COVID-19/Coronavirus Information and Support Thread (see OP for useful links)

  • Thread starter baldgye
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TB
Results back. Negative.

I got my booster the beginning of November.

Whatever this is/was, it's horrible.
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That's the point: it's become impossible to tell what's going on. Once upon a time, the theory was to prevent people from becoming infected by masking/social distancing/lockdowns. Then the vaccines were rolled out with the expectation that they would reduce infection rates/hospitalizations/deaths. Hard to tell exactly how that played out as there have been waves of infections, of different variants, at different times of year & with different level of restrictions, in different countries with different demographic profiles & different levels of vaccination, testing & medical care. Now we are being told that with Omicron, even with a booster shot, you will likely still get infected if exposed & the major benefit is simply decreased sickness & death. However, the expectation is that Omicron is inherently less likely to make people seriously ill anyway.

So: if you feel unwell, it could be a cold ... or flu ... or reaction to a booster shot ... or Omicron. Hard to tell without being tested, it's hard to get tested ... & if you're not that ill why even bother? :ouch:
 
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Biggles
So: if you feel unwell, it could be a cold ... or flu ... or reaction to a booster shot ... or Omicron. Hard to tell without being tested, it's hard to get tested ... & if you're not that ill why even bother? :ouch:
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... Or even chicken pox. My wife had so many of the same symptoms as Covid, even small blisters can be a symptom, but after a negative Covid test and a later positive for chicken pox blood test that's what it turned out to be. With all of the health measures in place we are at a total loss as to how she acquired it, but apparently it's getting around in our area.

And yes I agree, I won't be bothering get in line for x amount of hours if I don't get very ill. I'll just isolate anyway like we did for my wife's illness.
 
TexRex
You're likely to confer protection from vaccination whether it prevents your catching it or not. If you do catch it after having been boosted, your body should recognize it and go to work quickly before it has a chance to put you in the hospital.
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I know that the vaccines have slashed the chances of hospitalisations and deaths, and I shudder to imagine how we'd compare against this time last year if we had the same amount of cases but without vaccines. It's just the pandemic has really hit home over the past 2 weeks. I've had a sibling test positive on the day before their first flight home in nearly 2 years, resulting in their self-isolation over Christmas. My housemate got pinged as a close contact (but has returned a negative PCR test), resulting in all of us having to wear masks in all common areas until this wave passes...but when could that be? Over the past couple of months, I had planned to book a foreign trip as soon as I got my booster...but what if my flight gets cancelled due to staff illnesses? What if I test positive before either flight?

I guess all these aches and chills after my booster aren't helping my mood. 😞
 
DK
I know that the vaccines have slashed the chances of hospitalisations and deaths, and I shudder to imagine how we'd compare against this time last year if we had the same amount of cases but without vaccines. It's just the pandemic has really hit home over the past 2 weeks. I've had a sibling test positive on the day before their first flight home in nearly 2 years, resulting in their self-isolation over Christmas. My housemate got pinged as a close contact (but has returned a negative PCR test), resulting in all of us having to wear masks in all common areas until this wave passes...but when could that be? Over the past couple of months, I had planned to book a foreign trip as soon as I got my booster...but what if my flight gets cancelled due to staff illnesses? What if I test positive before either flight?

I guess all these aches and chills after my booster aren't helping my mood. 😞
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Exactly. An additional problem: so many people testing positive for Omicron & self-isolating means fewer people available to provide medical services for people sick with Covid ... in fact, fewer people available to provide testing for Covid ... & all kinds of other "essential services". Indoor masking has been the norm in Canada for most of the pandemic (unlike the UK or US), but it seems like isolating people who have tested positive or have mild symptoms - or who have had contact with someone who has tested positive or has mild symptoms - may become increasingly impractical - that we may have to just "live with" Covid for a while.
 
