Vaccinated

[seriousthistime]

Jan 7, 2022 12:15:11 GMT -5 daisylu said:

Jan 7, 2022 10:32:36 GMT -5 resolution said:

This is an interesting site that lets you pull up the hospital capacity in your local area. www.hospitalbed.space/

My local hospital's ICU is currently 105% filled.

Thanks for the site.


Our local hospital shows ICU is 87% full, with 52% being confirmed Covid. I thought that number would be higher, but the city where it is located is also a TON of retirees and elderly.

I think this site doesn't show the whole picture. Counting up the number of beds occupied and available reflects a best-case scenario.  What if there is insufficient ICU staff to care for the patients in those beds?  50% of the beds occupied does not mean that the other 50% are available for new admissions. 

At the hospitals where my DD and DSIL work, their staffing is greatly reduced because so many employees have contracted or been exposed to COVID themselves, and people are overwhelming the system because mildly symptomatic folks are going to the ED for COVID tests.  Those people still need to be assessed.  And patients are admitted but stay in an ED bed while they wait for an appropriate space to open up.  The stats on the website do not tell the whole picture. 

For example: www.ocregister.com/2022/01/07/orange-county-ers-struggle-to-keep-up-as-covid-9-cases-continue-spiking/

[TheOtherMe]

I had the same reaction.  The hospital in the small town where my out of town family lives isn't shown and they have had Covid patients and deaths.

[Deleted]

Not sure whether to post this in "vaccinated" or "unvaccinated",  but on another Board we were comparing the availability of tests.   In some places it's pitiful, even for people who have been exposed- like 5 days out.  How is that even useful?  

I did a check in my area of CVS within 10 miles- there were 4 of them.  I answered the screening questions honestly- no known exposure, no symptoms, I don't work in healthcare.  On a Friday afternoon I couldn't find anything today, Saturday, Sunday. Monday or Tuesday.  It was always easy to find them a day or two out when I needed them before (after my return from Alaska, after a classroom weekend for the course I'm taking in which one person later tested positive).  The Quest lab near me looked to have appointments today and tomorrow but it offered 7:30 AM today when I checked at 1 PM so I'm a bit skeptical.  I had to enter my insurance info to book anything so I stopped there.  And they probably have an out-of-pocket charge.

How is this supposed to work if you need it to go back to school or the office, or where it's a requirement if you're not vaccinated?  And, if they're rationing tests to the people most likely to test positive (which makes sense, of course), does that mean anything when we see a spike in positivity rates?

Weird times.

[raeoflyte]

We get the kids in for a covid test at any sign of being sick. We waited a couple times and that went badly.

From what I've seen, they can tell from waste water that our actual infection rate is much higher than what testing would suggest. I'd say more at home tests in use. But positivity rate isn't a very helpful metric at this point.

[TheOtherMe]

It's so hard to get a test around here unless you have symptoms that the at home tests can't be kept on the shelves.  So the metric to watch is hospitalizations and death.  

I do know it's thick around here.  

[azucena]

Jan 8, 2022 11:55:19 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

It's so hard to get a test around here unless you have symptoms that the at home tests can't be kept on the shelves.  So the metric to watch is hospitalizations and death.  

I do know it's thick around here.  

Do you have home tests for yourself just in case? Binaxnow seems to be a good brand if you can find it. I just ordered a different one on Amazon last week that hopefully gets here next week. Dd13 was positive after Christmas but mild case. Dd9 had similar but even milder symptoms but I didn't test her since she wasn't leaving the house either and I kept her home a few extra days since her limited symptoms were slightly later. Dh had even later symptoms and different, just tested him today 3 days after they started and negative. I followed my body and slept for hours and hours extra while girls were recovering so I don't think I got it. Didn't leave the house during their windows either. Choosing to feel relieved that we got it, are thru it, and hopefully have some immunity now along with current shots.

[TheOtherMe]

I have ordered some from Amazon.  However, they have not been shipped.  

[teen persuasion]

Earlier in the week DS5's school district had test kits available for pick up on Tuesday. DH went right away, expecting a mob. One kit (2 pk) per child in school, so we got just one. But there was almost nobody there. My coworker heard about that, and texted her DH (the art teacher) to go get some (on the theory that if there's low demand, they won't do it again). Nope, teachers in the district don't get any, just kids. Boo.

Today, our county held 3 test giveaway sites for county residents only. Two were in the big cities in the SW corner of the county, and last one for the rest of the rural areas was at the big drive-in theater, mid-south part of the county (so a drive for 3/4 of the county). DH went, but gave up when he saw that the line stretched to the county border! And that's behind everyone snaking thru the 5 big lots on-site. I thought I'd read there was 2k test kits per site (so x3), but later reports imply it's 2k for the entire county; they said only one per car, until they run out. County population is 200k.

