Omicron anecdata?

[mommyoffive]

"I have COVID! What should my kids and I take to reduce chances of severe illness and Long COVID?" (substack.com)

[kbutton]

48 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Sorry I didn't put the link the there!  Duh.  I was reading the article and posting at the same time.  

Your top 7 questions about fall vaccines answered (substack.com)

I think it just ended up in two separate posts. 

[kbutton]

https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/health/siloam-springs-steakhouse-close-14-confirmed-covid-19-cases/527-568d6093-6d36-4570-a2f7-c7b37c9389ca
 

This is a bit concerning—staff outbreak closes restaurant. People are a long way out from last year’s shot if they even bothered to get it.

I worry that DH’s workplace will be hard hit if they don’t go back to mandatory masking, and I am not sure if they still get paid if they are off for Covid (he gets zero PTO of any kind otherwise). The only time he got Covid, a coworker went up one side and down the other of him for basically not coming right back to work in an N95 (“mild” case, but he was the sickest I’ve seen him in many years, and he had major brain fog) as if he was causing a crisis. We are STILL masking all the time, and we were then—most of his coworkers don’t mask outside of work and probably only mask when they think they’ve got a covid patient. It’s nuts!

I just don’t feel like things are headed in a good direction even if deaths don’t get worse then other years.

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, kbutton said:

https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/health/siloam-springs-steakhouse-close-14-confirmed-covid-19-cases/527-568d6093-6d36-4570-a2f7-c7b37c9389ca
 

This is a bit concerning—staff outbreak closes restaurant. People are a long way out from last year’s shot if they even bothered to get it.

I worry that DH’s workplace will be hard hit if they don’t go back to mandatory masking, and I am not sure if they still get paid if they are off for Covid (he gets zero PTO of any kind otherwise). The only time he got Covid, a coworker went up one side and down the other of him for basically not coming right back to work in an N95 (“mild” case, but he was the sickest I’ve seen him in many years, and he had major brain fog) as if he was causing a crisis. We are STILL masking all the time, and we were then—most of his coworkers don’t mask outside of work and probably only mask when they think they’ve got a covid patient. It’s nuts!

I just don’t feel like things are headed in a good direction even if deaths don’t get worse then other years.

Good for you.  We are not.  I am not comfortable with it all, but were the last ones masking everywhere and it just got harder and harder to do.  I have had minor things said to me, but having the kids doing it all the time is hard.  I would love to have them do it over this covid/cold/flu season but I swear last year that lasted until April.  It is hard socially for them to do it all the time when the area we live in people don't do it at all.  Nobody is masked at the pediatrician at all.  NOBODY.  They won't even put a mask on when they open the door and see we are masked.  Anyway, I don't know what to do.  I don't want to get sickness(or lessen the chance) of any kind it isn't all about covid.  We are using nasal sanitizer too and masking in certain situations, but I would love to have everyone in my home masked more now that things are spiking.   

What is everyone else doing for masking/ any other precautions at this point?

Edited August 31, 2023 by mommyoffive

[iamonlyone]

I'm starting to mask again in large gatherings I can't avoid and in stores, but I'm the only one I see masking. I work at a university, so if it's an optional large gathering I skip it (like a back-to-school lunch/fun event), but there are some large meetings (like all-faculty business meetings) where I need to go and will, most likely, be the lone masker.

[Mom_to3]

The local wastewater just started spiking this week, and I now expect a worse fall than last year (most local schools and colleges haven't even started yet). Last year around this time, we were able to get the booster before things took off.

Edited August 31, 2023 by Mom_to3

[bookbard]

On 8/30/2023 at 1:11 PM, mommyoffive said:

"I have COVID! What should my kids and I take to reduce chances of severe illness and Long COVID?" (substack.com)

That was a really thorough overview - looks like Berberine isn't as good as hoped due to bioavailability. I hadn't heard of the other things.