DK
I know that the vaccines have slashed the chances of hospitalisations and deaths, and I shudder to imagine how we'd compare against this time last year if we had the same amount of cases but without vaccines. It's just the pandemic has really hit home over the past 2 weeks. I've had a sibling test positive on the day before their first flight home in nearly 2 years, resulting in their self-isolation over Christmas. My housemate got pinged as a close contact (but has returned a negative PCR test), resulting in all of us having to wear masks in all common areas until this wave passes...but when could that be? Over the past couple of months, I had planned to book a foreign trip as soon as I got my booster...but what if my flight gets cancelled due to staff illnesses? What if I test positive before either flight?

I guess all these aches and chills after my booster aren't helping my mood. 😞
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I get it. I'd wager the only ones who don't get it are a minority of a minority of a minority who are completely insulated from it.
 
Biggles
So: if you feel unwell, it could be a cold ... or flu ... or reaction to a booster shot ... or Omicron. Hard to tell without being tested
Click to expand...
I just got back from a vacation that involved airplanes, airports and restaurants. While everyone we encountered were doing what they should be, there was still the possibility I picked it up somewhere, hence the test.
Biggles
it's hard to get tested
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I understand that everywhere is different for this but I didn't need an appointment and was in and out of the testing site in under 5 minutes and had the results back 20 minutes later. Not remotely difficult.

Biggles
if you're not that ill why even bother?
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"Worst headache" and "worst cold chills" isn't "not that ill" to me and with those being two of the symptoms, in conjunction with the vacation bit and knowing the test was easily accessible, there's no way I wasn't going in, for my own peace of mind and for my coworkers, if nothing else.
 
TB
I just got back from a vacation that involved airplanes, airports and restaurants. While everyone we encountered were doing what they should be, there was still the possibility I picked it up somewhere, hence the test.

I understand that everywhere is different for this but I didn't need an appointment and was in and out of the testing site in under 5 minutes and had the results back 20 minutes later. Not remotely difficult.


"Worst headache" and "worst cold chills" isn't "not that ill" to me and with those being two of the symptoms, in conjunction with the vacation bit and knowing the test was easily accessible, there's no way I wasn't going in, for my own peace of mind and for my coworkers, if nothing else.
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The situation with testing varies at lot. In Canada, after having "symptoms", I was only able to book a PCR test scheduled for 5 days after I applied for it, with results anything from 2 to 3 days after that ... not much use for anything by that time. Antigen tests are also very hard to come by here. In principle, it's a good idea to get tested if you can, but what I'm saying is the spread of Omicron has been so rapid that it's overwhelming any possibility of controlling the spread by testing or contact tracing. It's no longer a question of being infected in a setting like an airplane or a restaurant, I hear that people are testing positive for Omicron without any obvious exposure.
 
My endoscopy got cancelled. The Covid test results still have not arrived so they couldn't take me in. They did mention from Monday onwards they'll be able to do the swab test right there so I'll not get cancelled on next time. So either they forgot to flag my test as priority at testing site or they are just swarmed with tests.
 
TB
I understand that everywhere is different for this but I didn't need an appointment and was in and out of the testing site in under 5 minutes and had the results back 20 minutes later. Not remotely difficult.
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It's been such a pain in the ass, here. My first go around of trying to find an appointment was ridiculous, earliest I was able to find was February 1st. Managed to dig way deeper into the night and found a pop up site about 10 miles from me set for last Wednesday. The appointment line was quick, I don't think I was in it for more than 5 minutes, but the non appointment line wrapped around the block as far as I could see, and I doubt they moved at all all day considering how hard it was to get an appointment.
 
ImaRobot
It's been such a pain in the ass, here. My first go around of trying to find an appointment was ridiculous, earliest I was able to find was February 1st. Managed to dig way deeper into the night and found a pop up site about 10 miles from me set for last Wednesday. The appointment line was quick, I don't think I was in it for more than 5 minutes, but the non appointment line wrapped around the block as far as I could see, and I doubt they moved at all all day considering how hard it was to get an appointment.
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Mine was a breeze compared to that! :eek:

My wife has to have a test done no more than 3 days before her conference so I guess I better start scheduling for a test on Kauai just in case they're that far out, too.
 
