I give up on trying not to get Covid. My husband and I are two different people when it comes to Covid.

[Ting Tang]

My husband and I have barely been speaking because we see this virus completely differently. We follow different sources.  He thinks it is exaggerated, created, etc. I follow the newspaper, local hospitals, and local health department. I read a few headlines on the Internet.

I've been shopping via the Internet and curbside pickup exclusively.  Today, he came home with lots of groceries from a trip to Walmart.

He's now visiting with his dad with three of our kids (in-laws live nextdoor), who has just been in a hotel and back and forth to the hospital as my MIL had her cancer surgery.

I took my daughter to dance and felt very nervous about that today. They take the precautions they can---limit the building to students, take temps, require masks, etc. He would say I am a hypocrite for taking our daughter to dance, and I didn't really feel great about it anyway.

When my husband did get vaccinated, it was for his mother. He said that.  We were excluded from that sentiment because we will likely survive the virus when we get it. It hurt my feelings.  He thinks I am a sheep and am living in fear, which I have read him say about me.

I have appointments to get the three older ones vaccinated tomorrow, but I don't really want to do it because it wasn't a joint decision, and he is against it. 

I think it is okay when people disagree on things, but I am not sure how you compromise on this.

Today I heard him turn on a video that said, "take off your mask...do some yoga."  I guess it was making fun of the whole thing.

Edited January 12, 2022 by KrisTom

[Catwoman]

Get the kids vaccinated.

Their health is worth more than appeasing your husband. 

Don't give up!!!

Sending you hugs and encouragement. This must be awful for you. Your dh is being incredibly disrespectful and unkind.

[bookbard]

You aren't the only one in this situation. It's difficult and there was a long thread about it last year, I believe. 

My husband wasn't keen on the kids being vaccinated either, but I made the appointment and took it, and it hasn't been a big deal since. Once it's done, it's over with, and there's no more arguing. I'd get it done and just not talk about it.

My husband is vaccinated - but I've had to make the appointments (and he kind of has to have them for work anyway). We just don't talk a lot about it. He knows what I think, I know what he thinks. We talk about other stuff. 

[saraha]

I’m sorry for the strain the pandemic is putting on marriages.

I’m also sorry some of you are married to people who are petty enough to call you names. That is just low

Edited January 12, 2022 by saraha

[Catwoman]

Just now, saraha said:

I’m sorry for the strain the pandemic is putting on marriages

I am, too! 

I am so fortunate that my dh, ds, and I are all on the same page.

[Garga]

Get everyone vaccinated that you can, so that when he goes out and takes everyone places, you know they are as protected as can be. That will at least give you a little peace of mind.

If he isn’t putting his foot down and saying a strong ABSOLUTELY NOT to the vaccines for the kids, then go ahead with it. It is the safest decision and it will open up the world a bit more to you all. Some of the tension between you two will ease if you don’t feel as big of a need to stay in the house. Your lives will get a little bit back to normal. Not entirely but a bit.  (Well, unless you have little ones at home who can’t be vaxed?)

Edited January 12, 2022 by Garga

[GracieJane]

That really sucks. I’m sorry. I have heard so many stories of women who have had serious marital conflict over the Trump election; the Covid vaccine-or-not? conflict seems to be extending this marital discord. I know how awful it feels so something your DH opposes, so I would really sit down with him and say “hey, I don’t want to do this because I love you so much, but I really think it’s important to vaccinate our kids. Will you just give me the go-ahead because you care about me and our marriage? It would make me really happy.” I think you’ll feel a lot better if he’s okay with it.

[MooCow]

Well, how old are your kids? My dh took our youngest to get vaccinated and I wasn't ready for it. Youngest is 17 and wanted it, so I backed off. 

[bolt.]

I think, in spite of all the difficult feelings you are both feeling, you seem to be doing an admirable job of actually managing to "compromise on this".

You both acknowledge each other's opinions and the freedom to hold them. You both (grudgingly) live with each other's decisions -- even when they are contrary to your own wishes. You both manage to refrain from attacking each other -- even if you do that by avoiding the subject and biting your tongues.

