Omicron anecdata?

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

1 hour ago, Mom_to3 said:

Immune-compromised are now able to get a booster 3 months after their third shot.

I got my third shot/booster 4 months ago, and according to the latest news, protection is way down, even against ER visits and hospitalizations by 5 months. Perhaps this is only because a lot of positive tests for not at risk people simply don't get reported? Nevertheless, why is this not being talked about more, instead of all the pressure on the CDC to remove mask recommendations (deja vu)? My state removed theirs already. I am considering an unofficial booster in the next month or two. Anyone else? Considering how infectious Omicron 1 and 2 is, and since we are not squashing covid, I am feeling very uncomfortable.

Honestly, I think it’s not talked about much because people are just not interested in getting a booster shot every four or five months.  I think public health officials know that’s an impossible goal post and the pressure to remove masks is from a public that has essentially given up and decided to just live with the chances of getting Covid.

i got my first shots in December and January of 2020/2021 and my booster in December.  I caught Covid four weeks after the booster.  The general public sees that and is just not going to get boostered every four or five months. 

[Tree Frog]

3 hours ago, Spryte said:

I keep seeing that same progression here. Mild, mild symptoms with negative tests, then 5 - 9 days later all symptoms are essentially gone but a positive test pops up during some routine testing.

This is what we saw when 2 of my young adults had it. One had uncomfortable symptoms and had several negative tests. When the symptoms cleared up, the test was positive. The other YA's symptoms were less severe, but the positive didn't pop up until after nearly a week of no symptoms.

[KSera]

3 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I think public health officials know that’s an impossible goal post and the pressure to remove masks is from a public that has essentially given up and decided to just live with the chances of getting Covid.

I can't find a way to do strikethrough on here. I'm interpreting it mostly as the public has decided to just live with other people dying of covid. Most of the people feeling that way don't feel that they are personally at risk of dying of covid therefore they are okay with not doing anything to reduce the risk. Depite still losing thousands of Americans a day to the disease. Other people, not their problem 😪.

[Harriet Vane]

44 minutes ago, KSera said:

I can't find a way to do strikethrough on here. I'm interpreting it mostly as the public has decided to just live with other people dying of covid. Most of the people feeling that way don't feel that they are personally at risk of dying of covid therefore they are okay with not doing anything to reduce the risk. Depite still losing thousands of Americans a day to the disease. Other people, not their problem 😪.

QFT

[wathe]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

I can't find a way to do strikethrough on here. I'm interpreting it mostly as the public has decided to just live with other people dying of covid. Most of the people feeling that way don't feel that they are personally at risk of dying of covid therefore they are okay with not doing anything to reduce the risk. Depite still losing thousands of Americans a day to the disease. Other people, not their problem 😪.

Yep.

[KSera]

38 minutes ago, wathe said:

Yep.

I just want to add, @wathe(and others outside the US), That I’m aware this is phrased in a US-centric way, but I am not familiar enough with what the numbers are exactly outside the US right now, and how much this phenomenon applies outside the United States.

[Melissa in Australia]

There is talk( from government) here  that the shots only last  less than 20 weeks.  second or third dose.

[Ausmumof3]

10 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

There is talk( from government) here  that the shots only last  less than 20 weeks.  second or third dose.

That is what the science shows also from what I understand although protection against the worst outcomes is maintained somewhat it’s the ability to reduce initial infections that wanes. 
 

Sa Health are putting out posts saying reinfections after initial infections are common so you’re only counted as immune for 30 days for contact tracing purposes etc. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[TexasProud]

7 hours ago, KSera said:

I can't find a way to do strikethrough on here. I'm interpreting it mostly as the public has decided to just live with other people dying of covid. Most of the people feeling that way don't feel that they are personally at risk of dying of covid therefore they are okay with not doing anything to reduce the risk. Depite still losing thousands of Americans a day to the disease. Other people, not their problem 😪.

But what @Mrs Tiggywinkle was talking about was boosters. Not saying there are not many who feel like what you wrote above, but she was responding to the poster who didn't understand why the CDC wasn't pushing a 4th shot for the general public since our boosters are beginning to wane.  And I am not going to get another booster for EXACTLY the reasons she outlined. 

