Vaccinated

[mollyanna58]

So I was looking at Walgreen's online site for home COVID tests, and I was amused to see they qualify for a "free gift with purchase".  

[seriousthistime]

Nov 28, 2022 11:52:12 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Nov 28, 2022 9:44:55 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Wow, 1 out of 20 people in the US have not gotten COVID at least once. 

"An estimated 94% of people in the U.S. have been infected with the COVID-19 virus at least once, according to according to a new paper from researchers at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

"The big reason for the surprising surge? The omicron variant’s record-shattering case rates early this year and middling booster rates that fell short of what experts had hoped to see.

"While that’s far from good news, there is a silver lining: As of early November, the percentage of people with some protection from new infections and severe disease is “substantially higher than in December 2021,” according to the authors."

www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/26/just-1-in-20-people-in-the-u-s-have-dodged-covid-infection-so-far/?itm_source=parsely-api

I wonder how accurate those stats are?  I have not had Covid, and of the 16 or so people who show up at SLAP, only one has.  Our 10 closest neighbors have not been infected either.

Hard to know, I guess. Out of my ladies' group of 5, 3 of us have not gotten COVID. But we've been VERY careful and mask up whenever out in public.  In my extended circle of friends, most have had COVID at least once.  Just looking around in this relatively educated, liberal-leaning community, most people are not masked in public.

Because of my grandson, we are masking up in part because of RSV.  His little lungs shouldn't be subjected to that.  Last year he was on O2 and was able to get a monthly shot to boost his resistance.  This year he's not on O2 and insurance won't pay for the monthly booster.  My granddaughter got RSV at age 3 months and was in the hospital for a few days. 

[pulmonarymd]

Nov 28, 2022 11:52:12 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Nov 28, 2022 9:44:55 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Wow, 1 out of 20 people in the US have not gotten COVID at least once. 

"An estimated 94% of people in the U.S. have been infected with the COVID-19 virus at least once, according to according to a new paper from researchers at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

"The big reason for the surprising surge? The omicron variant’s record-shattering case rates early this year and middling booster rates that fell short of what experts had hoped to see.

"While that’s far from good news, there is a silver lining: As of early November, the percentage of people with some protection from new infections and severe disease is “substantially higher than in December 2021,” according to the authors."

www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/26/just-1-in-20-people-in-the-u-s-have-dodged-covid-infection-so-far/?itm_source=parsely-api

I wonder how accurate those stats are?  I have not had Covid, and of the 16 or so people who show up at SLAP, only one has.  Our 10 closest neighbors have not been infected either.

I suspect they are including asymptomatic infections. I do not believe I have had it, but without testing I could have had an asymptomatic infection and not know it

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 28, 2022 12:36:34 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

Nov 28, 2022 11:52:12 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I wonder how accurate those stats are?  I have not had Covid, and of the 16 or so people who show up at SLAP, only one has.  Our 10 closest neighbors have not been infected either.

Hard to know, I guess. Out of my ladies' group of 5, 3 of us have not gotten COVID. But we've been VERY careful and mask up whenever out in public.  In my extended circle of friends, most have had COVID at least once.  Just looking around in this relatively educated, liberal-leaning community, most people are not masked in public.

Because of my grandson, we are masking up in part because of RSV.  His little lungs shouldn't be subjected to that.  Last year he was on O2 and was able to get a monthly shot to boost his resistance.  This year he's not on O2 and insurance won't pay for the monthly booster.  My granddaughter got RSV at age 3 months and was in the hospital for a few days. 

The only time TD and I were really careful was when we were going to see his dad in Calgary before we left on our long cruise last year.  He had lung cancer, and we were very careful not to bring anything with us.  Other than that, TD and I really aren’t careful and haven’t been since things started loosening up.  Since we got vaccinated in June 2021, we have made 5 long haul flights, 6 flights total.  We have spent nearly 70 days combined on a cruise ship/river ship.  Add to this we took 2 road trips to Calgary.  Weekly we meet up with friends for drinks and dinner.