You are going ahead with vaccination, which is incredibly important. In the context of getting vaccination done, even though he objects, it sounds like you are not doing it in secret, and he is not taking drastic actions or becoming abusive in order to stop it. You are just being made to go ahead and do it knowing it is against his wishes.

It's hard. But, knowing it's hard, I think a valuable perspective for you is to see that this is success. This is compromise. That's what compromise looks like. This is what compromise feels like.

You are doing a hard thing very well. The reason it feels hard is because it *is* hard.

[Garga]

6 minutes ago, GracieJane said:

That really sucks. I’m sorry. I have heard so many stories of women who have had serious marital conflict over the Trump election; the Covid vaccine-or-not? conflict seems to be extending this marital discord. I know how awful it feels so something your DH opposes, so I would really sit down with him and say “hey, I don’t want to do this because I love you so much, but I really think it’s important to vaccinate our kids. Will you just give me the go-ahead because you care about me and our marriage? It would make me really happy.” I think you’ll feel a lot better if he’s okay with it.

If you’re going to talk to him about it, then go ahead and say something along the lines of, “Ok, so you think I’m living in fear and limiting our lives. Vaccines are the way to assuage my fears and help me to expand our lives some more, so we can feel a bit more normalcy. We don’t agree on many things around covid, but we both know that my fears of covid is a problem, and for me, vaccines are the solution.” Men like to feel there are solutions to problems. 

Because while the whole, “living in fear thing” is such an insult…it’s a bit true. You are afraid of everyone getting covid. But if everyone has the vaccine, that fear will ease. If you use those terms, it might help him understand that if your fear is a problem, then vaccines are the solution. Not 100%, but it’ll get you better than you are now.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Garga

[Kassia]

That is such a hard situation.  Big hugs to you and I'm sorry about the stress all of this is causing.  

[GracieJane]

2 minutes ago, Garga said:

If you’re going to talk to him about it, then go ahead and say something along the lines of, “Ok, so you think I’m living in fear and limiting our lives. Vaccines are the way to assuage my fears and help me to expand our lives some more, so we can feel a bit more normalcy. We don’t agree on many things around covid, but we both know that my fears of covid is a problem, and vaccines are the solution.” Men like to feel there are solutions to problems. 

Because while the whole, “living in fear thing” is such an insult…it’s a bit true. You are afraid of everyone getting covid. But if everyone has the vaccine, that fear will ease. If you use those terms, it might help him understand that if your fear is a problem, then vaccines are the solution. Not 100%, but it’ll get you better than you are now.

+1 It seems political issues are removed from reasonable discourse in 2022, and in the case of hot-button, mocking-“woke”-Youtube-videos-directed-at-American-men type of issues, there is no point in arguing. I would frame vaccines as a kindness to you and save the venting for this forum.

[Ottakee]

Can you frame the vaccines for the kids as also helping his mother and other vulnerable people?

Can you look for common ground and try to work together to meet those goals?  You both might have to give a bit but likely you both love your kids and want the best for them...you just view that differently.

This is tough.  I am covid cautious and have known 6 or more people personally that died from COVID-19 but I also realize that living in lock down in harmful in other ways.

I try to find the middle ground if visiting family the safest ways possible but also realizing that grandma would rather die of COVID she caught from seeing her grandkids than to be home alone for months on end.

[Dianthus]

If your kids don't have other health issues, they are pretty low risk. 

If my husband was against it, I wouldn't have vaxxed the kids. I was nervous enough about a reaction to the vaccine since 1 kid has severe allergies. Thankfully, they only had a sore arm and had the 1st shot last Friday.

However, if unvaccinated, I would have a hard time returning to normal. I agree that vaccinating does relieve fear as the unvaccinated rarely have serious complications. It's hard to recommend that you vax against your dh wishes and damage your marriage. Much better if he's in agreement. Is he not persuadable?