TB
Mine was a breeze compared to that! :eek:

My wife has to have a test done no more than 3 days before her conference so I guess I better start scheduling for a test on Kauai just in case they're that far out, too.
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Yeah I think I must have caught the pop up at the exact right time - I didn't see it the first day I was looking so I think it was brand new. I was a bit confused when I first got there because one line was just massive and the other was extremely short in comparison, which was the appointment line.
 
Today on the radio there was news about Denmark saying that they don't see the expected terror of Omicron. Even though the infections are exploding, the hospitalisations stay way behind and they made the bold prediction that normal life could be back as soon as March.

We are now in the wave of Omicron, 35k infections today, but the hospital numbers keep dropping. We should be seeing the Christmas wave by now, but it's not there. I'm not optimistic yet, but something definitely is different now.

edit

My parents (got AZ first), sister (J&J) and her husband (Pfizer) all got their booster, all Moderna. No one got anything serious apart from feeling a little under the weather and the sore arm.
 
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There are now more theories from the data that was put out about how Omicron may have been in mice and now some more theories of those mice were in labs with the original B1.1 with more mutations to make it more transmissible but less pathogenic to be released into areas with limited vaccination rates to help protect them and the rest of the world.
Now I don't know how true that is but with the high infection rate and low hospitalization rates almost suggest this.

Now more theories is that this is a test to help prevent future pandemics is genetically altering a strain of virus to be more infectious to out compete the wild type to then slow down and eliminate the virus.

I am hoping that a normal return again to life will happen in April so I can maybe eventually take my trip in May.
 
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Booked in for the booster on the 21st. It'll be exactly four months after my second shot. Best news is that I was able to schedule it with my local GP. Don't have to drive 40 odd minutes to the hospital in the next town over this time.
 
Dennisch
Today on the radio there was news about Denmark saying that they don't see the expected terror of Omicron. Even though the infections are exploding, the hospitalisations stay way behind and they made the bold prediction that normal life could be back as soon as March.

We are now in the wave of Omicron, 35k infections today, but the hospital numbers keep dropping. We should be seeing the Christmas wave by now, but it's not there. I'm not optimistic yet, but something definitely is different now.

edit

My parents (got AZ first), sister (J&J) and her husband (Pfizer) all got their booster, all Moderna. No one got anything serious apart from feeling a little under the weather and the sore arm.
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This is what the director of the CDC was saying. It may be more of an ice pick than a wave.

www.nbcnews.com

Omicron cases could fall just as quickly as they rose, CDC says

Instead of a wave, picture the recent surge in the U.S. as more of an "ice pick," similar to cases in South Africa, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
This is what the director of the CDC was saying. It may be more of an ice pick than a wave.

www.nbcnews.com

Omicron cases could fall just as quickly as they rose, CDC says

Instead of a wave, picture the recent surge in the U.S. as more of an "ice pick," similar to cases in South Africa, Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
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It's actually been known since December that cases will rise super fast surpassing Delta levels in cases with hospitalization on a downward trend as it's displacing Delta, then it will fall just as fast as it rose.
Data in South Africa has already seen 23k cases at it's peak on Dec 17th. Down to 7300 as of yesterday Jan 7th.
Deaths in South Africa went from 11 before Omicron to 90 at it's peak. (38 before delta to 420 at peak for Delta)

Now how much of that is natural immunity vs vaccination is questionable but even in UK is showing a similar setup as SA.

Its no surprise that everyone is making this like it's the worst when it may look bad in the numbers but what about actual symptoms? How severe are those? Cases increase doesn't always reflect the intensity of it.
 