I have had one cold, caught while on the river cruise last spring.  I know it wasn’t Covid as we were PCR tested daily.  We felt a little lagged out after my nephew’s wedding and were exposed to Covid from my sister, but we both tested negative.  (That I’m attributing to the absolutely horrible flights we had getting to Fargo, a red eye in one direction, too much partying and an obscenely early flight home 48 hours later). We have probably been tested 100+ times for Covid all combined and none have come up positive.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 28, 2022 13:00:17 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Nov 28, 2022 11:52:12 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

I wonder how accurate those stats are?  I have not had Covid, and of the 16 or so people who show up at SLAP, only one has.  Our 10 closest neighbors have not been infected either.

I suspect they are including asymptomatic infections. I do not believe I have had it, but without testing I could have had an asymptomatic infection and not know it

This too.  But how would they know?  At best, it might be a mathematical guess.  

[pulmonarymd]

Nov 28, 2022 13:10:04 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Nov 28, 2022 13:00:17 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

I suspect they are including asymptomatic infections. I do not believe I have had it, but without testing I could have had an asymptomatic infection and not know it

This too.  But how would they know?  At best, it might be a mathematical guess.  

I suspect they looked at antibody levels in some ssmple(like blood donors), and extrapolated from there. I suspect the number was quite high as it was estimated to be well over half before the recent variants

[stillmovingforward]

Nov 28, 2022 9:11:19 GMT -5 TheOtherMe said:

Many people in my neck of the woods shared more than food over the Thanksgiving weekend.  

My cousin's partner worked a shift in the ER on Thursday.  Lots of Covid, RSV and influenza cases.

If the numbers here in Iowa are to be believed (I think the hospitalization numbers are valid), the number of people hospitalized with all 3 is going up each week.

Agreed. DD1 states they are boarding patients in ER that should be in ICU because there are no open beds. Again. She's really over this. All she and DSIL know as doctors is working in pandemics where few people listen.

[busymom]

They just reported that according to testing done on wastewater here, cases are up 25%.  I can't help but wonder what kind of surge in cases there will be as people continue to gather for the holidays.  

[NastyWoman]

Nov 28, 2022 13:10:04 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Nov 28, 2022 13:00:17 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

I suspect they are including asymptomatic infections. I do not believe I have had it, but without testing I could have had an asymptomatic infection and not know it

This too.  But how would they know?  At best, it might be a mathematical guess.  

But I am curious and would like to know if I ever had an asymptomatic case. I have been rather careful and live around/interact with vaccine believers. And while masking has gone largely by the wayside still almost half of the people in stores here (including me) mask up inside stores. 
So how DO I know if all these precautions have actually worked or whether I live in a fool's paradise deluding myself?  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Nov 28, 2022 13:59:31 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Nov 28, 2022 13:10:04 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

This too.  But how would they know?  At best, it might be a mathematical guess.  

I suspect they looked at antibody levels in some ssmple(like blood donors), and extrapolated from there. I suspect the number was quite high as it was estimated to be well over half before the recent variants

Unless they are regularly running a western blot (which is a royal PITA), you won’t be able to tell from antibody levels.

I know that they were testing blood banks for antibody level as TD was giving blood regularly and they were letting him know he had no antibody each time he gave.  

The only way I could see this happening is to test immunized, never infected and look at a western blot.  Those immunized, never infected should only have single band at the spike protein.  Those who got infected should have antibody bands at both the spike protein plus those found in the viruses protein coat.  However, those immunized could have responded subclinically to an infection (which is theoretically what should happen if you are immunized) and still wind up with antibody to all the Covid proteins.

Glad I’m not running those studies.  They’re labor intensive and prone to problems.  If you look at the paradox of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance (Science) clip, that’s one of the examples used and sooooo true.

[teen persuasion]

Evidence suggests that protection afforded by a prior infection is higher than that acquired by vaccination alone, and that hybrid immunity offers the most durable protection11

So they are assuming that most peoples' "protection" against getting Covid *again* this winter is due to already having had Covid! And yet, they estimate that nearly 63% of people are now in the "reinfected" categories (7% reinfected, 55.7% reinfected+vaccinated).

Hmm, if a majority of people keep getting infected over and over, it doesn't seem that prior infection is much protection against Covid!

I think their premise is flawed.

[seriousthistime]

Nov 28, 2022 23:32:16 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Evidence suggests that protection afforded by a prior infection is higher than that acquired by vaccination alone, and that hybrid immunity offers the most durable protection11

So they are assuming that most peoples' "protection" against getting Covid *again* this winter is due to already having had Covid! And yet, they estimate that nearly 63% of people are now in the "reinfected" categories (7% reinfected, 55.7% reinfected+vaccinated).