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by emzhengjiu
removed political comment

[Ting Tang]

Thank you everyone for the support. I’m unsure of what to do. He reads forums where men say this is a cold, and I’m reading mommy forums elsewhere where women are describing the worst sickness they’ve had. 😔 He follows Peter McCullough and Robert Malone. He got upset I wouldn’t watch the Joe Rogan show;instead, I looked for an article regarding Malone’s quotes and knew what the whole thing was about “mass psychosis formation.” So I’m stupid because I don’t really want to spend hours watching these internet shows. To be fair, I don’t watch the ones that would be opposite to those, either. I’d probably be more gung ho if this wasn’t a Pfizer vaccine as I’ve read Nivavax has less side effects, but it’s not even an option. I truly appreciate the support! 

Edited January 12, 2022 by KrisTom

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Garga said:

Because while the whole, “living in fear thing” is such an insult…it’s a bit true. You are afraid of everyone getting covid. But if everyone has the vaccine, that fear will ease. If you use those terms, it might help him understand that if your fear is a problem, then vaccines are the solution. Not 100%, but it’ll get you better than you are now.

This does seem like a route that might help in this scenario, but it's also ridiculous to have to go there because he's the one "living in fear" of a vaccine. I don't know why people think their vaccine fear is valid while belittling fear of a virus that has killed over 800,000 Americans in less than two years and millions around the world. Makes no sense.

[SKL]

I'm not afraid of Covid for me and my kids, but I'm also not afraid of the vaccine.  It's been vetted enough, at least for people over 11.

Neither extreme has the Covid narrative right, but getting this vaccine is really not something to fight about either way, so IMO just do it.

That said, it is still not unlikely you and your kids will get Covid, even if you are vaccinated.  You'll probably be fine though.

[Ausmumof3]

I’m always so puzzled by the sheep comments.  We have sheep.  We watched several of them die a horrible untreatable death (or put them down) before figuring out what it was and vaccinating.  Instant end to the misery and death.  We also see other sicknesses that get in and don’t kill immediately but slowly waste them away till they are miserable and then die of something else.  
 

It’s sheep that pretty much convinced me away from being anti vax. 
 

I’m sorry though that it’s so tough to live with.  I try to save the blame/anger for the spreaders of disinformation not the victims and that helps somewhat. Thankfully my DH was okay with the kids being vaxed.  I think I would do it anyway but it would be pretty hard.

[Catwoman]

18 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m always so puzzled by the sheep comments.  We have sheep.  We watched several of them die a horrible untreatable death (or put them down) before figuring out what it was and vaccinating.  Instant end to the misery and death.  We also see other sicknesses that get in and don’t kill immediately but slowly waste them away till they are miserable and then die of something else.  
 

It’s sheep that pretty much convinced me away from being anti vax. 
 

I’m sorry though that it’s so tough to live with.  I try to save the blame/anger for the spreaders of disinformation not the victims and that helps somewhat. Thankfully my DH was okay with the kids being vaxed.  I think I would do it anyway but it would be pretty hard.

I think when Americans say that you shouldn’t be a sheep, they mean that you should think for yourself and not blindly follow the flock.

It’s kind of insulting to sheep, if you think about it… 

[Faith-manor]

8 hours ago, Catwoman said:

I think when Americans say that you shouldn’t be a sheep, they mean that you should think for yourself and not blindly follow the flock.

It’s kind of insulting to sheep, if you think about it… 

Sadly, I was a stable hand for a fiber farm for several years, and while I adore the creatures and loved lambing season with all of the adorable, energetic, so funny little lambs, I can say from experience, sheep are really not very bright at all. There just isn't much going on there compared to goats or most other livestock.

Being called sheep is one whale of an insult, and so damn disrespectful. I remember a pastor saying on time, "When God refers to us as sheep, it isn't a compliment!"

OP, don't give up on what you believe! Stand firm.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Faith-manor

[Bootsie]

I am sorry you are having such a difficult time with this.  DH and I have commented a number of times that we are so glad that our children are old enough to make a decision for themselves; I am not sure what we would do if we had young children.  