I wish this board had a more nuanced view.  They "public" is a wide variety of people. Some anti-vax people that this board focusses on. But there is such a wide range of us that are in-between. I am so incredibly lonely. My husband comes back after being overseas for 6 weeks and he is ready to re-enter our social lives. He is done with Covid. He will probably wear a mask at church if I continue to. But he is ready to go to Wednesday night dinners, Bible studies, etc.  Tonight there is a dinner and singalong I would desperately love to go to. There is the first women's conference we have had since the pandemic started in April. They are restarting Bible studies this summer. I am supposed to go on a choir trip that I have already paid for to Washington DC this summer- singing at the Kennedy Center and War memorials and such over 4th of July- multi choir concert with name artists.  Mom wants me to go. But that means I really need to start going to rehearsals after Easter. My voice is so out of shape.  The community theaters are having all sorts of musicals/plays. Heck, I am going to several of my daughter's plays ( where at least masks are required on campus, at least for now) There are orchestra concerts.  I love all of these things. But no one is wearing masks anymore. No one. No one says anything to me at church about it. They understand with my mom. But it feels so incredibly isolating to be the only one. But if I drop it, I will be terrified of getting Covid. 

So I will be terrified and not enjoy myself, whether I continue to isolate alone, since my husband will be jumping into everything again or I can participate and be terrified of getting it. Not for me. If I die, I die. But of killing my mom or maybe a 3 year old kid or whatever. Why in the hell can't this damn thing be over and DO NOT RAIL ABOUT THE STUPID EVIL PUBLIC.  All of my friends in these activities are vaccinated and boostered. Masks are just the thing people haven't really adopted. They feel much like Mrs. Tiggywinkle said. They are vaccinated and boostered. Time to live life.  I wish I had never heard of this board because then I wouldn't really understand the risks. You guys are right about how dangerous it is. But I sure wish I didn't know.  Then I could just enjoy my life like all of my friends do. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

2 hours ago, TexasProud said:

But what @Mrs Tiggywinkle was talking about was boosters. Not saying there are not many who feel like what you wrote above, but she was responding to the poster who didn't understand why the CDC wasn't pushing a 4th shot for the general public since our boosters are beginning to wane.  And I am not going to get another booster for EXACTLY the reasons she outlined. 

I wish this board had a more nuanced view.  They "public" is a wide variety of people. Some anti-vax people that this board focusses on. But there is such a wide range of us that are in-between. I am so incredibly lonely. My husband comes back after being overseas for 6 weeks and he is ready to re-enter our social lives. He is done with Covid. He will probably wear a mask at church if I continue to. But he is ready to go to Wednesday night dinners, Bible studies, etc.  Tonight there is a dinner and singalong I would desperately love to go to. There is the first women's conference we have had since the pandemic started in April. They are restarting Bible studies this summer. I am supposed to go on a choir trip that I have already paid for to Washington DC this summer- singing at the Kennedy Center and War memorials and such over 4th of July- multi choir concert with name artists.  Mom wants me to go. But that means I really need to start going to rehearsals after Easter. My voice is so out of shape.  The community theaters are having all sorts of musicals/plays. Heck, I am going to several of my daughter's plays ( where at least masks are required on campus, at least for now) There are orchestra concerts.  I love all of these things. But no one is wearing masks anymore. No one. No one says anything to me at church about it. They understand with my mom. But it feels so incredibly isolating to be the only one. But if I drop it, I will be terrified of getting Covid. 

So I will be terrified and not enjoy myself, whether I continue to isolate alone, since my husband will be jumping into everything again or I can participate and be terrified of getting it. Not for me. If I die, I die. But of killing my mom or maybe a 3 year old kid or whatever. Why in the hell can't this damn thing be over and DO NOT RAIL ABOUT THE STUPID EVIL PUBLIC.  All of my friends in these activities are vaccinated and boostered. Masks are just the thing people haven't really adopted. They feel much like Mrs. Tiggywinkle said. They are vaccinated and boostered. Time to live life.  I wish I had never heard of this board because then I wouldn't really understand the risks. You guys are right about how dangerous it is. But I sure wish I didn't know.  Then I could just enjoy my life like all of my friends do. 

Yes—I was talking about the boosters more than masks.  I don’t think the boosters are being pushed because public health knows that people just aren’t going to get a Covid booster every few months, especially when it appears you can still catch and transmit it even if boostered.  Everyone at my job is boostered and masks were being worn continually in the stations, the ambulance, etc and everyone still got Covid in January, most likely from each other.   The appetite to get another booster in the spring when the ones we all got in December wear off just isn’t there.  Most people wind up with a day or two of feeling lousy from them, and their attitude is I’m going to catch Covid and feel lousy from that too, so why bother.