[mommyoffive]

Ezra Klein Show - by Katelyn Jetelina (substack.com)

[Corraleno]

7 hours ago, bookbard said:

That was a really thorough overview - looks like Berberine isn't as good as hoped due to bioavailability. I hadn't heard of the other things.

Dihydroberberine is 5x more bioavailable than regular berberine, but it's a bit harder to find and also more expensive.

[kbutton]

15 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Good for you.  We are not.  I am not comfortable with it all, but were the last ones masking everywhere and it just got harder and harder to do.  I have had minor things said to me, but having the kids doing it all the time is hard.  I would love to have them do it over this covid/cold/flu season but I swear last year that lasted until April.  It is hard socially for them to do it all the time when the area we live in people don't do it at all.  Nobody is masked at the pediatrician at all.  NOBODY.  They won't even put a mask on when they open the door and see we are masked.  Anyway, I don't know what to do.  I don't want to get sickness(or lessen the chance) of any kind it isn't all about covid.  We are using nasal sanitizer too and masking in certain situations, but I would love to have everyone in my home masked more now that things are spiking.   

What is everyone else doing for masking/ any other precautions at this point?

Just to be clear, I was proclaiming our masking status in the context of DH being given crap at work for staying home when he was still sick as if he was letting down the team, yet his coworkers are not trying to avoid getting ill. The person getting repeat Covid and making no effort to avoid it was yelling at him for having it for the first time and not wanting to work while he was so sick he couldn’t think straight. 

 

[popmom]

@bookbard @Corraleno y’all might be interested in the liposomal berberine. Another option for upping the bioavailability.
 

https://renuebyscience.com/product/lipo-berberine-powdered-liposomal-berberine-90-capsules/

[MEmama]

18 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

What is everyone else doing for masking/ any other precautions at this point?

We haven't been masking since spring. I am noticing an uptick in people at the grocery/Target/wherever masking again though, which indicates I'll need to start mentally preparing myself to start up again this fall. I think school might have started this week or will soon, so it might have to be sooner than later.

I already have my flu shot scheduled and will get my updated Covid vax at the same time. DS is eligible for the first wave of vaccinations in Ireland because of asthma and mental health stuff (for some reason that's a valid reason there); it will be available around the same time as here. 
 

I will admit I do not have the mental bandwidth to deal with this again. I guess none of us really do (I'll still do all the things though, of course, bandwidth or not).

[Faith-manor]

My was diagnosed with covid today This is her second time. She is fully vaxed, has been for both bouts of it, and my guess is that the booster we got back in December just aren't cutting it. She is miserable. But it is because it is all head congestion causing a lot of headaches. She is not coughing or having breathing issues, and they gave her paxlovid so my guess is that she will come through okay. I know where she got it. My stupid, effed up, witch of a sister in law "graduated" with her " PHD" (unaccredited essential oils, alternative med university who should be spanked by the Dept of Ed, the Feds, the Attorney General, and the IRS), and my equally as stupid brother held a big party at a restaurant of all of their unvaxed, covid is a hoax friends. These are idiots that believe wearing masks causes brain damage. 🙄🙄🙄

She went and though she started out with a mask on, she felt out of place and let my evil bitch Silk talk her out of taking of her KN95. After being there for an hour, some of these idiots divulged that they had recently tested positive for covid but didn't believe the tests and figured it was actually flu. 😠

So not only do they not believe the tests, they feel entitled to party while symptomatic with "flu". The party was 5 days ago, and my mother's comment to me was, " I have no idea where I got this." 😱😱😱 Really mom???? Really??? Sigh.

Of course we didn't go. I don't celebrate "degrees" that will likely end up with people killed. My Silk gives out advice like "fast for 20 days to starve the cancer" and, "dandelion root cures diabetes", and " Reiki will realign your immune system", and.....you get the idea. She is going to kill someone, and I think of her as a serial murderer so I do everything humanly possible to not be in the vicinity of her.

