All at once, so many covid cases and deaths in friends and family…

[Indigo Blue]

Sorry to add more sad things to the threads here today.  Just all at once, so many! A cousin in TX passed from covid. I didn’t know her and didn’t know she even had covid. My mom told me today.  A carpenter friend passed. He was 50. My husband told me last night. The business partner of my husband and also his wife have each lost a cousin to covid.
 

Right now the oldest of my two brothers has covid and is pretty sick but is improving. He is unvaccinated. He did go to the ER at one point. Our beekeeper friends, both unvaccinated, both had it and recovered. Both were unvaccinated, and one of them got pretty sick. My son’s best friend got it but recovered okay. He was vaccinated. 
 

Just so sad. And scary. 
 

Please get vaccinated!!

[freesia]

I'm sorry.  More folks close to me are getting it, too.  Our closest friends have it now. (Even 2 of the 3 vaxxed in the family--but one of the positive vaxxed has no symptoms.) I've always known folks who've had it--but they were more relatives of people and HCWs.  Now dh probably had it in July and now these friends. 😞

[ktgrok]

A good friend from highschool has several family members (in laws) ill with it, one died earlier this week, another, her husband's cousin, is in the ICU. It's tragic. 

[Janeway]

I see tons of Covid cases around me, some vaccinated and some not. So far, I am not seeing a difference in severity. I have read there is a difference, but I am not sure. I am back to social distancing and all because I am thinking my vaccination might not be good against the Delta variant.

But, I do think deaths seem to come in groups. My dad died at the end of January. Within days of dying, so did an uncle, and then a cousin, and so on. Just lots of deaths within a two months time. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

We have 3 people at work who have tested positive in the last week.  All 3 are vaccinated and not seriously ill, but the quarantine really hurts staffing.

[Matryoshka]

I just found out my cousin in Switzerland has it.  She's a surgeon, but that's not how she got it.  Her dd just started school, and an unvaxxed teacher gave it to her dd, who brought it home to the family.  Cousin and her dh are vaxxed, but apparently she's still pretty sick.  Hopefully a quick recovery.

And an unvaxxed elementary teacher?  Apparently we don't have an exclusive on dumb decisions...

[KSera]

17 minutes ago, Janeway said:

I see tons of Covid cases around me, some vaccinated and some not. So far, I am not seeing a difference in severity. I have read there is a difference, but I am not sure. I am back to social distancing and all because I am thinking my vaccination might not be good against the Delta variant.

While you might still catch Covid (the vaccine currently looks to decrease your chances of catching it by 5-6 times), hospitalization data is very clear in showing vaccination is highly protective against hospitalization and even more highly protective against needing ICU care. So, while I agree and think you're smart to be social distancing, masking, and other measures, do know that your vaccine is still really protective against serious illness.

[regentrude]

46 minutes ago, Janeway said:

I see tons of Covid cases around me, some vaccinated and some not. So far, I am not seeing a difference in severity. I have read there is a difference, but I am not sure.

Here's a data point for you.
In my county, 86% of hospitaized Covid patients are unvaxxed.
Of 23 ICU patients, 3 were fully vaxxed.
Of 18 ventilator patients in the local hospital 2 were fully vaxxed.

It definitely does make a difference.

[AmandaVT]

@Janeway - here are the latest stats form VT with 86.2% of the eligible population vaccinated. Cases are rising in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, but rising much more quickly in unvaccinated and are much more prevalent even though we have a significant majority of the population vaccinated. Also, the hospitalization data is pretty stark.

 

[MooCow]

A lady is our subdivision died last week. Left four kids behind. Died from pneumonia/covid complications. She was a large woman who was not vaccinated. 😢 

My neighbor called me a bit ago to tell me to pray for another family three doors down from that lady. Another mom, same exact thing. Not expected to survive. 

I just don't understand. 😟

 

[importswim]

5 hours ago, Janeway said:

I see tons of Covid cases around me, some vaccinated and some not. So far, I am not seeing a difference in severity. I have read there is a difference, but I am not sure. I am back to social distancing and all because I am thinking my vaccination might not be good against the Delta variant.