I don’t think the appetite for masking has ever been there.  The moment NY dropped the masking requirement I saw no one outside of the hospital or schools who were masked.  Now they’ve dropped the booster mandate for healthcare workers because people were just not going to get it.  At this point, I am hoping scientists are focusing on better vaccines, but I also suspect that by the time we get those better vaccines, people aren’t going to be interested in getting them. 

[KSera]

15 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I think public health officials know that’s an impossible goal post and the pressure to remove masks is from a public that has essentially given up and decided to just live with the chances of getting Covid.

This is what I was replying to. 
 

4th shots are not an issue on my radar as any kind of major factor in getting out of the current pandemic stage right now, considering we have a large population that has not even gotten their first shots. I’m glad that 4th shots are being made available for those who are immune compromised, because it’s a darn scary time to live with such a condition when people are pretty much plainly declaring that “those people” would have died anyway (the vast majority wouldn’t) and they should just stay home so everyone else can live like there is no risk.

What frustrates me about the insistence to remove masks is that masks are the thing that can allow life to be more normal with less risk. Masks do not prevent living life. Put on a mask in public and live your life. 

 

[KSera]

I thought this was a good piece on how we as a society move onto the next stage while either making life better or worse for those living with risk factors. The fact is, all of us eventually become one of those people if we live long enough. 
 

What does society owe immunocompromised people?

[TravelingChris]

On 1/25/2022 at 8:34 AM, Pam in CT said:

Oh heavens yes.

One of the conclusions I have over time come to, about the Refuse to Live In Fear anti-vax crowd, is that there's a lot more needle phobia in this country than I ever appreciated. 

I first was jolted into even thinking about this when Dolly Parton, after going onstage (in a beyond.awesome cut-out-sleeve outfit) to get her first Moderna, looked straight into the camera and intoned, gently but seriously

and the gears sort of clicked.  A good bit of all this sh!t is, people are afraid of needles. 

Big, strong men, straight out of central casting, guys who never cry and etc.  Are, genuinely, afraid of needles.

Phobias are real.

That is what my dh keep saying.  Showing the needles all the time wasn't making anything better.  He is not needle phobic but he could tell that the whole campaign was stupid with too many showings of injections/

[catz]

5 hours ago, TexasProud said:

I wish this board had a more nuanced view. 

People talk about this board like it is a monolith at times but it really isn't at all.  There are people here who are moving forward living in a covid world in a wide variety of ways.  I am vaxxed 3X but I've been to a number of large public performances in the last month and my teenager is participating in a bunch of stuff in person.  Our city and neighboring city we boarder has a mask mandate right now. If this board isn't working for your mental health, it can be healthy to step away.  I've certainly stepped away at times.  

It's my understanding the data out of Israel with regard to 4th doses and omicron weren't particularly compelling to do another round.  I also agree 100% when it comes to needle phobia.  It's not like we AREN'T needle phobic at our house but we also understand statistics and data and act accordingly.

Oh this was interesting and was just posted yesterday.  My favorite data site lately is watching metro wastewater data as it comes in.  Well just yesterday they added in data on the BA.2 omicron variant.  The pink dots represent Omicron BA.2 which notably showed up on the scene prior to our omicron peak and has since done nothing.  Purple peak is BA.1 Omicron and blue is Delta.  Also our levels are likely at like last June/July levels at this point even though testing numbers are behind.

https://metrotransitmn.shinyapps.io/metc-wastewater-covid-monitor/

Edited February 19, 2022 by catz

[Faith-manor]

We have been having a LOT of discussions as a family pod, my mom and mother in law, our adult kids, son in law, and grandsons. Mother in law and eldest grandson are the two that need the most protection. Mother in law did not, according to her doctor who ordered antibody/titer/whatever it is tests, produce much immunity even after one JNJ and two Moderna. Grandson is vaxed with Pfizer. We are now two years in with strict family protocols and very responsible behavior. But how long can we keep it up and not have some mental health/emotional issues? At some point there is a quality of life issue that gets severe.

Dd has found a secular homeschool group that is meeting outside for all kinds of play dates and field trips. They require that everyone masks, no exceptions. Dd has trained our two year old grandson to wear his mask like a little champ. She also found swim lessons for the boys at an aquatic center that still requires masks in the dressing areas and bathrooms (obviously not in the showers), and is still limiting the size of classes to reduce viral load, and the instructor is covid conscience and calls out parents who are not. Failure to cooperate means bye bye lessons. We all talked about it, and felt that the grandsons really need this, and Dd needs to be able to look forward to visiting with other moms her age. As much as we want to protect my 85 year old MIL and do not want to be the reason she dies or a source of community spread which hurts or kills someone else, we are slowly reaching a place where we are so mentally worn out that we need a reprieve. If we can just breathe a little, de-stress a little, have some human contact outside our pod, then if it is prudent to lockdown again, we will be in a better position to weather that storm.