Hmm, if a majority of people keep getting infected over and over, it doesn't seem that prior infection is much protection against Covid!

I think their premise is flawed.

I'm certainly not an expert on this topic.  But thinking back to a year ago, they had just identified the Omicron variant. It seems well known that immunity from the original strain(s) (vaccination or infection) did not transfer well to Omicron. And they developed bivalent boosters to address that.  So Omicron would account for a higher rate of "reinfected + vaccinated".  If someone got COVID before Omicron became dominant, they (and the rest of us who got vaccinated in early 2021) had less protection against Omicron. 

So people infected or vaccinated early on had some decent immunity against reinfection, until Omicron hit us. And isn't Omicron still the dominant variant?  Many of us have now been exposed to the Omicron variant by infection or bivalent booster. If that's the case, then yes, there would be more protection against COVID this winter.  

But a new variant could hit us and make us all vulnerable again. 

[Spellbound454]

Someone said on TV, that in the pool of those who haven't got it, and in the rare instances that they haven't been infected without symptoms or hidden away....... there could be a small amount of people who have natural immunity.
Hope someone is doing some research on this.

On a bad note, I have a really bad cold that has been debilitating for a week... and seems to be sweeping the nation.
I think its because we haven't been exposed to normal winter bugs and its hit us hard.

I expect someone will swoop in and tell me I'm wrong on both counts, but hey.... thats what it looks like from this side of the pond.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Dec 4, 2022 5:42:50 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

Someone said on TV, that in the pool of those who haven't got it, and in the rare instances that they haven't been infected without symptoms or hidden away....... there could be a small amount of people who have natural immunity.
Hope someone is doing some research on this.

Yes.  They think there is a gene mutation and there are people studying this.  About half the study group got knocked out when Omicron came through, but they think it's still 1 in 10 that may have natural immunity.

Sure makes sense when you see people that never get it despite multiple exposures and then those that have been locked away the past two years and never step outside without a mask getting infected multiple times.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 4, 2022 5:42:50 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

On a bad note, I have a really bad cold that has been debilitating for a week... and seems to be sweeping the nation.
I think its because we haven't been exposed to normal winter bugs and its hit us hard.

I think at this point we have been so bombarded about Covid that we forget that there are other diseases out there to get.  

This past spring, I caught a cold while on our river cruise.  I was sniffling and sneezing, but it really was minor….I didn’t feel sick at all.  The cruise line PCR tested us every single day for Covid, so knew it wasn’t Covid.  

I think we tend to forget that even pre Covid, we’d get sick occasionally.  Sometimes, a cold is just a cold. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dec 4, 2022 12:36:31 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Dec 4, 2022 5:42:50 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

Someone said on TV, that in the pool of those who haven't got it, and in the rare instances that they haven't been infected without symptoms or hidden away....... there could be a small amount of people who have natural immunity.
Hope someone is doing some research on this.

Yes.  They think there is a gene mutation and there are people studying this.  About half the study group got knocked out when Omicron came through, but they think it's still 1 in 10 that may have natural immunity.

Sure makes sense when you see people that never get it despite multiple exposures and then those that have been locked away the past two years and never step outside without a mask getting infected multiple times.

Makes sense.  

[jerseygirl]

Neanderthal genes may be involved in Covid immunity
Found in most people of European descent

[thyme4change]

I have some kind of crud. But, my home test was negative- so at least it is not Covid.

I have all the shots and boosters they will give me.

[busymom]

One of the ladies at our church has been sick for over a week.  It's not flu, and she has taken 2 Covid tests & come up negative.  Not sure what she's caught, but it's nasty whatever it is.

[Spellbound454]

Yes, I'm still off work.... as its on my chest.

They haven't fixed the heating in my room and sitting in freezing conditions for hours on end, with a bad chest....... is a not a good idea.
I need to be warm and resting right now to have a better chance to recover

[Deleted]

Nov 28, 2022 16:10:28 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

But I am curious and would like to know if I ever had an asymptomatic case. I have been rather careful and live around/interact with vaccine believers. And while masking has gone largely by the wayside still almost half of the people in stores here (including me) mask up inside stores. 
So how DO I know if all these precautions have actually worked or whether I live in a fool's paradise deluding myself?  