I am being very patient with mom despite how frustrated I am. She is 79 and her thinking is not top shelf. I try to give her and my mother in law regular, safe outings. But she gets lonely, and she gets emotional about my brother and wants to be around him even though he is a total idiot. 

I am ready to buy remote property, take all my adult kids, honorary kids, and grandkids, and go have a compound where we ignore the rest of the world. I am just worn out dealing with the crazy.

They need to get the dang booster out.

[mommyoffive]

@Faith-manor Is it your mom who has covid?  I hope she feels better soon.

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, kbutton said:

Just to be clear, I was proclaiming our masking status in the context of DH being given crap at work for staying home when he was still sick as if he was letting down the team, yet his coworkers are not trying to avoid getting ill. The person getting repeat Covid and making no effort to avoid it was yelling at him for having it for the first time and not wanting to work while he was so sick he couldn’t think straight. 

 

@kbutton I am sorry if the tone of my first sentence upset.  That is 1000% not what I meant it to imply.  Through this whole thing I am always giving little mental high fives to people who are masking and saying good for them for being proactive and taking care of themselves or whoever they need to.  I think as all the mandates fell I would find myself saying it more and more.  So that is what I meant when I said good for you.  I really mean it.  Good for you for protecting yourself and probably at times dealing with comments and what not.  It isn't easy.  Anyway, I just wanted to say that as you quoted me and I can see how that line could come across.  I didn't mean it like that.  And I don't know if you took it like that, but I just wanted to hopefully explain myself.  

[mommyoffive]

25 minutes ago, MEmama said:

We haven't been masking since spring. I am noticing an uptick in people at the grocery/Target/wherever masking again though, which indicates I'll need to start mentally preparing myself to start up again this fall. I think school might have started this week or will soon, so it might have to be sooner than later.

I already have my flu shot scheduled and will get my updated Covid vax at the same time. DS is eligible for the first wave of vaccinations in Ireland because of asthma and mental health stuff (for some reason that's a valid reason there); it will be available around the same time as here. 
 

I will admit I do not have the mental bandwidth to deal with this again. I guess none of us really do (I'll still do all the things though, of course, bandwidth or not).

I feel that.  I can sense a little bit in myself of that when the Covid waves come.  We have all been through so much the last few years, it is hard to not have that affect you still.

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

@kbutton I am sorry if the tone of my first sentence upset.  That is 1000% not what I meant it to imply.  Through this whole thing I am always giving little mental high fives to people who are masking and saying good for them for being proactive and taking care of themselves or whoever they need to.  I think as all the mandates fell I would find myself saying it more and more.  So that is what I meant when I said good for you.  I really mean it.  Good for you for protecting yourself and probably at times dealing with comments and what not.  It isn't easy.  Anyway, I just wanted to say that as you quoted me and I can see how that line could come across.  I didn't mean it like that.  And I don't know if you took it like that, but I just wanted to hopefully explain myself.  

I thought it could go either way and wanted to clarify in case you thought I was implying you should still be masking. I’m good if you’re good. 🙂

[prairiewindmomma]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

mental health stuff (for some reason that's a valid reason there); it will be available around the same time as here. 
 

Physical illness often triggers an increase in body inflammation levels which can be a mental illness trigger….particularly for upticks in anxiety and depression.

[mommyoffive]

Sounds like good news

 

Eric Topol on X: "First lab assessment of BA.2.86, from @yunlong_cao's group. Marked immune escape features of this variant, as predicted by heavy load of mutations, but low cell infectivity should dampen transmission potential" / X (twitter.com)

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by mommyoffive

[Mom_to3]

There is also this. I do not know enough about this, except to say that this simply reinforces how urgent a better governmental and public health approach to covid is.

 

 

[Faith-manor]

19 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

@Faith-manor Is it your mom who has covid?  I hope she feels better soon.

Yes, my mom. Last night she said she felt a little better so we have high hopes that she will pull through okay.

