Oldest married dd24 headed to ER because of breathi mg issues.

[mlktwins]

5 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

I woke up feeling better, unloaded dishwasher, started a load of laundry, and halfway through sweeping kitchen was overcome by nausea. And after that was totally wiped out. Short of breath. Been laying around ever since. Dd 15 better today, ds13 so so. Dd19 better. Dh worse, fever and all. Oldest married dd24 headed to ER because of breathi mg issues.

So sorry ya'll are sick!!!  Please don't start rushing back to doing too much when you are just starting to feel a little better!  Rest, rest, rest as much as you can so you can kick this thing faster!

 

[Ausmumof3]

20 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Pizza and veggies taste the same.

feeling a bit better but my chest is heavy, like there’s a weight on it.

everyone else has it to one Degree or another so I guess I don’t have to hide in my room so much.

Do you have the pulse oximeter thingy?

[Ausmumof3]

20 hours ago, Thatboyofmine said:

Quick question...    if you've been exposed and are waiting to see if symptoms appear, what can you take to help?   Would vitamin c be beneficial?   Vitamin d?   

https://covid19criticalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FLCCC-I-MASK-Protocol-v6-2020-12-09-ENGLISH.pdf
 

There’s some suggestions here.  I would do the vitamins but the other stuff I would only use under medical supervision personally.  Most of the evidence I’ve seen on Vit D indicates that good levels help but taking high doses once you’re already sick doesn’t make much difference so it’s best to start taking it now.  

[fairfarmhand]

5 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Do you have the pulse oximeter thingy?

Yes, it came in an Amazon delivery today. My numbers are good as long as I don’t do too much. Going to get the mail wasn’t a good idea. So I’m back to laying around.

[Ausmumof3]

20 hours ago, kand said:

I agree. This is what I hear the epidemiologists saying as well. There could have been a random instances, but certainly all the people who think they had it last Fall couldn’t have. It’s why I figure it’s most likely what I had in March wasn’t it, because there was clearly something else circulating this past winter that was similar symptom wise, but without the high hospitalization and mortality rate. I know there was a really bad adenovirus circulating, which wouldn’t show up on strep or flu tests, and the symptoms fit. That’s what my bet is on for the majority of people who think they had it in December or January.

It makes me wonder something about the vaccines.  If you’d had an adenovirus in the last twelve months would the adenovirus vector vaccines still work or would they be blocked by antibodies?  I know the actual specific virus is different so hopefully it’s different enough.

[Garga]

1 hour ago, mlktwins said:

So sorry ya'll are sick!!!  Please don't start rushing back to doing too much when you are just starting to feel a little better!  Rest, rest, rest as much as you can so you can kick this thing faster!

 

Please listen to mlktwins! Covid also tends to come in waves. A good day, a bad day, a good day. 

On a good day rest, rest, rest. Even if you feel better, allow your body to rest and recuperate. 

When my dh had shoulder rotator cuff surgery the surgeon warned him: “You’ve been in pain for years. After you recover from the surgery, the pain will be gone and you’ll want to go out and do things. But it takes a year for the surgical area to totally heal. If you rush out and do things because you finally aren’t in pain, you WILL re-injure your shoulder and it will be much harder to repair the next time around. Do not follow that instinct to use your shoulder a lot. Baby it.”

You do the same. You will feel better and want to run around and be active. Resist that feeling until you’re 100% sure you’re better—until you’ve been symptom free for days and days. 

[prairiewindmomma]

On 12/18/2020 at 12:12 PM, MEmama said:

I won’t be surprised to find out in time that Covid was here long before the government either knew or admitted it. 

They announced in the last few weeks that blood donation samples in the US showed the virus the second week in December.

[kbutton]

On 12/18/2020 at 12:28 PM, Not_a_Number said:

With all the reinfections happening, it's possible this disease is just going to become endemic, especially with the possibly low vaccination rates 😞 . Like, it might not ever leave us alone... I guess eventually it may mutate to become less lethal, and we'll produce more effective drugs, but ugh. 

Man, that is a depressing thought. 

Were other past SARS and MERS outbreaks caused by coronaviruses? The one silver lining I could see is that yearly vaccinations like we have for flu could help prevent a wider variety of strains over time just like flu shots do. 

[YaelAldrich]

1 minute ago, kbutton said:

Were other past SARS and MERS outbreaks caused by coronaviruses? The one silver lining I could see is that yearly vaccinations like we have for flu could help prevent a wider variety of strains over time just like flu shots do. 

SARS is a Coronavirus. They tried and failed to find a vaccine for it though.

 

[kbutton]

1 minute ago, YaelAldrich said:

SARS is a Coronavirus. They tried and failed to find a vaccine for it though.

 

I thought the SARS part was an acronym for syndrome  name, so I wasn’t sure if SARS/MERS would be coronavirus or not, or if there were multiple viruses in play depending on which outbreak. 

I am hoping the current vaccine will lead to broader application over time.

[kbutton]

My relative that is hospitalized is now in a regular room, but eating is a real problem. He might require a feeding tube again. They also decided he probably had a mild stroke when he came down with Covid. I suspected this all along, but I think he had enough other symptoms that it wasn’t a big priority; he had other clots and was ventilated quite early on. He will need some rehab.

The married friends with Covid seem to be recovering, but I suspect one of them will take a bit longer than the other. Just a hunch at this point.

A couple from our old church has it, and so does their teenager with cystic fibrosis. They seem calm. The mom has serious risk factors as well. 

[wathe]

35 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I thought the SARS part was an acronym for syndrome  name, so I wasn’t sure if SARS/MERS would be coronavirus or not, or if there were multiple viruses in play depending on which outbreak. 

I am hoping the current vaccine will lead to broader application over time.

SARS is an acronym for the syndrome caused by SARS-CoV-1 coronavirus.  Covid-19 is relatively closely related, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (the CoV in the name = coronavirus).  MERS is also a coronavirus, but more distantly related.

An effective vacccine was never developed for SARS, but SARS vaccine research did not stop once SARS was controlled  (if you google SARS vaccine you will find papers from the mid to late 20-naughts, some of which are eerily prescient about the role of their research: "The rationale for development of vaccines against SARS-CoV is to provide a means of control in the event a new SARS-CoV epidemic occurs").

SARS was controlled, before a vaccine could be developed, by old-fashioned contact tracing and isolating cases.  It was amenable to this approach because 1)it was less contagious 2)everyone who got it got sick  (no asymptomatic spread) and 3)those who got it got sick fast (short incubation period).  Sadly for us, Covid-19 has a much longer incubation period, and significant asymptomatic spread - making control by old-fashioned public health measures nearly impossible.

ETA quote is from a 2007-2012 SARS-CoV (didn't need the "1" back then) vaccine trial paper

 

Edited December 20, 2020 by wathe