But, I do think deaths seem to come in groups. My dad died at the end of January. Within days of dying, so did an uncle, and then a cousin, and so on. Just lots of deaths within a two months time. 

I'm so sorry to read about all of the losses in your family. Sending gentle hugs.

[Shoeless]

DH has several more friends with Covid. All unvaccinated. The dad of a friend just died from it.  

My family is moving forward with *two* weddings in the next 6 weeks.  I can't even be mad about it. It would be a waste of my energy. I expect someone to pop up with Covid afterward. 

[pitterpatter]

Yup. There's more and more that get it, and some who also die here too. All unvaccinated. The ones I know anyway.

[Spryte]

I’m so sorry. So many losses.

 

[Frances]

11 hours ago, Janeway said:

I see tons of Covid cases around me, some vaccinated and some not. So far, I am not seeing a difference in severity. I have read there is a difference, but I am not sure. I am back to social distancing and all because I am thinking my vaccination might not be good against the Delta variant.

While I think it’s smart to mask and social distance even if vaccinated, there’s no doubt being vaccinated does help avoid serious illness and hospitalization with Delta.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/09/we-dont-have-any-vaccinated-patients-here-idaho-hospitals-crushed-by-covid-19-surge.html

[KSera]

9 hours ago, Frances said:

 

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/09/we-dont-have-any-vaccinated-patients-here-idaho-hospitals-crushed-by-covid-19-surge.html

These stories just break my heart, every time. So much suffering that could have been avoided 😥. 

[Tanaqui]

It is increasingly difficult for me to feel sympathy for people who could have been vaccinated, chose not to be, and are now suffering because of it - especially if those people didn't take other basic precautions like masking and limiting social outings.

I guess that's a me problem, but I feel like I spent the entire past 18 months saying variations on "If you wait until things change where you are, it'll be too late!" and "Seriously, it's not just us in cities, it's everybody who is at risk!" to no avail.

But it sucks anyway, especially for all the family members and friends who may have been saying the same thing. People do dumb things all the time, it shouldn't be life or death.

Edited September 5, 2021 by Tanaqui

[regentrude]

27 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

It is increasingly difficult for me to feel sympathy for people who could have been vaccinated, chose not to be, and are now suffering because of it - especially if those people didn't take other basic precautions like masking and limiting social outings.

This.
I feel sympathy for every healthcare worker who is exhausted and frustrated because they are still overwhelmed with Covid patients.
I feel sympathy for every teacher who took all the precautions and goes to work terrified because their school refuses any mitigation measures.
I feel sympathy for people who cannot get vaccinated because of their health, or for whom vaccines are ineffective, and who diligently wear masks and keep a distance to protect themselves and others.
I feel sympathy for anybody who, despite their best efforts to avoid the virus, falls ill.

But at this point, I have no sympathy left for anybody who treated Covid like a hoax and refused to take any precautions to protect themselves and the people around them.

Edited September 5, 2021 by regentrude

[Faith-manor]

I am sorry for all of your losses! Truly sorry. We had ours early on. My 57 year old cousin got it and was not seriously sick, but his wife and son (35 years old) both got it and died. Then my uncle went in for emergency surgery on his leg, and got covid in the hospital and died. The leg surgery had been quite successful without complications. Covid took him down. So my cousin lost his dad as well.

My medically fragile cousin on the other side of the family, one of two, has it now because his immune system was so bad that he never developed a lick of immunity from his two shot pfizers. He got it from an unvaxed care giver in his assisted living. He was vented this weekend and his brother, my other cousin, was told not to expect him to live. So that is the first death in my family in 2021 from this. The others were April of 2020.

It has raged through the local church. I have known, loosely, some folks it took out and some who appear to have long covid including a 19 year old young man. But none of these folks are people we have any kind of relationship with. There have been three major outbreaks at the church, but they still refuse to take any precautions and the pastor preaches against the vaccine and mask mandates. So I guess they will continue to let it rip until it has infected everyone.

