Coronavirus

[pixarprincess]

Fingers crossed that more and more long haulers get healthy from the vaccination or at least that by studying those who do they can help those who don't. I have a friend who hasn't been able to taste or smell for almost 9 months now. And I cannot even imagine, and thats on the less terrible end of potential long haul symptoms.

 

[moscow]

I just can't agree that 150 deaths per 100,000 people is "not that many" when we don't have any other infectious diseases in circulation that is closer than an order of magnitude less deadly.

I remember when they told us there would be 160,000 possible deaths in the US from the virus. My husband and I were gutted - absolutely gutted -- by that number. And to think, here we are a year later and over 500,000 of our fellow US citizens (not to mention the many more around the world) have lost their lives to this awful disease. Gutted does not even begin to come close to how we feel.

 

[NicoleK]

I have a friend who hasn't been able to taste or smell for almost 9 months now. And I cannot even imagine, and thats on the less terrible end of potential long haul symptoms.

My mom lost her sense of taste and smell 16 yrs ago due to a brain tumor and the surgery to remove it. While we’re so thankful that she survived the surgery and this was the only lasting complication, it has been hard on her. I pray that the people who have lost their taste and smell from Covid regain them at some point!

 

[Nia]

My oldest son is buying his first house, so for his Christmas and birthday presents we said we would take him to Ikea. So this Saturday, my wife, my son, his girlfriend and I drove the hour and half to Ikea and spent the entire morning shopping. I hate shopping in normal times, but even though we were all fully vaccinated, it felt weird.

It had a bit of a Twilight Zone feeling. Everything appeared normal but wasn't.

we moved in to a house that needs work done early 2020 and it has been lockdown pretty much since than. It's so hard to try to get things done, would love a trip to Ikea! Trying to design kitchen while not being able to visit showrooms is so hard. And building work is not allowed most of the time unless urgent.

We are nowhere near being vaccinated, it will be towards the end of the year probably. Over year of lockdown, my son is going back to school next Monday and we found out his uniform and his shoes don't fit him, it has been that long! Clothes and shoe shops are closed so we will have to figure if we can get quick online order/delivery.

I am 90% better from my long covid, with some cardiac screening/issues still lingering. I haven't had bad relapse for over 3 months, but I still can't handle high impact workouts. I feel healthy most of the time, unlike last year.

 

[Strangeite]

We are nowhere near being vaccinated, it will be towards the end of the year probably.

...

I am 90% better from my long covid, with some cardiac screening/issues still lingering. I haven't had bad relapse for over 3 months, but I still can't handle high impact workouts. I feel healthy most of the time, unlike last year.

I hope the distribution goes much faster than scheduled. That is great news about your health!

 

[George]

I’m glad you’re feeling better, Nia. What an ordeal this has been for people, some worse than others.

 

[josh]

Got the first Pfizer yesterday. A little soreness is all. Maybe a little tired.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

A little soreness, a little tired. You been doing food-booth reviews again?

 

[josh]

I hope not.

 

[Disneyfan]

@Anne
Not sure if you even want to attempt an answer and I know it would be purely speculative. . .
If Covid boosters are needed in the future, do you think we would be able to have it from any manufacturer?

 

[Disneyfan]

Got my 2nd dose of Moderna yesterday evening. Very excited, but having chills, aches, and a slight fever. Glad I am not at work! I am relieved and looking forward to 14 days from now.

So now that the shots are behind me. . . DD and I are planning a trip to WDW in June! I was afraid that I was going to jinx it. I tried not to get very excited until after my second dose.

Starting Tuesday, I will only have 3 students online and 17 face to face. Whew! What a year!

And if things are not crazy enough, my SSN was used to file an unemployment claim. Been working in my district/school for 14 years.

 

[Anne]

@Anne
Not sure if you even want to attempt an answer and I know it would be purely speculative. . .
If Covid boosters are needed in the future, do you think we would be able to have it from any manufacturer?

Congrats on shot #2 and your upcoming trip.

I would anticipate boosters could be from any company. Based on the fact that we never worry about which manufacturer for flu vaccines from year to year. Granted, flu shots often have different strains from year to year. On the other hand if boosters are recommended for COVID it very well might be to cover variants, so potentially a little different strain anyway. There has even been some talk that additional doses from a different manufacturer might be a positive by giving a broader/slightly different antibody response.