We are buying tickets to an outdoor concert with the DSO in June. We will take our mothers and they will mask. We will probably get a lot of nasty glares and comments about the masks because that is how Michiganders on this side of the state are acting these days. But we will socially distance on the lawn, and ignore it so that they can enjoy the event.

We are planning socially distanced vacations with KN95's inside except once we enter our hotel rooms, and mostly only outdoor activities, picnics and take-out, no inside dining. But if we are hanging out in Custer State Park and another family comes up to talk, we have decided not to shrink away and just hope between outdoors, vaxed and boosters, we can allow a little interaction. If a crowd forms, we will distance or leave.

Ds's college requires KN95's and provided them for students. The only places they can take their masks off is when in their dorm rooms/quad bathrooms, and cafeteria. Cases have been crazy low so I do feel the masks, the high quality masks, were the key. I suspect if every state had been serious about mask mandates from the beginning and kept those in place, providing the good masks as soon as mass production allowed, and did not let up on the mandates, and then rigorously contact traced and the country actually cooperated, we would not be approaching a million dead and millions with long covid, nor HCW's leaving their profession in droves, and bringing hospitals and EMS to their knees. But no one did, and now we face the future of this being a constant, dangerous problem for years to come as this thing just keeps mutating and people scream "freedum". That means everyone is faced with the consequences, and of course how to move forward individually for each household because there simply is going to be no coordinated plan, no national effort, and there isn't going to be any " rowing together". 

I have been a champion of lock down and responsible behavior, but I am having a hard time right now getting myself through this disgusting awful winter, waiting for spring and being able to be outside so much more. I am meeting a former coworker for coffee and GF scones on Tuesday afternoon at a local coffee shop. We are not going to eat inside, but they do not have curbside pick up so we will wear masks, go inside and get it, and then will be sitting in my car which we will park at the river, nature preserve and watch the birds come an go. She is not vaxed, but had covid 40 days ago, and is otherwise covid conscious and respectful of others. So I am just going to hope for the best. I feel a bit like a failure after two years of being so strong during hunker down. However, I also need this a lot. And I just got my finger out of the splint and can't play the piano which is a primary outlet for my emotions.

[freesia]

26 minutes ago, catz said:

People talk about this board like it is a monolith at times but it really isn't at all.  There are people here who are moving forward living in a covid world in a wide variety of ways.  I am vaxxed 3X but I've been to a number of large public performances in the last month and my teenager is participating in a bunch of stuff in person.  Our city and neighboring city we boarder has a mask mandate right now. If this board isn't working for your mental health, it can be healthy to step away.  I've certainly stepped away at times.  

It's my understanding the data out of Israel with regard to 4th doses and omicron weren't particularly compelling to do another round.  I also agree 100% when it comes to needle phobia.  It's not like we AREN'T needle phobic at our house but we also understand statistics and data and act accordingly.

Oh this was interesting and was just posted yesterday.  My favorite data site lately is watching metro wastewater data as it comes in.  Well just yesterday they added in data on the BA.2 omicron variant.  The pink dots represent Omicron BA.2 which notably showed up on the scene prior to our omicron peak and has since done nothing.  Purple peak is BA.1 Omicron and blue is Delta.  Also our levels are likely at like last June/July levels at this point even though testing numbers are behind.

https://metrotransitmn.shinyapps.io/metc-wastewater-covid-monitor/

I agree. Many of us are nuanced. The area I live in has gone up and down. We, as a family, respond to that information. People around are fairly mask compliant so that makes it easier, but even in our cautious state, we’ve done a lot of normal living— some restaurants when numbers are low, camps and church retreats for kids, indoor TKD, soccer, masked co-op, church, youth group, once a week history/writing/lit club ( no masks this year.). But we wear masks in stores and avoid most indoor eating when numbers are high.  
 

