Gathering in the time of Omicron

[ksr5377]

All of our libraries still have free test, I'm going to assume it's because we have a very low vaccine rate and most people aren't too worried about it.  The schools aren't even requiring negative tests if you have symptoms, only for you to tell them if you have a positive test. This just means most students aren't testing now. It's great fun living here for those of us who are a bit more cautious. 😞

[Spryte]

8 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm jealous of those of you who seem to have ample supply of rapid tests. From what I can gather from searching the internet there are none to be found within an hour's drive of me, and even when they show up on a store's inventory it looks like they only have a few. I have some on order from Walmart that are supposed to be here Thursday. Unless/until the home tests become much more widely available, my plan is to hoard these to use if any of us starts showing symptoms. Based on everything I've read, which all corresponds with what's in the article @KSeraposted, I don't see much benefit in testing "just in case" before an event. 

Yes, we’ve had several curbside orders canceled. The library ran out early last week — I’ve called the main branch and our local. We have some extras on order through Amazon, but it looks like they won’t arrive until Jan 6.

However, with the above article, and our recent change in plans — we won’t need as many to test at the start of a gathering, so we’re set (our small gathering is canceled). We have enough to rapid test household members if someone is sick. And I don’t need a huge stockpile, just enough for us, at this point.

I think, for gathering purposes, I would still rapid test at the start, but we all know there are no guarantees.

Aside from home tests, our sick adult kids can’t get a PCR test this week. It’s frustrating. There’s no testing to be found.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Spryte

[sassenach]

11 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm jealous of those of you who seem to have ample supply of rapid tests. From what I can gather from searching the internet there are none to be found within an hour's drive of me, and even when they show up on a store's inventory it looks like they only have a few. I have some on order from Walmart that are supposed to be here Thursday. Unless/until the home tests become much more widely available, my plan is to hoard these to use if any of us starts showing symptoms. Based on everything I've read, which all corresponds with what's in the article @KSeraposted, I don't see much benefit in testing "just in case" before an event. 

DH just hunted down a few boxes on Sat morning. He had to go to 3 stores and just got lucky.

[math teacher]

My family is still planning to meet on Christmas Day, but I am very worried about it. Dh can't get boosted right now because of the treatment he is taking for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. My parents and I are boosted, but I'm pretty sure no one else is. A nephew and his family may not even be vaxxed at all. My sister didn't know when I talked to her last night.

Please do not quote-I will delete.

There's another monkey wrench thrown in-I have a nephew who is schizophrenic/been in jail/been in a group home under VA. He has been with my sister for less than 6 months. He has stopped taking his medication, talking to the voices, etc. Yesterday he threatened her, told her she better watch her A--. He spent the night in a camper next door to them. She planned to make calls today to try and get him back in the VA, but I haven't heard back from her.

For my own piece of mind, I need to cancel, but I really hate to. 

[YaelAldrich]

23 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm jealous of those of you who seem to have ample supply of rapid tests. From what I can gather from searching the internet there are none to be found within an hour's drive of me, and even when they show up on a store's inventory it looks like they only have a few. I have some on order from Walmart that are supposed to be here Thursday. Unless/until the home tests become much more widely available, my plan is to hoard these to use if any of us starts showing symptoms. Based on everything I've read, which all corresponds with what's in the article @KSeraposted, I don't see much benefit in testing "just in case" before an event. 

I bought a ton of them at WalMart and Sam's Club in W-S and King while I was down in NC over October and Thanksgiving.  I think everyone wants to test for Christmas and that's why there aren't any more in your area.  

[rebcoola]

We got tests from the health department free.  We didn't have big holiday plans so no real change.  Just dinner with my parents who are local.  Everyone is vaxxed, boostered if possible except my 2yr old.  Everyone has this week off so several days of no contact before we are seeing each other. 