Bigger metro county to our south (1m population) is distributing their tests to each community to give away. The news tonight mentioned 2 kits per resident limit. I haven't heard how many that county got total, though.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

TD has decided he wants to go up to see his mom sometime later this month.  The first testing date I could find was on 1/17.  I suggested he choose a weekend, so I can schedule testing.  He will probably choose to go about 3 days before.  That’s not gonna work.

[CCL]

Jan 8, 2022 19:37:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Earlier in the week DS5's school district had test kits available for pick up on Tuesday. DH went right away, expecting a mob. One kit (2 pk) per child in school, so we got just one. But there was almost nobody there. My coworker heard about that, and texted her DH (the art teacher) to go get some (on the theory that if there's low demand, they won't do it again). Nope, teachers in the district don't get any, just kids. Boo.

Today, our county held 3 test giveaway sites for county residents only. Two were in the big cities in the SW corner of the county, and last one for the rest of the rural areas was at the big drive-in theater, mid-south part of the county (so a drive for 3/4 of the county). DH went, but gave up when he saw that the line stretched to the county border! And that's behind everyone snaking thru the 5 big lots on-site. I thought I'd read there was 2k test kits per site (so x3), but later reports imply it's 2k for the entire county; they said only one per car, until they run out. County population is 200k.

Bigger metro county to our south (1m population) is distributing their tests to each community to give away. The news tonight mentioned 2 kits per resident limit. I haven't heard how many that county got total, though.

Noone is giving any tests away around here. Of course, none in stock anywhere, either.

[Deleted]

Last night on my town's FB page there was a plea from a woman whose husband needed a test because he had a fever from a tooth infection and they wouldn't let him back to work without one.  When someone told her the UrgentCare place had them for $240 the response was, "we don't have the money for that".  

Our healthcare system is broken.  

[jerseygirl]

Yes healthcare is broken and sadly after going into the third year of this pandemic our state and federal governments still bumbling and no effective organization or planning . And even after the medical and pharmaceutical people have given us vaccines, Covid oral treatments, better understanding of effective patient care.
Crazy ineptness to have huge numbers of people needing tests but they’re not available. At beginning of pandemic there were also no tests - but now?

[TheOtherMe]

Found out last night that we do have two free testing sites here.  Both require appointments and who knows how far out they are booked.  

[pulmonarymd]

Jan 9, 2022 9:34:44 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Yes healthcare is broken and sadly after going into the third year of this pandemic our state and federal governments still bumbling and no effective organization or planning . And even after the medical and pharmaceutical people have given us vaccines, Covid oral treatments, better understanding of effective patient care.
Crazy ineptness to have huge numbers of people needing tests but they’re not available. At beginning of pandemic there were also no tests - but now?

How is the federal government supposed to fix this? We do not have national healthcare. And when the federal government tries to make policies, states refuse to follow them and sue to prevent the enactment. What is your proposal on how to correct this?

Not to mention that the politicians in one party continue to promulgate lies and false information.

ETA: Our healthcare system has been broken for decades, and the one attempt to fix it has been vigorously opposed by republicans. This has been a long term issue

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Iowa and Nebraska have resisted the whole time. They've been in the top 5 for cases numerous times. As soon as Biden took office they declared COVID over and started shutting down testing sites.

After that much resistance on top of what are now major supply and staffing issues it's too late to pivot.

I think all things considered we're better off with Biden than four more years of Trump
Biden is trying to band aid the giant gaping wound Trump left while Republicans keep picking it.

I don't think Biden is perfect but it could be so so much worse. Let this be a lesson to the future presidents to not throw put the pandemic playback because you don't want to listen to a black guy.

[jerseygirl]

Jan 9, 2022 10:31:32 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Jan 9, 2022 9:34:44 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Yes healthcare is broken and sadly after going into the third year of this pandemic our state and federal governments still bumbling and no effective organization or planning . And even after the medical and pharmaceutical people have given us vaccines, Covid oral treatments, better understanding of effective patient care.
Crazy ineptness to have huge numbers of people needing tests but they’re not available. At beginning of pandemic there were also no tests - but now?

How is the federal government supposed to fix this? We do not have national healthcare. And when the federal government tries to make policies, states refuse to follow them and sue to prevent the enactment. What is your proposal on how to correct this?

Not to mention that the politicians in one party continue to promulgate lies and false information.