@TexasProud you will find some black and white Covid responses here, but I encourage you to see how many of us are nuanced and choose to accept some risk depending on local conditions. Your situation is different with your mom. However, talk to your mom about what risk level she’d want you to have. She may not want you to be quite so isolated. If your numbers are low, you may decide you can do some of the social things you miss. Would you have done them in the same situation before Covid? My elderly, vaccinated and boosted mom wants to see my dd, but does not want her to miss things like youth retreats in order to visit her when numbers are low. I am trusting her. 

[Idalou]

4 hours ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

Yes—I was talking about the boosters more than masks.  I don’t think the boosters are being pushed because public health knows that people just aren’t going to get a Covid booster every few months, especially when it appears you can still catch and transmit it even if boostered.  Everyone at my job is boostered and masks were being worn continually in the stations, the ambulance, etc and everyone still got Covid in January, most likely from each other.   The appetite to get another booster in the spring when the ones we all got in December wear off just isn’t there.  Most people wind up with a day or two of feeling lousy from them, and their attitude is I’m going to catch Covid and feel lousy from that too, so why bother.

I don’t think the appetite for masking has ever been there.  The moment NY dropped the masking requirement I saw no one outside of the hospital or schools who were masked.  Now they’ve dropped the booster mandate for healthcare workers because people were just not going to get it.  At this point, I am hoping scientists are focusing on better vaccines, but I also suspect that by the time we get those better vaccines, people aren’t going to be interested in getting them. 

Depends on what part of the state you're in.

 I spent the past two days doing a major shopping spree at several stores. Virtually everyone was masked, except at a Walmart. The employees were masked but roughly half of customers were not.

 As to the healthcare workers not wanting boosters, there's not much more anyone can do to educate them. If the time comes, as you say, and we have better vaccines that they still will refuse, it's time to just call it as it is. Stupid is a stupid does. We need to quit making excuses.

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Idalou

[mommyoffive]

Conditions 'Ideal' for More Transmissible, Dangerous COVID Variant: WHO (msn.com)

 

FDA Eyes Second Covid-19 Booster Shot (msn.com)

 

 

[mommyoffive]

3 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

We have been having a LOT of discussions as a family pod, my mom and mother in law, our adult kids, son in law, and grandsons. Mother in law and eldest grandson are the two that need the most protection. Mother in law did not, according to her doctor who ordered antibody/titer/whatever it is tests, produce much immunity even after one JNJ and two Moderna. Grandson is vaxed with Pfizer. We are now two years in with strict family protocols and very responsible behavior. But how long can we keep it up and not have some mental health/emotional issues? At some point there is a quality of life issue that gets severe.

Dd has found a secular homeschool group that is meeting outside for all kinds of play dates and field trips. They require that everyone masks, no exceptions. Dd has trained our two year old grandson to wear his mask like a little champ. She also found swim lessons for the boys at an aquatic center that still requires masks in the dressing areas and bathrooms (obviously not in the showers), and is still limiting the size of classes to reduce viral load, and the instructor is covid conscience and calls out parents who are not. Failure to cooperate means bye bye lessons. We all talked about it, and felt that the grandsons really need this, and Dd needs to be able to look forward to visiting with other moms her age. As much as we want to protect my 85 year old MIL and do not want to be the reason she dies or a source of community spread which hurts or kills someone else, we are slowly reaching a place where we are so mentally worn out that we need a reprieve. If we can just breathe a little, de-stress a little, have some human contact outside our pod, then if it is prudent to lockdown again, we will be in a better position to weather that storm.

We are buying tickets to an outdoor concert with the DSO in June. We will take our mothers and they will mask. We will probably get a lot of nasty glares and comments about the masks because that is how Michiganders on this side of the state are acting these days. But we will socially distance on the lawn, and ignore it so that they can enjoy the event.

We are planning socially distanced vacations with KN95's inside except once we enter our hotel rooms, and mostly only outdoor activities, picnics and take-out, no inside dining. But if we are hanging out in Custer State Park and another family comes up to talk, we have decided not to shrink away and just hope between outdoors, vaxed and boosters, we can allow a little interaction. If a crowd forms, we will distance or leave.

Ds's college requires KN95's and provided them for students. The only places they can take their masks off is when in their dorm rooms/quad bathrooms, and cafeteria. Cases have been crazy low so I do feel the masks, the high quality masks, were the key. I suspect if every state had been serious about mask mandates from the beginning and kept those in place, providing the good masks as soon as mass production allowed, and did not let up on the mandates, and then rigorously contact traced and the country actually cooperated, we would not be approaching a million dead and millions with long covid, nor HCW's leaving their profession in droves, and bringing hospitals and EMS to their knees. But no one did, and now we face the future of this being a constant, dangerous problem for years to come as this thing just keeps mutating and people scream "freedum". That means everyone is faced with the consequences, and of course how to move forward individually for each household because there simply is going to be no coordinated plan, no national effort, and there isn't going to be any " rowing together". 