[KSera]

24 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

I ordered a bunch before Thanksgiving, and a bunch more a few days ago.  I just looked now and they're out of stock (which is exactly what I was worried would happen which is why I bought a bunch more a few days ago, when it became clear that dd21 and her boyfriend are going to be in and out here and they are not cautious enough for us to not test under current conditions...  I did get a notice that they've shipped).

For people looking for rapid tests, when I was buying more in November, they were going in and out of stock frequently (Walmart). I kept the tab loaded and just checked it throughout the day and usually it would be late at night that some would suddenly show up available and I could order. Walmart seems to have pretty quick shipping, too. 

10 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Based on everything I've read, which all corresponds with what's in the article @KSeraposted, I don't see much benefit in testing "just in case" before an event. 

I think the corresponding side to this is for people to know not to use rapid tests to rule out illness if they have any symptoms at all or have been a contact. You really need a PCR in that case. I keep hearing of people who have symptoms and take a rapid test and get a negative and so continue on with things. And of course, later, they are positive.

[MEmama]

We have a few tests left from our trip to Ireland in September (we could only buy a pack of 6 and left a couple with DS). I’m surprised by how quickly they expire, though— when DS got sick earlier this month he would have greatly benefited by using the tests we left for him, but they had expired a month previous. I’m just mentioning this because stocking up might not be very helpful if they aren’t useful for very long.

[skimomma]

I bought a handful of rapid tests online from Walgreens late last week.  They arrived the next day.  I just checked and they still have them in stock for shipping and in our local store.

[Pawz4me]

12 minutes ago, KSera said:

 

I think the corresponding side to this is for people to know not to use rapid tests to rule out illness if they have any symptoms at all or have been a contact. You really need a PCR in that case. I keep hearing of people who have symptoms and take a rapid test and get a negative and so continue on with things. And of course, later, they are positive.

Yes. If we had symptoms we'd isolate and test a day or two apart, while also trying to get in somewhere to get a PCR test. But I'm assuming testing and getting in to see a doctor is going to become a nightmare after things break loose in a week or two. DH and I are both immune compromised, so . . it makes me feel a little less anxious to know we have tests here that we can do ourselves (or at least we will if FedEx comes through 😉 ).

1 minute ago, MEmama said:

We have a few tests left from our trip to Ireland in September (we could only buy a pack of 6 and left a couple with DS). I’m surprised by how quickly they expire, though— when DS got sick earlier this month he would have greatly benefited by using the tests we left for him, but they had expired a month previous. I’m just mentioning this because stocking up might not be very helpful if they aren’t useful for very long.

My suspicion is that some people are buying them to re-sell. Remember all the people who scooped up all the hand sanitizer when the pandemic started? Yeah. Those types.

[MEmama]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

My suspicion is that some people are buying them to re-sell. Remember all the people who scooped up all the hand sanitizer when the pandemic started? Yeah. Those types.

Oh, I hadn’t even thought about that! It makes sense, sadly.  😞 

[mom2scouts]

Christmas was supposed to be at our house. We are not gathering. Our "just a cold" cases have all turned out to be Covid. We are all vaxxed (except the toddler) and most are boosted and we're getting sick anyway. I'll probably have recovered by Christmas day, but we're still not going to risk it with an unvaxxed toddler in the family.

[mom2scouts]

1 hour ago, KSera said:

I think the corresponding side to this is for people to know not to use rapid tests to rule out illness if they have any symptoms at all or have been a contact. You really need a PCR in that case. I keep hearing of people who have symptoms and take a rapid test and get a negative and so continue on with things. And of course, later, they are positive.

Yes, dh has some symptoms and tested negative on Sunday. I made him test again today (Tuesday) and it was positive. 

[kbutton]

2 hours ago, TexasProud said:

Ok, where in the heck are you guys finding these tests to do home tests???? I looked online at Walmart and I can get them middle of January. 

They come, they go. It's irritating!

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm jealous of those of you who seem to have ample supply of rapid tests. From what I can gather from searching the internet there are none to be found within an hour's drive of me, and even when they show up on a store's inventory it looks like they only have a few. I have some on order from Walmart that are supposed to be here Thursday. Unless/until the home tests become much more widely available, my plan is to hoard these to use if any of us starts showing symptoms. 