I'm in the same boat- never had it, to my knowledge, and I tested any time I might have been exposed and a few times at random for travel. All negative. Same with 2 antibody tests, one I paid for and one freebie with a blood donation. I know my immune system is pretty robust. I was skipping flu shots till COVID came around and never got the flu.

Still, I'm grateful for the vaccine. The pre-vaccine variants, e.g. Delta, were genuinely scary and I really wanted to avoid them.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

We got boosted earlier this week.  It wiped TD out and he napped on the sofa the better part of the following afternoon.  I felt nothing this time.  

I have no idea whether or not we are going to be tested daily.  I know that they started testing daily in South America, and are testing in cruises around New Zealand and Australia.  So not sure if we will be tested continually, or just when coming into port.  Guess I’ll find out next week.

[NastyWoman]

I arrived in Germany last night (time is German time). They did away with the mask requirement on planes to Germany and I must say the vast majority did not wear a mask. Maybe 15 - 20% were masked up. With Covid making a comeback, the flu, and RSV raging I had expected to see more masks. Whatever, yours truly was included in that low percentage. I may come down with something while here but at least I will have tried to not get sick

[thyme4change]

I went to the theater and since I had been sick, I decided to mask. Most were not masked, but there were just enough who were that i didn’t feel totally awkward. I didn’t wear a mask in the car with my parents. Came home and the next day had a total resurgence of the cold. I hope I didn’t give anyone the crud - especially my parents.

[Spellbound454]

My niece is upstairs at the moment with Covid.... which she got when she stayed at her friends at Christmas. She is coughing a lot but is OK.
I was boosted in October so am hoping it gives me some level protection.

We have been been in close contact since Christmas, so who knows. Don't have symptoms except swollen neck glands (if thats a thing)

Missed out on New year celebration.... but hey....we  didn't really want to infect someone else. There will be other parties.

Back at work tomorrow and will test before setting off.

[daisylu]

I was listening to them brag on the new years show from New York about how many people were there compared to the last couple of years when Covid restrictions were in place. All I could think about was how many of those will be Covid positive by next week. Not how I'd want to start the new year.

[Opti]

Jan 2, 2023 7:38:08 GMT -5 daisylu said:

I was listening to them brag on the new years show from New York about how many people were there compared to the last couple of years when Covid restrictions were in place. All I could think about was how many of those will be Covid positive by next week. Not how I'd want to start the new year.

Unfortunately, parts of NY are high again Covid-wise, I think all of Long Island, Orange County and similar. Apparently, NJ is medium or higher with no low-risk areas. I think you are right, and I really need to plan on getting the booster. 

[Spellbound454]

I think it is bound to be high ......but we aren't testing because the dominant Omicron is not the big killer it once was.

In the supermarket yesterday, loads of people coughing and spluttering (as bad as my niece who does have Covid) .... but just walking around the aisles with not a care.

and I'm wearing a mask to protect them from me.

[Deleted]

Dec 16, 2022 2:56:40 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I arrived in Germany last night (time is German time). They did away with the mask requirement on planes to Germany and I must say the vast majority did not wear a mask. Maybe 15 - 20% were masked up. With Covid making a comeback, the flu, and RSV raging I had expected to see more masks. Whatever, yours truly was included in that low percentage. I may come down with something while here but at least I will have tried to not get sick

I'd still mask on long-haul flights although I have to admit my granddaughters and I didn't on the hour-long flights between Chicago and Des Moines in October.

I haven't been in Times Square on NY Eve (and never plan to be) but I still feel like it's less risky outside, even in a crowd.  OTOH, I would NOT have wanted to be on subway trains going in and out of Times Square that night.

[teen persuasion]

Jan 2, 2023 8:41:01 GMT -5 Spellbound454 said:

I think it is bound to be high ......but we aren't testing because the dominant Omicron is not the big killer it once was.

In the supermarket yesterday, loads of people coughing and spluttering (as bad as my niece who does have Covid) .... but just walking around the aisles with not a care.

and I'm wearing a mask to protect them from me.

What IS your dominant strain?

Around here it is changing rapidly, looks like it's XBB running up crazy fast.


NYS covid variant data