I have been a champion of lock down and responsible behavior, but I am having a hard time right now getting myself through this disgusting awful winter, waiting for spring and being able to be outside so much more. I am meeting a former coworker for coffee and GF scones on Tuesday afternoon at a local coffee shop. We are not going to eat inside, but they do not have curbside pick up so we will wear masks, go inside and get it, and then will be sitting in my car which we will park at the river, nature preserve and watch the birds come an go. She is not vaxed, but had covid 40 days ago, and is otherwise covid conscious and respectful of others. So I am just going to hope for the best. I feel a bit like a failure after two years of being so strong during hunker down. However, I also need this a lot. And I just got my finger out of the splint and can't play the piano which is a primary outlet for my emotions.

Me too.  I live in WI and every year I always want to move during winter.  Or a second home.  That would be fine too.   Of course covid has just made the winter that much worse.   

[Faith-manor]

11 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Me too.  I live in WI and every year I always want to move during winter.  Or a second home.  That would be fine too.   Of course covid has just made the winter that much worse.   

A second home is our preferred option. We would like to sell our house plus the mothers' homes, and combine the funds to get a cottage on the lake. They are amenable to that in the future. That way we have our northern, Great Lakes escape from the heat of Alabama in the summer. Ideally. We will see what happens. Mark has four years and few months before he can consider retiring. I would be in better shape if I had been able to make my February run to the southern house. But between medical emergencies with my mother in law, and breaking my finger, and hitting a deer with one of our cars, that didn't happen, and March is not looking promising in that regard. Frolicking the front yard at 65 degrees, and working on raised beds and garden containers with Dd would be a balm to my soul.

[mommyoffive]

Just a tiny bit better.

[mommyoffive]

Ocugen, Inc. Announces U.S. FDA Lifts Clinical Hold on the Submission of Its Investigational New Drug Application for Its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate COVAXIN™ (BBV152) (yahoo.com)

[mommyoffive]

'COVID kids': Should parents worry about pandemic impacts on small children? (msn.com)

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

3 hours ago, Idalou said:

Depends on what part of the state you're in.

 I spent the past two days doing a major shopping spree at several stores. Virtually everyone was masked, except at a Walmart. The employees were masked but roughly half of customers were not.

 As to the healthcare workers not wanting boosters, there's not much more anyone can do to educate them. If the time comes, as you say, and we have better vaccines that they still will refuse, it's time to just call it as it is. Stupid is a stupid does. We need to quit making excuses.

 

I flew out of Syracuse last Monday and went to the mall before the flight; there were almost no masks to be seen anywhere until I arrived at the airport, where it’s required. My kids went up to the Museum of Play today with a friend of mine and her kids; she texted me that she was shocked the vast majority of people, even kids that I’m sure aren’t vaccinated, didn’t wear masks. We thought it was still required there, but apparently it’s only “encouraged.”   

I noticed on the chart I saw that in NYS, the concern with HCW and the booster was primarily nursing home and home health care staff, where the “ willing to get boostered” numbers hover around 50%.  Hospital staff and hospice workers were much higher, around 90% expected to get the booster.  Idk if those numbers will go down now that the mandate is gone.  My hope is that we get vaccines that dramatically reduce transmission and infection, and that people are willing to get them.  I am immunocompromised—I have been fighting corneal transplant rejection since fall and I’m taking oral steroids, IV steroids, and an anti-rejection drug so I basically have no immune system.  At this point I just accept that I will likely get Covid every couple of months.  I was really hoping the vaccines would hold up better in my kids, at least, but the older two got Covid two months after their second dose. They weren’t very sick, but even just getting Covid means time out of school, unpaid time off work or draining my sick time, and a lot of inconvenience.  But at this point, since I work, they’re in public school, and we do activities outside the house, I think it’s just a never ending cycle.  But I don’t know the answers—my extremely Covid cautious great aunt hasn’t seen her daughter or grandchildren in two years now because they work/attend school.  She kept waiting until it was safer; but it never seems to really get safer.  Now my 44 year old cousin is shockingly dying of pancreatic cancer and they lost two years together.  So now all that Covid caution seems a waste; too. 