I think there is a range of what is considered a joint decision.  One end of the specturm is that both people agree that an action is the correct action to take.  I would have no problem vaccinating my children if I were in a position in which DH said, "I really don't like the idea and if it were my sole decision, I would not vaccinate.  I will not make the appointment and take them, but I will not raise a fuss if you take them to be vaccinated."; if DH was not in favor of the vaccine or did not think it was necessary, but was not fundamentally and seriously opposed to the vaccine, I would take my children.  Personally, however, if DH said that he was oppossed to a vaccine and emphatically did not want the children vaccinated, I think I would have a difficult time making a medical decision that I knew he was that opposed to without coming to some mutual agreement about it.  Some also would depend upon the age of the children; by the time they were in their teens I would listen strongly to the desires of the children and let that weigh heavily in a decision.  

Do you have a pediatrician or other medical provider that your husband trusts who can talk to him and perhaps encourage him, even if he isn't totally for vaccination, to come to an agreement about your having the children vaccinated?

[Ausmumof3]

46 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I think when Americans say that you shouldn’t be a sheep, they mean that you should think for yourself and not blindly follow the flock.

It’s kind of insulting to sheep, if you think about it… 

I understand what the intention behind it is, I guess. I just assume those using it don’t have much experience with livestock diseases. Ironically often the same proponents of herd immunity via infection.

[mathnerd]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I understand what the intention behind it is, I guess. I just assume those using it don’t have much experience with livestock diseases. Ironically often the same proponents of herd immunity via infection.

some also use a derogatory term called "sheeple" to mean the same thing.

[Wheres Toto]

Do you normally get your kids the usual childhood vaccines on a normal schedule?   Are you the one who takes them to their appointments and signs the paper giving approval for vaccines?   Has he ever had an opinion on any other childhood vaccine?  

He got vaccinated to protect his mother, it makes sense to get the kids vaccinated to protect their grandmother.   I would just go ahead and do it, especially if that area is one I've always handled in the past.  At this point, the vaccines have just as much, if not more, real world use as many of the other more recent childhood vaccines.    (Unless your kids are very young, of course). 

[SKL]

There is a big difference being against the vaccine because of health concerns vs. because one wants to make or avoid appearing to make a "statement."  Sounds like OP's DH is in the latter camp.

Nobody needs to know whether or not your kids are vaxed.  It's a personal private decision.

One practical reason for vaccinating kids is that a lot of activities, school, etc. have looser quarantine rules etc. for kids who are vaxed.  (That's why I was very proactive about vaxing my kids.)  It doesn't mean we're trembling in fear, it just means we don't want to miss a ton of school or whatever.

I think it's a lot more difficult to address the heartfelt health concerns that some have ... some of which are based on fake news, others of which are legitimate.

[Eos]

11 hours ago, KrisTom said:

He thinks I am a sheep and am living in fear, which I have read him say about me.

I am so sorry.  Sending you gentle hugs from one soft sheep to another.  

[Ting Tang]

He always asks about the potential for long term side effects, and he thinks the vaccine is killing people, based on personal stories he has read on his forums from real people and his sources. I’m not entirely comfortable with making the choice myself because it is so new, but I am also not comfortable co-existing with the virus in ways he prefers to enjoy life. He said he wanted to take risks in his life. His parents also go about their lives and eat in restaurants, so I feel we are more likely to get it from them than the other way, despite her health issues. I have a four year old who turns 5 in a week, and I’m not sure about him, either. The three older ones are 10, 8, and 7. 😔 I wish novavax was here. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by KrisTom

[SKL]

TBH at those ages (especially under 10), I could see waiting on the vax.  The relative newness (in this age group) would be a factor to weigh against other factors.  I don't think that's a crazy approach.

Especially given that the kiddy vax isn't going to make a huge dent in Covid and thereby save all the at-risk people.

[Ting Tang]

1 minute ago, SKL said:

TBH at those ages (especially under 10), I could see waiting on the vax.  The relative newness (in this age group) would be a factor to weigh against other factors.  I don't think that's a crazy approach.