This is the plan here. DH is expected to show up to work even if we're sick, and he tests negative. If that is the case, he's going to need to test repeatedly. I have heard it's hard to get timely PCR tests--people who want them for events/work/school book them ahead. 

At least part of our test shortage here is that our state instituted a Stay and Test policy--if you're exposed to Covid at school, you can don a mask and do a rapid test on two specified days as long as you remain symptomless (I think the school does the testing and that it's rapid testing). Since kids here are not masking and playing let 'er rip, that's a lot of tests going down the drain. 

1 hour ago, sassenach said:

DH just hunted down a few boxes on Sat morning. He had to go to 3 stores and just got lucky.

We're going almost nowhere (the whole darn pandemic), so running to multiple stores for a test is not something I really want to do--more exposure to get a test without having symptoms is not something I want to do.

[sassenach]

Speaking of tests, every school district in our county sent kids home for vacation with a rapid test. They are supposed to take the test the day before school starts back up. Pretty smart, I thought. 

[KSera]

3 hours ago, MEmama said:

We have a few tests left from our trip to Ireland in September (we could only buy a pack of 6 and left a couple with DS). I’m surprised by how quickly they expire, though— when DS got sick earlier this month he would have greatly benefited by using the tests we left for him, but they had expired a month previous. I’m just mentioning this because stocking up might not be very helpful if they aren’t useful for very long.

Yikes! I better check expiration dates. I’ve bought mine over time and haven’t paid any attention to using them in the order received. I thought they would be good long enough it wouldn’t matter, but I will check them all. Thanks for the heads up!

[mommyoffive]

You’re vaccinated and boosted. How should omicron affect your plans? (msn.com)

[vonfirmath]

39 minutes ago, KSera said:

Yikes! I better check expiration dates. I’ve bought mine over time and haven’t paid any attention to using them in the order received. I thought they would be good long enough it wouldn’t matter, but I will check them all. Thanks for the heads up!

Our community is giving out tests that have "June 2021" printed on them and telling everyone they ACTUALLY expire Jan 2022.

[whitestavern]

6 hours ago, skimomma said:

I bought a handful of rapid tests online from Walgreens late last week.  They arrived the next day.  I just checked and they still have them in stock for shipping and in our local store.

Thx! They must’ve just restocked because I’ve been checking. Just got 4 boxes (limit 2 per order. H and I placed separate orders).  

[aggie96]

We are still gathering all Christmas day.  Brother was diagnosed with Flu-A two days ago. But the symptoms are the same, and I trust no one to be fully honest. He's over the worst of it (been sick about 5-6 days) so he says. His college-age daughters reported having slight cough/scratchy throat. I would love to declare no contact, but...

My Dad died a week prior to Thanksgiving. Age 62, pulmonary embolism, no known health problems, sudden death. We are grieving and completely unmoored. We all work in a family business so that has been even harder because we have had to quickly carry on, etc while trying to navigate this new normal. There is no way Christmas gathering can be cancelled. There's just no way.

I am praying they will have good sense to wear masks, My kids have been instructed to at least give wide berth while they are in our house. No hugs, etc. Our house is quite large so hopefully that helps even a little. I'll do my best to passive-aggressively make comments on wearing a mask and being sick, etc, etc. Not everyone is vaccinated sadly. It's Texas. It's very political in the family. My crew is vaccinated. There is no way I could get them to test. No way. Huge ruckus.

This super blows.

[Grace Hopper]

4 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

We are still gathering all Christmas day.  Brother was diagnosed with Flu-A two days ago. But the symptoms are the same, and I trust no one to be fully honest. He's over the worst of it (been sick about 5-6 days) so he says. His college-age daughters reported having slight cough/scratchy throat. I would love to declare no contact, but...