I just shake my head. Sympathy for the let it rip folks, like Tanaqui, is gone. I don't have any left to muster. My cousin's pain is so real, and his daughter's depression at losing her grandpa, brother, and mother in one month is very deep.  My widowed aunt has somehow found the strength to be the rock in that family. I really admire her! I am not sure I could do as well.

So much pain. My heart goes out to everyone on this thread.

[Shoeless]

My aunt and uncle have covid. He's in the hospital. Both are elderly and in poor health. 

Honestly, I am just exasperated by everything and everyone when it comes to covid. "How could this happen?!? Oh, we've been so careful!  Except for when we went to that show, or took that vacation, or went to that restaurant, or attended that bbq, or...or...or...But really, we are always so careful!!!". 

 

[KSera]

19 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

It is increasingly difficult for me to feel sympathy for people who could have been vaccinated, chose not to be, and are now suffering because of it - especially if those people didn't take other basic precautions like masking and limiting social outings.

I guess that's a me problem, but I feel like I spent the entire past 18 months saying variations on "If you wait until things change where you are, it'll be too late!" and "Seriously, it's not just us in cities, it's everybody who is at risk!" to no avail.

But it sucks anyway, especially for all the family members and friends who may have been saying the same thing. People do dumb things all the time, it shouldn't be life or death.

 

19 hours ago, regentrude said:

This.
I feel sympathy for every healthcare worker who is exhausted and frustrated because they are still overwhelmed with Covid patients.
I feel sympathy for every teacher who took all the precautions and goes to work terrified because their school refuses any mitigation measures.
I feel sympathy for people who cannot get vaccinated because of their health, or for whom vaccines are ineffective, and who diligently wear masks and keep a distance to protect themselves and others.
I feel sympathy for anybody who, despite their best efforts to avoid the virus, falls ill.

But at this point, I have no sympathy left for anybody who treated Covid like a hoax and refused to take any precautions to protect themselves and the people around them.

I hear you both on this, and I feel that way right up until people get really sick. It’s frustrating as all heck,  but I truly feel like most of these people really didn’t know that they could get sick like that. Now, that’s stupid and ridiculous, but it still seems so many of them have fallen for the vast quantities of misinformation and politicizing out there and many just don’t seem to know better. Like, all the people  who are asking for the vaccine right before being put on a ventilator. There’s clearly a serious lack of education there if someone thinks the vaccine is going to do them any good at that point.  And I find it really sad to think of someone being that desperate. I mean, I’m mad as well, at the whole situation that we have this happening to thousands of people a day, and still people don’t get it. I don’t know how far someone has to be burying their head in the sand to not understand it at this point, but clearly we’ve seen it from multiple people even here on this board, where are you would expect people had enough education to figure it out.

 

I do get more angry when I see the impact this is all having on hospitals and people who can’t get the care they need. That case of the younger man recently, a veteran, who had a problem totally unrelated to Covid but they couldn’t give him a bed to have the surgery he needed and he died just made me absolutely furious.  I do feel that all the unvaccinated people clogging up all the hospitals in his area that otherwise would have saved his life share responsibility for his death.

1 minute ago, MissLemon said:

My aunt and uncle have covid. He's in the hospital. Both are elderly and in poor health. 

Honestly, I am just exasperated by everything and everyone when it comes to covid. "How could this happen?!? Oh, we've been so careful!  Except for when we went to that show, or took that vacation, or went to that restaurant, or attended that bbq, or...or...or...But really, we are always so careful!!!". 

 

I’m sorry to hear about your aunt and uncle. I agree with your second paragraph. I’ve heard that many times just the same way. “We were so careful! When we traveled (to the place where no one is taking any precautions), we were the only ones who wore a mask (except when we were eating with everyone else) I , so I don’t know how we got it!). I hope your family members get better soon.

[AngelaR]

22 hours ago, Tanaqui said:

It is increasingly difficult for me to feel sympathy for people who could have been vaccinated, chose not to be, and are now suffering because of it - especially if those people didn't take other basic precautions like masking and limiting social outings.

I am with you all the way! My view is, “You did this to yourself. There was a way out, and you decided not to take it. Now stop complaining about it.”