TJ13
It's actually been known since December that cases will rise super fast surpassing Delta levels in cases with hospitalization on a downward trend as it's displacing Delta, then it will fall just as fast as it rose.
Data in South Africa has already seen 23k cases at it's peak on Dec 17th. Down to 7300 as of yesterday Jan 7th.
Deaths in South Africa went from 11 before Omicron to 90 at it's peak. (38 before delta to 420 at peak for Delta)

Now how much of that is natural immunity vs vaccination is questionable but even in UK is showing a similar setup as SA.

Its no surprise that everyone is making this like it's the worst when it may look bad in the numbers but what about actual symptoms? How severe are those? Cases increase doesn't always reflect the intensity of it.
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It's news to me. I saw that cases would increase fast, but didn't read that they will drop as fast. I would figure both natural immunity and vaccination will help, at least in preventing more severe symptoms. But many hospitals are still getting slammed due to the significant increase in cases. Omicron seems less severe, and I read that at least proportionally less people end up in ICU.
 
TJ13
It's actually been known since December that cases will rise super fast surpassing Delta levels in cases with hospitalization on a downward trend as it's displacing Delta, then it will fall just as fast as it rose.
Data in South Africa has already seen 23k cases at it's peak on Dec 17th. Down to 7300 as of yesterday Jan 7th.
Deaths in South Africa went from 11 before Omicron to 90 at it's peak. (38 before delta to 420 at peak for Delta)

Now how much of that is natural immunity vs vaccination is questionable but even in UK is showing a similar setup as SA.

Its no surprise that everyone is making this like it's the worst when it may look bad in the numbers but what about actual symptoms? How severe are those? Cases increase doesn't always reflect the intensity of it.
Click to expand...
I think saying "known" and "will" is over-stating it quite a bit, but I get your point. Besides, end of December was only just over a week ago! Various data and findings have given good reasons to be hopeful, like the paper showing that Omicron viral replication rates are far higher in upper airways and far lower in the lungs compared to previous variants, rather than any certainty.

The unknown part was - and still is, to some extent - what will happen in older populations, or those with higher numbers of comorbidities (e.g. USA obesity levels), compared to South Africa. Only now is London data showing how that's going, with high numbers of cases in older age groups, yet admissions declining. I suspect the outcome won't be quite as good in some parts of USA.

Basically it seems to be going fairly well so far, although that's certainly not the same as everything being fine! Even though a higher number of admissions are incidental COVID findings, that still causes problems. Staff absences are high, but nothing like as high as in the first wave. The worry is perhaps not now about COVID itself, but that any regional surges could cripple other areas of healthcare and there'd be very little that could be done to stop that (low probability, high impact).

As for severity, yes, even though cases are massively up, (non-incidental) admissions are not up by the same amount - although they are definitely up. Numbers on mechanical ventilation haven't spiked up, and hospital stays seem to be shorter than for Delta. But don't be fooled - there is still a relationship between cases, admissions, ICU and death, it's just in different proportions - that we are only now finding out.
 
Damn, I know this is rare but it is a reminder of how much of a lottery this is. A young, fit athlete with no significant health conditions died after getting sick with Covid-19. And he was also double vaccinated.

Meanwhile I also found out the bass player has had Covid for about a week, he is overweight, 23 years old also double vaccinated. He told me last night he is fine now but at one point he was feeling delirious from how sick he was feeling and can't even imagine what it would have been like had he been unvaccinated.

Anyways, the news of this powerlifter did manage to scare me I must admit. Even though I still take precautions and wear a mask practically everywhere I go, the volume of cases makes me feel it is very likely I will get infected anytime soon. I was feeling quite relaxed since I got my booster shot but yeah, reading cases like this, however exceptional they are just reminds me there is nothing certain about this stupid virus.

www.smh.com.au

Talented powerlifter and scientist identified as young man who died with COVID

James Kondilios, who was double vaccinated and had no significant underlying health conditions, died at St Vincent’s Hospital this week.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
 
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