My Dad died a week prior to Thanksgiving. Age 62, pulmonary embolism, no known health problems, sudden death. We are grieving and completely unmoored. We all work in a family business so that has been even harder because we have had to quickly carry on, etc while trying to navigate this new normal. There is no way Christmas gathering can be cancelled. There's just no way.

I am praying they will have good sense to wear masks, My kids have been instructed to at least give wide berth while they are in our house. No hugs, etc. Our house is quite large so hopefully that helps even a little. I'll do my best to passive-aggressively make comments on wearing a mask and being sick, etc, etc. Not everyone is vaccinated sadly. It's Texas. It's very political in the family. My crew is vaccinated. There is no way I could get them to test. No way. Huge ruckus.

This super blows.

I am sorry for your loss, and for the suddenness of it. May your time together be filled with sharing many good memories of your dad, and may no sickness or disagreements arise. 

[Kassia]

@aggie96 I am so sorry for your loss.  Wishing you peace during the holidays.  ❤️

[Laura Corin]

@aggie96 I'm sorry to hear about your dad. Best wishes for Christmas. 

[J-rap]

12 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm jealous of those of you who seem to have ample supply of rapid tests. From what I can gather from searching the internet there are none to be found within an hour's drive of me, and even when they show up on a store's inventory it looks like they only have a few. I have some on order from Walmart that are supposed to be here Thursday. Unless/until the home tests become much more widely available, my plan is to hoard these to use if any of us starts showing symptoms. Based on everything I've read, which all corresponds with what's in the article @KSeraposted, I don't see much benefit in testing "just in case" before an event. 

It might not catch all of the soon-to-be positives, but it could catch some.  My niece (who lives in NYC and whose roommates all came down with Covid/Omicron) immediately moved to a hotel, about 12 days ago, because she was hoping to fly home for Christmas and was so far testing negative.  She tested every few days, and it was negative each time.  She tested once more the morning of her flight home, and it was positive.  Thankfully, she knew in time and cancelled her trip.

[YaelAldrich]

15 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm jealous of those of you who seem to have ample supply of rapid tests. From what I can gather from searching the internet there are none to be found within an hour's drive of me, and even when they show up on a store's inventory it looks like they only have a few. I have some on order from Walmart that are supposed to be here Thursday. Unless/until the home tests become much more widely available, my plan is to hoard these to use if any of us starts showing symptoms. Based on everything I've read, which all corresponds with what's in the article @KSeraposted, I don't see much benefit in testing "just in case" before an event. 

If you really, really want tests there are some at Sam's Clubs 1-1.5 hours from you. 

[Pawz4me]

3 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

If you really, really want tests there are some at Sam's Clubs 1-1.5 hours from you. 

Thanks so much!

I've got three kits that are (supposedly) coming from Walmart. I don't fully trust FedEx, but they're supposed to be here tomorrow. So I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Pawz4me]

2 hours ago, J-rap said:

It might not catch all of the soon-to-be positives, but it could catch some.  My niece (who lives in NYC and whose roommates all came down with Covid/Omicron) immediately moved to a hotel, about 12 days ago, because she was hoping to fly home for Christmas and was so far testing negative.  She tested every few days, and it was negative each time.  She tested once more the morning of her flight home, and it was positive.  Thankfully, she knew in time and cancelled her trip.

I could see the benefit in serial testing "just in case" if tests were in very plentiful supply. But they aren't, and the production numbers I saw last night (I don't remember the source) were depressing considering the scope of need we're likely to have in a week or two. I don't see any way we're going to be able to keep up with demand. I have a niggling worry (it's really much stronger than niggling) that people who are doing serial testing "just in case" may find themselves wishing fervently that they had some of those tests back in a few weeks. Hopefully I'll be wrong about that, though. I'll be very happy and relieved if I am!

[vonfirmath]

My understanding is that the at-home tests check for infectious disease -- not disease at all. So we have them on hand to use if someone is syptomatic to give an indication if it is cOvid or not.

[mommyoffive]

Large holiday gatherings in U.S. not safe even if boosted, Fauci says (msn.com)