ETA: Our healthcare system has been broken for decades, and the one attempt to fix it has been vigorously opposed by republicans. This has been a long term issue

[

Agree with you, was really about lack of testing capabilities at this time

[pulmonarymd]

Testing issue is a demand problem. The reality is that the recent mutation has caught everyone by surprise. It is far more contagious than the previous ones, and has even evaded the vaccines to a significant degree. But, if we would go back to mask mandates and had actually gotten vaccinated as we should have, the testing issue would have never gotten to this point. Needing to test 1 million people a day would stress the system regardless of how many tests are available because there are not enough bodies to perform the tests given what has happened to excess capacity in healthcare over the last few decades. There is no excess capacity. Add in the fact that these workers are also getting sick and it is no surprise that testing is a nightmare

[Deleted]

Well, so much for memory t-cells (if I have the terminology right) protecting you if you've survived COVID.  This morning I found that the husband of a couple in my church tested positive.  They both had pretty bad cases of COVID (but not requiring hospitalization) before the vaccines, then got vaccinated. She lost her father to COVID around the same time they had it.

Still very scary out there.

 

[lurkyloo]

I generally figure rapid tests are less accurate than pcr, or at least less sensitive.  Babysitter‘s sister tested positive on a rapid test we dropped off (binaxnow), negative on a pcr from earlier same day/both after symptom onset, and positive again on a later pcr    If we can’t even trust pcr test accuracy...

I just got my lucira check it test yesterday-automated test and run at-home pcr test, results in 30 min.  I am dying to play with it but not going to waste one at $75 a pop.  I ordered a couple directly from lucira too but the amazon one was much faster delivery.  I plan to let neighbors know I have them in case of emergency.  The appeal of being able to get pcr results on demand and in 30 min when under duress was pretty high.

Our county is something like 84% of total population fully vaxxed (95ish% at least one shot), plus mask mandate in place for months with pretty good compliance.  Our infection numbers are still ridiculous, around 250-300 daily new cases per 100k.  Although at least the hospitals aren’t overwhelmed yet. I am furious with the school system though.  They changed their policy on a dime leaving 100+ schools in the lurch expecting a switch to virtual that didn’t come, and students with immunocompromised selves or family members are SOL- they get to choose between exposure and truancy   

[pulmonarymd]

PCR is >95% accurate. It may have lost a bit of accuracy with omicron. But if you do 1 million tests a day, you will get 50k false negatives. That is the reality of medicine. Nothing is 100% accurate. Which is why it cannot be done by computers There is a need to put all the data together to come up with an accurate diagnosis.

We had a patient admitted today where everything pointed to Covid. Covid was the most likely diagnosis. Family member had it, he was severely hypoxic, obese, and cxr was consistent with Covid. We repeated the test and it was positive. Test could have been done incorrectly, sample could have been obtained incorrectly, could have been delivered incorrectly. All kinds of reasons for a false negative

[TheOtherMe]

Jan 8, 2022 19:36:37 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

I have ordered some from Amazon.  However, they have not been shipped.  

They are now set to arrive tomorrow.

[thyme4change]

I am boosted. My daughter is already boosted, and tests every week - dorm living and her nature as a cautious rule follower is contributing to doing all the required things. My son has his booster shot this week. My husband is not even signed up. He keeps getting stuck at "have you had any symptoms" - even though he tested negative and always has allergies.

My son's high school has moved to mandatory masking - but they all take off their masks outside. All 2200 students flood into the outdoor corridors with no masks. They are probably safer sitting at their own desks in classes than walking past 600 people who breathe right in their face. Lol.

[daisylu]

I am not sure if I posted it here, but we were informed in November that all salaried employees must submit proof of vaccination or a medical or religious exemption by 1/18. I was vaxed in 4/21 and boostered in 12/21, so I was not worried. No word yet on if they plan to roll that down to hourly.

[Deleted]

This has disappeared from my news feed and may now be behind a pay wall but a local (Kansas City area) couple is now telling everyone to get vaccinated.  They'd wanted a baby for years and she was happily pregnant.  They weren't vaccinated because, well, they didn't know whom to believe.  She got seriously ill with COVID and landed in the hospital, a bit too early for them to safely deliver the baby.  After a week on a ventilator she was released and is home, still pregnant with the baby due "eary this year".

Wonder what THAT stay cost the healthcare system.

They're having a couple of mass testing events at the stadium.  It will be interesting to see what that does to the positivity rate.  It may actually decrease if the other sites have been giving priority only to people who have a substantial chance of testing positive because they've been exposed or have symptoms.

ETA:  Just saw a FB post showing a video of the line of cars waiting to get in.  Wow.  And that's with "appointments" required.

[Spellbound454]

The lateral flow (self) tests just tell you if you have a lot of infectious virus on a particular day.

Quite useful if you are visiting or going to a gathering....... I think I read somewhere that you are getting these in the US.