[Longtime Lurker]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

FDA Eyes Second Covid-19 Booster Shot (msn.com)

Bring it on! I'm ready any time. 

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Just a tiny bit better.

We need some of that Indiana/Ohio yellow to spill over into Michigan!

[freesia]

10 minutes ago, Longtime Lurker said:

Bring it on! I'm ready any time. 

We need some of that Indiana/Ohio yellow to spill over into Michigan!

Just one more point. Michigan is at 26 per 100,000. 25 gets you orange! Maryland is one point from yellow. 

[Faith-manor]

49 minutes ago, Longtime Lurker said:

Bring it on! I'm ready any time. 

We need some of that Indiana/Ohio yellow to spill over into Michigan!

Yes yes, fingers crossed when the numbers come out Monday we get some yellow!

[Faith-manor]

My daughter and I would also like to shake our fingers at Alabama. Come on Bama, get with it!

[Corraleno]

3 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

FDA Eyes Second Covid-19 Booster Shot (msn.com)

I was excited about that...  until I saw they're only considering it for next fall. I assumed it was a given that there would be annual boosters available in the fall, including a combined flu/covid shot.

I really hope BA2 does not turn out to be a serious threat, because if it is, then I expect the FDA will, as usual, be way behind the curve.

[mommyoffive]

Blue KF94 Tiger 3D Mask (Small White - Kid Size) - 100pcs Special – Be Healthy (behealthyusa.net)

Has anyone bought these masks?  Like dislike?  What ages fit this mask?

[Spryte]

28 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Blue KF94 Tiger 3D Mask (Small White - Kid Size) - 100pcs Special – Be Healthy (behealthyusa.net)

Has anyone bought these masks?  Like dislike?  What ages fit this mask?

We have those, I think. I will have to check the size we have, to be sure that ours are size small. I think they are. 10 yr old DD wears them. They are a tiny bit small for her, but they fit her better than adult size masks. I think they would work well for the younger crowd.

[KSera]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Blue KF94 Tiger 3D Mask (Small White - Kid Size) - 100pcs Special – Be Healthy (behealthyusa.net)

Has anyone bought these masks?  Like dislike?  What ages fit this mask?

I prefer the KF94s with adjustable ear loops. We don’t use any without, though I do have one kid who fits best in the small posh without the ear loops shortened. 

[Roadrunner]

I am sick and so are my kids. I don’t think it’s Covid though since rapid tests are negative, nobody has fever, and we can all still smell certain odors coming from our doggy and taste our coffee. But all of us are sneezing uncontrollably and dealing with terrible sinuses. We went down for CPR tests today though since my kids have a number of events coming up. We shall see. 

I am boosted and very pro vaccine, but will not get another booster unless it’s specific to the variant circulating. 
 

editing to update that test just came back negative. 
I can’t believe they processed it in under a day. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Roadrunner

[Roadrunner]

Crap. Just found out my kids have been exposed last weekend. So now I wonder. Is it possible to have Covid and only experience runny nose and sneezing?
I hope test results come in quickly. 

[Faith-manor]

8 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Crap. Just found out my kids have been exposed last weekend. So now I wonder. Is it possible to have Covid and only experience runny nose and sneezing?
I hope test results come in quickly. 

Yes, some people really do have it just this light. And Omicron is not as notorious for lost sense of taste and smell. I am so sorry!

[Ausmumof3]

I know a handful of people who have had presumably omicron and it mostly seems to have been a light cold. The exception being one who wasn’t vaxed and it came with fever and headaches. 

[Laura Corin]

2 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

Crap. Just found out my kids have been exposed last weekend. So now I wonder. Is it possible to have Covid and only experience runny nose and sneezing?
I hope test results come in quickly. 

Yes. That's actually classic Omicron.  I'm sorry. This is a very big study -

https://joinzoe.com/learn/omicron-symptoms

 

[Roadrunner]

it’s negative! 
 

[mommyoffive]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:49 PM, KSera said:

I prefer the KF94s with adjustable ear loops. We don’t use any without, though I do have one kid who fits best in the small posh without the ear loops shortened. 

I do too.  Those work best for my 6 year old.  However my 9 year old wears KF94s without and they fit great.  I just haven't tried this brand.  We buy everything from Bonafide.  But this is great price.