Especially given that the kiddy vax isn't going to make a huge dent in Covid and thereby save all the at-risk people.

At this point, I care most about long Covid and mis-c.  But I agree—vaccines in mine will not save the world. I am so torn, especially if I have to put up with things I’m not comfortable with.

[Kanin]

13 hours ago, KrisTom said:

When my husband did get vaccinated, it was for his mother. He said that.  We were excluded from that sentiment because we will likely survive the virus when we get it. It hurt my feelings.  He thinks I am a sheep and am living in fear, which I have read him say about me.

 

I'm sorry. That sucks so much. 

[Ting Tang]

I canceled the appointments for now. Thank you everyone. Maybe I’ll feel more at ease when new versions are available or novavax comes. I’ll keep getting mine, though, for sure. 

[TravelingChris]

On 1/11/2022 at 8:34 PM, Spirea said:

If your kids don't have other health issues, they are pretty low risk. 

If my husband was against it, I wouldn't have vaxxed the kids. I was nervous enough about a reaction to the vaccine since 1 kid has severe allergies. Thankfully, they only had a sore arm and had the 1st shot last Friday.

However, if unvaccinated, I would have a hard time returning to normal. I agree that vaccinating does relieve fear as the unvaccinated rarely have serious complications. It's hard to recommend that you vax against your dh wishes and damage your marriage. Much better if he's in agreement. Is he not persuadable?

 

 

But some people are calling anyone against mandates to be antivacc and that is absolutely unfair and not rue and doesn't make any sense at all. I am definitely anti mandate for the OSHA rule because I think it is a broad overreach of the federal governemnt.  As to the hospital rule, if states are asking sick with COVID but vaccinated medical people to return, why can't healthy non vaccinated work there?

[SKL]

I think there is some logic to waiting until there is a better vaccine too.

I'm thinking about this with boosting my kids.  Somewhere I heard a better vax/booster targeting Omicron is coming in the spring.  Then will it be a mistake to get the current booster now?  It has nothing to do with politics.

"Sheep" are people who don't think, and also people who attack others for questioning groupthink.

[Ting Tang]

34 minutes ago, TravelingChris said:

Well it is a minority of people who voted for Trump that are anti-vacc  ANd I don't think that Robert Kennedy. who is super anit-vacc, and one of the big leaders in the anti-vacc community even way before COVID, is the only Democrat who is anti-vacc.

But some people are calling anyone against mandates to be antivacc and that is absolutely unfair and not rue and doesn't make any sense at all. I am definitely anti mandate for the OSHA rule because I think it is a broad overreach of the federal governemnt.  As to the hospital rule, if states are asking sick with COVID but vaccinated medical people to return, why can't healthy non vaccinated work there?

I think some things don’t make sense. Maybe everyone should be tested weekly and not just the unvaccinated? I’m iffy on vaccine mandates, but I always hope they are intended for the public good. Mask mandates, I’m good with, but I think people need better masks. Maybe the government should send those out. Kinda late now, thorough. 😔

[Ting Tang]

5 minutes ago, SKL said:

I think there is some logic to waiting until there is a better vaccine too.

I'm thinking about this with boosting my kids.  Somewhere I heard a better vax/booster targeting Omicron is coming in the spring.  Then will it be a mistake to get the current booster now?  It has nothing to do with politics.

"Sheep" are people who don't think, and also people who attack others for questioning groupthink.

Thank you so much! Yes, our riskier time is summer, too. And I keep thinking their vaxxes will have waned and we might not be eligible for boosters. On the other hand, we’re in a surge now. 

[KSera]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

TBH at those ages (especially under 10), I could see waiting on the vax.  The relative newness (in this age group) would be a factor to weigh against other factors.  I don't think that's a crazy approach.

Especially given that the kiddy vax isn't going to make a huge dent in Covid and thereby save all the at-risk people.