[mommyoffive]

Oh, no *another* new variant?! What do we know about BA.2.86? (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

This week in outbreaks: Labor Day edition (substack.com)

 

Covid-19 continues on its upward path, now in week 10.

Edited September 1, 2023 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

Safer In Person Gatherings Guide Update - People's CDC (substack.com)

[regentrude]

Semester started last week and I'm getting lots of notifications from students that they have Covid. Of course no official counting. But it's enough so I mask again in help sessions where I'm close to students (not yet in the large auditorium)

[MEmama]

20 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Physical illness often triggers an increase in body inflammation levels which can be a mental illness trigger….particularly for upticks in anxiety and depression.

Makes sense. I know DS would get absolutely derailed were he to get sick for any prolonged period. A week or two down could easily cost him an entire semester (plus the downward spiral as result). I was more surprised--and thankful-- to read that they include mental health considerations as much as serious physical health issues.

Edited September 1, 2023 by MEmama

[mommyoffive]

Here's why this COVID-19 wave could be worse than data suggests (wisn.com)

[KSera]

3 hours ago, MEmama said:

I was more surprised--and thankful-- to read that they include mental health considerations as much as serious physical health issues.

Autism has been a known  higher risk category since pretty early on as well. One of mine was eligible for an earlier vaccine because of it. 

[lewelma]

We are at the end of Winter here, and we didn't have a big spike (graph for NZ based on wastewater). Why is the USA having more cases?

[bookbard]

23 minutes ago, lewelma said:

We are at the end of Winter here, and we didn't have a big spike (graph for NZ based on wastewater). Why is the USA having more cases?

 

I don't think we can consider Covid seasonal - the spike is more to do with a variant which has probably occurred in an immunosuppressed person and has now escaped and is spreading quickly as it's quite infectious. Australia had its worst ever numbers in summer, not winter, simply due to all precautions being suddenly dropped, rather than weather. 

[mommyoffive]

Texas Bans Mask Mandates as COVID Restrictions Imposed in Other States (msn.com)

[Wishes]

Well, just tested positive for Covid. Fever is the main symptom. Lovely timing. My son’s birthday is tomorrow and my kids both have hard to get into appointments next week.

Anyone ask for Paxlovid straightaway? Or just wait if symptoms aren’t too bad

[Spryte]

55 minutes ago, Wishes said:

Well, just tested positive for Covid. Fever is the main symptom. Lovely timing. My son’s birthday is tomorrow and my kids both have hard to get into appointments next week.

Anyone ask for Paxlovid straightaway? Or just wait if symptoms aren’t too bad

I hope you feel better soon.

We have heard locally that getting a doc to Rx Paxlovid can be quite difficult (in our area). But I read in an article posted here that CVS telehealth can be a good resource, so if you want it and run into trouble finding it — that might be an option.

[Wishes]

Thanks Spyte will look into that. My daughter is now sobbing because she can’t sleep with me tonight. Ooh. My heart

[Spryte]

24 minutes ago, Wishes said:

Thanks Spyte will look into that. My daughter is now sobbing because she can’t sleep with me tonight. Ooh. My heart

Oh no, that’s breaking my heart, too. 
 

Hugs to you, and I hope you can both sleep peacefully soon.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Wishes said:

Thanks Spyte will look into that. My daughter is now sobbing because she can’t sleep with me tonight. Ooh. My heart

Aw, I'm so sorry.  😞  My heart hurts for her too and for you because I know how hard it is when something like that happens.  Hope you feel better soon and that your ds still has a nice birthday.  

[mommyoffive]

Nursing homes in New Jersey battle COVID-19 surge as hospitalizations and deaths caused by new variants jump across the US (msn.com)

 

[mommyoffive]

It's Time to "Cancel" Covid Minimizing Doctors (okdoomer.io)

What Happened to Us? (okdoomer.io)

[mommyoffive]

COVID hospitalizations on the rise as U.S. enters Labor Day weekend - CBS News

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 15,067 new COVID patient hospitalizations for the week ending Aug. 19. That marked an 18.8% jump from the week before, and a staggering 86.9% increase over the past month. However, that is still down almost 61% compared to the same time last year. 