The PCR is more sensitive, of course.

Our infection rate is going down..... we may have peaked (I think we have)..... or it may be that people can't get PCRs.

Hospital rates are going up.... but they are dealing with people who became infected at New Year.

Death rates are a lot better than they were last year.

So its better than it was. 


I have noticed at School, and its only an anecdote from me...... but the kids who have Covid in class (of whom there has been dozens in my own classes), feel nauseous and unwell quite suddenly
We send them home at that point.
I'm not aware that nausea is a symptom but that's what I have seen.

As for being vaxxed and getting Covid..... Yes, my Ex did get it again in January and he was fully vaxxed with a booster....... but said booster was back in September, so perhaps that's it limit for efficacy.
Plenty of others double vaxxed have had an illness akin to flu.

Over 90% in hospital having had no vaccine.

Whatever, there are a few green shoots on the horizon  Its not over yet but doesn't feel as bad as it was.

[Deleted]

Our county has gone back to the highest threat level.  Although vaxed and boosted, DH and I will go back to take-out food rather than dine-in.  I think out state's vaccinated level is around 50% or less.  

[anciana]

Jan 10, 2022 15:49:00 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

The lateral flow (self) tests just tell you if you have a lot of infectious virus on a particular day.

Quite useful if you are visiting or going to a gathering....... I think I read somewhere that you are getting these in the US.

The PCR is more sensitive, of course.

Our infection rate is going down..... we may have peaked (I think we have)..... or it may be that people can't get PCRs.

Hospital rates are going up.... but they are dealing with people who became infected at New Year.

Death rates are a lot better than they were last year.

So its better than it was. 


I have noticed at School, and its only an anecdote from me...... but the kids who have Covid in class (of whom there has been dozens in my own classes), feel nauseous and unwell quite suddenly
We send them home at that point.
I'm not aware that nausea is a symptom but that's what I have seen.

As for being vaxxed and getting Covid..... Yes, my Ex did get it again in January and he was fully vaxxed with a booster....... but said booster was back in September, so perhaps that's it limit for efficacy.
Plenty of others double vaxxed have had an illness akin to flu.

Over 90% in hospital having had no vaccine.

Whatever, there are a few green shoots on the horizon  Its not over yet but doesn't feel as bad as it was.

Hi, Spellbound454, thank you for sharing, always nice to hear how other places are doing. Do you know what your positivity rate is? Around here it's been very high so we really don't know the case number. There are a lot of people that were able to get tested with at-home lateral flow tests but then they don't necessarily report to the public health departments. Then, there are those that are sick and just can't get tested as both PCR appointments and lateral flow home tests are hard to come by.

[jerseygirl]

What are lateral flow tests!

[anciana]

Jan 10, 2022 17:00:42 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

What are lateral flow tests!

The BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Antigen Self Test is a lateral flow immunoassay

[Spellbound454]

Jan 10, 2022 16:56:47 GMT -5 anciana said:

Jan 10, 2022 15:49:00 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

The lateral flow (self) tests just tell you if you have a lot of infectious virus on a particular day.

Quite useful if you are visiting or going to a gathering....... I think I read somewhere that you are getting these in the US.

The PCR is more sensitive, of course.

Our infection rate is going down..... we may have peaked (I think we have)..... or it may be that people can't get PCRs.

Hospital rates are going up.... but they are dealing with people who became infected at New Year.

Death rates are a lot better than they were last year.

So its better than it was. 


I have noticed at School, and its only an anecdote from me...... but the kids who have Covid in class (of whom there has been dozens in my own classes), feel nauseous and unwell quite suddenly
We send them home at that point.
I'm not aware that nausea is a symptom but that's what I have seen.

As for being vaxxed and getting Covid..... Yes, my Ex did get it again in January and he was fully vaxxed with a booster....... but said booster was back in September, so perhaps that's it limit for efficacy.
Plenty of others double vaxxed have had an illness akin to flu.

Over 90% in hospital having had no vaccine.

Whatever, there are a few green shoots on the horizon  Its not over yet but doesn't feel as bad as it was.

Hi, Spellbound454 , thank you for sharing, always nice to hear how other places are doing. Do you know what your positivity rate is? Around here it's been very high so we really don't know the case number. There are a lot of people that were able to get tested with at-home lateral flow tests but then they don't necessarily report to the public health departments. Then, there are those that are sick and just can't get tested as both PCR appointments and lateral flow home tests are hard to come by.

Yes I do. You are right some people may be isolating with a lateral flow test...... but on the whole infection rate numbers are down...and not doubling every 3 days like they were

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274

Just had a look and think our Lateral flow tests come from China...... Ooops