There have been 8.5 million doses given to 5-11 year olds at last count, with nothing alarming. From those there were 12 reports of myocarditis, all mild and resolving within a few days. Clearly the vaccine has a far safer track record in kids than the virus does. 

[Ting Tang]

29 minutes ago, KSera said:

There have been 8.5 million doses given to 5-11 year olds at last count, with nothing alarming. From those there were 12 reports of myocarditis, all mild and resolving within a few days. Clearly the vaccine has a far safer track record in kids than the virus does. 

Based on what I have read, it appears that way (there were reported seizures from 10, 3 had seizure disorders), though I do think the problems caused by Covid are rare but still more than the vaccine. The trouble is some believe the adverse events are underreported from the vaccines, and there is where the skepticism from others comes, even if it is not true.  My oldest two have a history of lead poisoning.  The second oldest with lead also has an asymtomatic hole in his heart with slight arrhythmia. My third eligible for the vaccine has a very minor tear in her heart, expected to heal, that cause a hardly detectable arrhythmia.  Some say vaccinate with lead, some say do not.  We did for the other vaccines.  Both my older two do have issues from the lead, so when husband wonders about long term effects (even if there doesn't seem to be a reason for them to occur), it definitely affects my ability to make a clear decision.  I do think I would feel more at ease with a different type of vaccine, or at least knowing they had some protection from omicron.  Aside from dance for my daughter and the boys going nextdoor, my kids are basically hidden from the world.  But with omicron, there is still a good chance we will still end up with Covid.  Argh.  I am rambling.  My sensible self of course sees the reason and logic in vaccine over virus. 

 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

I have a child with lead poisoning and never heard of any issues with vaccines. He’s fully vaxxed including the Covid vaccine.

To be honest, I think isolating kids long term(like the two years we’re on now) has much worse effects than the Covid vaccine.  
My DH is not Covid cautious at all because he’s of the opinion that we’ll all get it multiple times throughout our lives, but he’s also pro-vaccine and took our kids to get vaccinated.  Other than that, though, he takes no Covid precautions. At this point I think the only  effective precaution is to isolate, which we don’t have the ability or desire to do. 

[Ting Tang]

3 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I have a child with lead poisoning and never heard of any issues with vaccines. He’s fully vaxxed including the Covid vaccine.

To be honest, I think isolating kids long term(like the two years we’re on now) has much worse effects than the Covid vaccine.  
My DH is not Covid cautious at all because he’s of the opinion that we’ll all get it multiple times throughout our lives, but he’s also pro-vaccine and took our kids to get vaccinated.  Other than that, though, he takes no Covid precautions. At this point I think the only  effective precaution is to isolate, which we don’t have the ability or desire to do. 

My oldest had a BLL of 82, and it continues to cause problems. There’s a “natural” camp in the lead poisoning community, so maybe that’s where that comes from? Anyway— I think the isolation is detrimental. We cannot go on like this. They have each other, but we do get on each other’s nerves, lol. I think your DH is right about getting it more than once, but hopefully the severity will start to be less. Sorry you’ve been through the lead issue, too! Thank you for sharing that yours did fine with the vax. That helps!

[Dmmetler]

2 hours ago, KrisTom said:

I think some things don’t make sense. Maybe everyone should be tested weekly and not just the unvaccinated? I’m iffy on vaccine mandates, but I always hope they are intended for the public good. Mask mandates, I’m good with, but I think people need better masks. Maybe the government should send those out. Kinda late now, thorough. 😔

This is what my kid's college does-alfhihgh they also have a vax mandate (and a mask mandate). Between the three, fall was basically normal, and the hope is that this will be the case for Spring as well. 

[Catwoman]

42 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I have a child with lead poisoning and never heard of any issues with vaccines. He’s fully vaxxed including the Covid vaccine.

To be honest, I think isolating kids long term(like the two years we’re on now) has much worse effects than the Covid vaccine.  
My DH is not Covid cautious at all because he’s of the opinion that we’ll all get it multiple times throughout our lives, but he’s also pro-vaccine and took our kids to get vaccinated.  Other than that, though, he takes no Covid precautions. At this point I think the only  effective precaution is to isolate, which we don’t have the ability or desire to do. 