 

[Disneyfan]

Congrats on shot #2 and your upcoming trip.

I would anticipate boosters could be from any company. Based on the fact that we never worry about which manufacturer for flu vaccines from year to year. Granted, flu shots often have different strains from year to year. On the other hand if boosters are recommended for COVID it very well might be to cover variants, so potentially a little different strain anyway. There has even been some talk that additional doses from a different manufacturer might be a positive by giving a broader/slightly different antibody response.

Thank you, I learn so much from you. As a consumer/patient, I don't even know who produces any vaccines my family has had. What an interesting point about additional does from a different manufacturer. I does make sense.

 

[Disneyfan]

It was a rough 24 hours. Still had a 101 fever at 4 am. But all of a sudden, I am feeling much better. Uh oh! Now I don't have an excuse not to clean the house!

But, now I have a reason to order something online for the trip!!

 

[josh]

I finally got some 3M N95 masks from Amazon and let me tell you that you do not want these masks unless they somehow get more comfortable. I understand they're designed to be locked onto your face but I can't imagine anyone rocking these things for more than a half hour. So looking back a year, the N95 would have been a no go for most people anyway.

In somewhat related news I have about 18 N95 masks someone can have if they want them.

 

[George]

I finally got some 3M N95 masks from Amazon and let me tell you that you do not want these masks unless they somehow get more comfortable. I understand they're designed to be locked onto your face but I can't imagine anyone rocking these things for more than a half hour. So looking back a year, the N95 would have been a no go for most people anyway.

In somewhat related news I have about 18 N95 masks someone can have if they want them.

Those things are really uncomfortable, if efficient.

America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated applied their kitchen- and ingredient-testing skills to evaluating reusable face masks. I purchased some of the Mandala Scrubs masks, and they're really comfortable. I don't use the included filter, because I found they make breathing more difficult. I don't know if this article is behind a paywall. If it's not, let me know and I'll copy/paste the findings.

What’s the Best Face Mask?

We tried out more than a dozen cloth face masks to find ones that were comfortable to wear, easy to put on, breathable, and even fine to run in.

www.cooksillustrated.com

 

[josh]

These are still the ones I use: https://suayla.com/products/surgical-wrap-mask-the-one-you-heard-about although they do start to pill a bit at the seams if that's the right word. I'm gentler with cleaning them now. I'm always amused to see someone wearing one in the parks because chances are they got the advice from me, Bricker, or Willard, but I always just assume it was me.

I will probably bring the N95 to the park with me and see about putting it on before going into a long indoor queue. I'm not sure what Sci-Fi movie it would be from but having one of those masks on is like having some sort of alien thing attached to your face. I was surprised how uncomfortable they are. You probably get used to it since people need to wear them for hours on end for their job. Maybe I should try to wear one around the apartment for the day or something.

But it would have been funny if the masks were somehow widely available. I don't think most people could wear one for more than a half hour before giving up. Especially outdoors in Florida in July.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

My wife is immunocompromised, so we have been wearing KN95 masks that are on the FDA EUA list this entire time, out of an abundance of caution. (We've actually been wearing the same one Bricker recommends, found here: KN95 masks)

They're...not comfortable. But, after wearing them for hours, you get used to it, especially in an indoors/office setting. That being said, we decided early on that we would not be going to WDW in the summer (our normal vacation time) while masks are required, as the thought of trying to endure a steamy Florida afternoon while wearing one of these sounds like some level of hell that even Dante couldn't have imagined.

 

[lovett1979]

I got some KN95s for the first time recently from Maskc (pretty colors). I was hoping to use them on my flights to and from WDW next month (!). Though I'm also vaccinated and will be wearing a face shield on the plane, I wanted the safest thing available. However, they pull way too much on my ears. They do feel secure, though. I have to find someway to connect them behind my neck so I don't have to wear them on my ears. I could barely survive a subway ride with them, much less a 3 hour flight.

 

[RetroCOTfan]

However, they pull way too much on my ears.

We stretch ours out by hanging them up for a few hours on a coat rack. Once the elastic earpieces are stretched a bit, they become much more tolerable, and even stretched out they should keep a secure fit.