[mommyoffive]

The Science Behind Why Children Fare Better With Covid-19 (msn.com)

[Jaybee]

@Roadrunner, I know you tested negative, but in response to your questions: Three of us have just had it. Nobody ran any fever to speak of. It was mostly lots of sneezing and congestion, scratchy throat, with some coughing as well. I would say for two of us, it was more than a "mild" cold (I described it as a nasty cold), because we felt pretty knocked out for about 3 days, but not like flu. We never had body aches, nor the bone-killing fatigue, though I am still a little more tired than usual (Day 13). But I did have fatigue with my vaccines, and I have not felt like that. I still have some mild congestion, but it is slowly getting better. The others are fine (and they tested + four days and nine days after me). Respiration for everybody stayed up. Ds's heart raced some, especially after mild activity, but has normalized now. Nobody else has mentioned anything about taste and smell. I can tell mine is diminished, but not gone entirely. I can especially still note salty and sour.

ETA: I would definitely say we've had mild cases. When I say more than a mild cold, that's because I think of a mild cold as just some sniffles. But two of us lay around most of those three days, and I still occasionally feel kind of bad from the congestion. 

ETA2: All vaccinated and boosted. One ds did not test positive. He is not around as often, though he did have some stomach issues. Whether he was really positive and didn't swipe the nose carefully enough or not, I have no idea, but he has carried on with life as usual (don't judge me--he's 18) and did not have the sneezing and congestion.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Jaybee

[mommyoffive]

Got a Covid Booster? You Probably Won’t Need Another for a Long Time (msn.com)

[mommyoffive]

Whoa Michigan!

The Maroon is almost GONE!!!!

Edited February 21, 2022 by mommyoffive

[Laura Corin]

Culture shock. I'm in London for a visit, where mask mandates have been lifted, unlike in Scotland. Only about 20 percent of customers at the supermarket were wearing masks.

[Longtime Lurker]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Whoa Michigan!

The Maroon is almost GONE!!!!

Hurray!

[Insertcreativenamehere]

9 hours ago, Jaybee said:

Nobody else has mentioned anything about taste and smell. I can tell mine is diminished, but not gone entirely.

I tested positive last Friday and have had similar symptoms -- sneezing, runny nose, congestion and a mild cough. Today I just started noticing that my senses of taste/smell are diminished as well, but not entirely gone. Nothing really sounds good anyway. BTW, I'm vaccinated and boosted.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Insertcreativenamehere

[Ting Tang]

Around here, I have noticed since the governor announced the end of the mask mandate 2/28 and schools mostly went mask-optional (not sure how that works when there is a state indoor mask mandate) less and less people are wearing masks.  I still am very worried about Covid, and I truly do not believe the at-risk are throw away people.  But I do feel I have done and compromised moreso than so many other people care to do, and I am not sure I can keep it up forever.  It has greatly affected my 10 year old, living so isolated, despite Dad doing outdoorsy things with him and whatnot.  I signed him up for a tae kwon do class at the YMCA.  Lots of people walking around unmasked and unchecked, despite their policy (which will end next week anyway).  But when you hear a child saying dark things, how much longer do you try to keep up with the isolated lifestyle? I can't help other countries are not vaccinated due to equity issues. I cannot help some people do not want to mask, get vaccinated, or take other precautions, or even spread crazy information.  I did my part.  They lived life, made it worse, and I compromised.  I just keep hoping things get better and don't get worse, despite the "warnings."  I myself haven't gotten a haircut in a year, I need new clothes and online shopping for those is hard, and....I have put off healthcare screenings.  

Edited February 22, 2022 by Ting Tang

[Faith-manor]

4 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Whoa Michigan!

The Maroon is almost GONE!!!!

Finally! Keep it up, Michigan, keep it up!

[mommyoffive]

Look at all the orange!!

I am dancing right now, Wisconsin is in orange!!!!  I feel better about my kids who are in the orthodontist right now.

[mom2scouts]

In December and early January, almost everyone I know had Covid. It was family after family posting online that they had Covid. Our church cancelled all events other than Sunday service and 3/4 of people there were masked. For most of the people, it was the milder Omicron version and I only know of one person sick enough to be hospitalized. Right now, I don't know of a single person with Covid! Our schools and activities all went mask optional today. Yesterday I attended a small group event with our Congressman. We had been asked to wear masks and everyone came in wearing masks. They told us that, if we were comfortable, we could remove our masks and everyone immediately pulled it off. I really hope we're moving past big surges of dangerous cases.

When I had Covid, my sense of taste and smell didn't go away, but everything tasted bad and smelled different than normal. I kept asking my husband why the coffee was so bitter and was the food we were eating going bad and he was so confused.