Wait, your dh isn't taking any precautions outside of when he's working?

Not for anything, but you are probably more likely to have caught Covid from him than from that woman in the ambulance when you were wearing your N95. I may be entirely wrong and I don't know how often he gets tested, but with so many false negatives and so many asymptomatic breakthrough cases, it certainly seems possible that he's the reason you have Covid again, even if he is testing negative.

[Faith-manor]

7 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

This is what my kid's college does-alfhihgh they also have a vax mandate (and a mask mandate). Between the three, fall was basically normal, and the hope is that this will be the case for Spring as well. 

Same for my youngest. Vax mandate for living on campus, and off campus students who refused have to test twice per week and are kicked out if they don't. Heavily enforced make mandate, and they opened up a lot of meeting places and added some faculty in order to make sections of larger classes smaller and spread out. Professors have Plexiglas boxes and microphones - for their lecturns. They had almost no covid on campus during the delta surge, and life was pretty darn normal. Omicron may break it. They just got their on campus testing results for the transfer students who arrived Jan. 4-7. 26 cases. They announced this week will be virtual only, and they will reevaluate. They have enough KN95's arriving tomorrow to give every student and employee 3 masks. They are handing out paper bags with instructions for students to store them inside the bag after use, and indicating that they think each make can be worn 5 times, with 48 hours in the paper sack in between. But that is only 15 days worth of wearing. They are going to have to wear them more than that. The one thing going for them is the students will take them off whenever they are outside, or in their dorm rooms. They won't wear them 12 hours consecutively like they would in a medical setting, so maybe they will last longer.

I had 10 KN95's to send with ds, and we had some high quality cloth masks doubled with surgical masks which the schools says is okay when waiting for KN95's to be ready for re-use. So he could easily alternate and make a month safely. I suspect possibly more than that and especially if he took his masks outdoors and let them freeze for a day. It is 0 degrees right now at his school! Sunlight and frigid temps would, I hope, weaken omicron a bit.

The student body at this school is remarkably compliant. They just want to attend their chosen school, and science and engineering are the largest programs so they tend to be "follow the scientific concensus" type students. We will see how long they go. It is his last semester, and commencement is April 30. I really want him to make it through in person and with at least a short outdoor commencement if the regular one in the dome would not be safe. But I am not holding out a lot of hope.

[Catwoman]

2 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Same for my youngest. Vax mandate for living on campus, and off campus students who refused have to test twice per week and are kicked out if they don't. Heavily enforced make mandate, and they opened up a lot of meeting places and added some faculty in order to make sections of larger classes smaller and spread out. Professors have Plexiglas boxes and microphones - for their lecturns. They had almost no covid on campus during the delta surge, and life was pretty darn normal. Omicron may break it. They just got their on campus testing results for the transfer students who arrived Jan. 4-7. 26 cases. They announced this week will be virtual only, and they will reevaluate. They have enough KN95's arriving tomorrow to give every student and employee 3 masks. They are handing out paper bags with instructions for students to store them inside the bag after use, and indicating that they think each make can be worn 5 times, with 48 hours in the paper sack in between. But that is only 15 days worth of wearing. They are going to have to wear them more than that. The one thing going for them is the students will take them off whenever they are outside, or in their dorm rooms. They won't wear them 12 hours consecutively like they would in a medical setting, so maybe they will last longer.

I had 10 KN95's to send with ds, and we had some high quality cloth masks doubled with surgical masks which the schools says is okay when waiting for KN95's to be ready for re-use. So he could easily alternate and make a month safely. I suspect possibly more than that and especially if he took his masks outdoors and let them freeze for a day. It is 0 degrees right now at his school! Sunlight and frigid temps would, I hope, weaken omicron a bit.