[mommyoffive]

Early lab tests suggest new Covid-19 variant BA.2.86 may be less contagious and less immune-evasive than feared (msn.com)

[Shoeless]

Anecdata report: Lots of OTC covid tests available everywhere I go in my local area.

When there is an uptick in respiratory stuff, covid tests disappear for a few weeks. But shelves are currently full of tests. 

[mommyoffive]

"A flu" at the US Open? Hmm! And: Why I still mask in some, but not all, public situations. (substack.com)

 

To answer the big question: yes, I still wear a mask in high-risk settings when I travel (and at home). It may seem like a contradiction to wear a mask for 95% of a plane ride (taking it off for 5% of the time to sip come coffee), or to put one on in the subway, only to then dine indoors for two hours (which I did do for one meal while in New York) with no mask in sight. And I didn’t wear a mask in my tennis stadium seats (outdoors, not that crowded). But I did put one on when I used the restroom there (indoors, crowded, and kinda gross, right?)

Putting on a mask in some crowded settings but not others is not a contradiction, nor is it virtue signaling, nor an exercise in futility; It is harm reduction. Taking this measure (and upping my hand hygiene game) continues to help me avoid the sheer inconvenience of getting sick, to say nothing of any misery or health risks I may face. As I told Slate Magazine recently, “I have stuff I want to do next week.”

So for me, it’s all about choices. If I get Covid because of a wonderful late-night dinner in a fairly uncrowded restaurant in New York with three excellent friends, I won’t feel cheated by the universe. It would be a consequence of a conscious choice I made. But if I got Covid from the subway, that wouldn’t feel like a good bargain.

Edited September 4, 2023 by mommyoffive

[mommyoffive]

Long Covid Weekly #58: More funding is needed, Covid damaging our blood vessels and more (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

BA.2.86 update - by Katelyn Jetelina (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

When will an updated COVID-19 booster be available? Should I wait to get it? (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

Neighbor Tuesday: Long COVID - A global look (substack.com)

[mommyoffive]

Follow up: Where I mask, and don't mask, September 2023 edition. (substack.com)

[Minerva]

Thank you so much to all of you who are keeping us informed about Covid. I get better info here than anywhere else. My dad, a retired doctor, is constantly impressed with my knowledge and the studies I have been able to share with him because of you brilliant ladies. 

My 80 year old mom has Covid. She has a perscription for Paxlovid but doesn't want to take it because it doesn't do well with other medications she is taking. I visited with her for about five minutes a few days before her symptoms started, so crossing fingers that I don't have it and didn't give it to my kids. I cannot find Covid tests locally. I gave the last ones I had to my mom. I am isolating until the tests come in the mail and my kids have agreed to wear masks at school even though it will be embarrassing for them. 

 

[Harriet Vane]

I’ll echo with my heartfelt thanks. I’m so grateful for this thread and for the individuals who so kindly provide both resources and helpful explanations.

[mommyoffive]

13 minutes ago, Minerva said:

Thank you so much to all of you who are keeping us informed about Covid. I get better info here than anywhere else. My dad, a retired doctor, is constantly impressed with my knowledge and the studies I have been able to share with him because of you brilliant ladies. 

My 80 year old mom has Covid. She has a perscription for Paxlovid but doesn't want to take it because it doesn't do well with other medications she is taking. I visited with her for about five minutes a few days before her symptoms started, so crossing fingers that I don't have it and didn't give it to my kids. I cannot find Covid tests locally. I gave the last ones I had to my mom. I am isolating until the tests come in the mail and my kids have agreed to wear masks at school even though it will be embarrassing for them. 

 

I hope your mom is doing ok.  Fingers crossed you don't get it.