The student body at this school is remarkably compliant. They just want to attend their chosen school, and science and engineering are the largest programs so they tend to be "follow the scientific concensus" type students. We will see how long they go. It is his last semester, and commencement is April 30. I really want him to make it through in person and with at least a short outdoor commencement if the regular one in the dome would not be safe. But I am not holding out a lot of hope.

I hate to say this, but I thought cold weather actually extended the viability of the Covid virus. I read somewhere that "quarantining" packages outside in a cold garage or leaving them outside on the porch to air out in the sun, doesn't work in the winter.

I could be wrong, but you might want to check on that.

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

I hate to say this, but I thought cold weather actually extended the viability of the Covid virus. I read somewhere that "quarantining" packages outside in a cold garage or leaving them outside on the porch to air out in the sun, doesn't work in the winter.

I could be wrong, but you might want to check on that.

I will check on that. I hope this is not true because if it is, .Michigan just cannot catch a break!

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

2 hours ago, Catwoman said:

Wait, your dh isn't taking any precautions outside of when he's working?

Not for anything, but you are probably more likely to have caught Covid from him than from that woman in the ambulance when you were wearing your N95. I may be entirely wrong and I don't know how often he gets tested, but with so many false negatives and so many asymptomatic breakthrough cases, it certainly seems possible that he's the reason you have Covid again, even if he is testing negative.

Masking is mandatory at public places here so he masks most places and he’s not a people person, so he’s not gathering with people. But he doesn’t take any special precautions outside of what’s mandatory.  He has had to test daily to continue to work since he’s living with someone currently diagnosed with Covid and all tests have been negative. At least one was a PCR since work prefers we get PCR tested if possible. He got boostered today and probably won’t have any side effects. It’s a very annoying trait he has.

After we dropped the patient off at the hospital I did take my N95 off on the way back after spraying the ambulance down and wore a surgical mask instead, but it was 45 minutes to the ER with her and 30 minutes back, and I’m betting that it hangs in the air for a while at those viral levels.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Mrs Tiggywinkle

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

I hate to say this, but I thought cold weather actually extended the viability of the Covid virus. I read somewhere that "quarantining" packages outside in a cold garage or leaving them outside on the porch to air out in the sun, doesn't work in the winter.

I could be wrong, but you might want to check on that.

Oy, just looked it up. Sigh. Very sigh. Le sigh, me yikes.

Now looking into what I can buy for him to use to disinfect those things.

So.damn.tired.

There has to be a remote island where I can spend six months on a beach not thinking about this effing virus!

[Catwoman]

4 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Oy, just looked it up. Sigh. Very sigh. Le sigh, me yikes.

Now looking into what I can buy for him to use to disinfect those things.

So.damn.tired.

There has to be a remote island where I can spend six months on a beach not thinking about this effing virus!

If you find that island, let me know, because I'm going with you!

I was hoping your research would prove me wrong. 

[Faith-manor]

9 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

If you find that island, let me know, because I'm going with you!

I was hoping your research would prove me wrong. 

Looks like Samoa and Soloman Islands. Soloman has 99% of their population vaxed. I mean, they only have about twice the population of Iceland, and Iceland hath NOT much, but still. Good.On.Them. At any rate, transmission is pretty low, and my guess is outdoor lifestyle is the key.

Now to convince Mark that he doesn't need me around for six months..... 😁

[Catwoman]

18 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

Oy, just looked it up. Sigh. Very sigh. Le sigh, me yikes.

Now looking into what I can buy for him to use to disinfect those things.

So.damn.tired.

There has to be a remote island where I can spend six months on a beach not thinking about this effing virus!

If he has enough masks to rotate so that he only has to wear each mask once a week or so, that would probably be plenty of time to make sure they’re safe to re-use, without having to do any other sanitization.

[Faith-manor]

Just now, Catwoman said:

If he has enough masks to rotate so that he only has to wear each mask once a week or so, that would probably be plenty of time to make sure they’re safe to re-use, without having to do any other sanitization.

He has ten, and the school is giving them each three. I need to figure out how many hours total they can be used before there is enough degradation that they have to be replaced.