OT: Covid

Sorry to hear you are sick. Regardless of vaccine status, the new BA 4 and 5 variants have shown to be problematic and infection rates are going back up. I am not sure that the tests today even test for the new variants. Hopefully they do work and you will know soon one way or the other. You are doing the right thing by staying put until you know for sure. The good news is that people are not going to the hospital or dying from these variants as much. Hydrate as much as you can and take it easy. My best to you.
Jack

Not unusual, unfortunately. Hope you will get better soon.

I recently tested positive as well (after a trip) and because I am considered 'high-risk' was prescribed Paxlovid (there are two versions). Took the pills and tested negative afterwards. But a few days later I developed another 'cold' and tested positive again. Turns out this is not uncommon; CDC refers to it as a 'rebound'.

BTW, I don't think it's necessary to do the PCR test when the antigen test is positive.

bummer Hal. we'll probably all get covid sooner or later. here's something that might be good to to have in your home first aid kit:

https://www.amazon.com/boost-oxygen-natural-portable-canister/dp/b08562mh82/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2xafzr8ulm6s8&keywords=boost+oxygen&qid=1657228144&sprefix=%2caps%2c112&sr=8-5

i got interested in boost because i am about 80% convinced ill attempt my first 14k' peak this year

Fever broke this morning--it hit 102.6--and I started paxlovid. Still have a cough that hurts all the down in my chest.

The last 48 hours I've been as sick as I've ever been.

Yeah, I'm hearing very frequent anecdotal stories about people having COVID. Most everyone I know is vaxxed and boosted so this variant clearly doesn't avoid the fully vaxxed. Seems like we are probably already in the middle of a summer surge. Unlike other surges, this time it is probably vastly under reported. With the symptoms being mostly mild and the wide availability of home testing many people are not "reporting" it to anyone.

Anyway, hope you continue to get better Hal and get this behind you.

Jim

Strangest virus. I was never vaxxed and didn't catch it. The majority of those I know who are fully vaxxed were infected after the fact. It will be interesting to monitor the public's reaction to the latest variant. Good luck to all.

halbert,

Get well soon! Hopefully the cough has let up and given you some time to rest.

"the reasons to get vaccinated are to avoid death or serious illness"
Actually, the original reasons given to take the vaccine was to prevent infection and stop the transmission. Even the President told us in July 2021 "You're not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations" Just plain wrong.

But I think it's great for someone to take the vaccine and the boosters if they choose to do so. I just think it's wrong to mandate it as a condition for employment, and fire workers if they don't. Just my opinion.

TJ123- I read some of your earlier posts on the subject of vaccinations and your expertise in the field of pharmaceuticals. Thank you for your work in the field. I can understand some peoples hesitation to get a vaccination if not fully tested. However, mandated vaccines have been around for decades. Vaccines have eliminated major diseases for decades also. As I stated before, vaccines don’t keep you from getting infected, they do help a majority of people from dying from the disease. That doesn’t mean you won’t get sick. This virus is lot like the flu as it mutates, but much quicker and much more deadly. In your recent post you say you haven’t had the virus, but in a previous post you said you had a period of coughing that was unexplained back in January of 2020. I also had the same bout of coughing in March of 2020. I would guess that we both had it and our bodies fought it off. Everyone has different immune reactions to diseases. Some have strong immunity systems and some don’t. Even if vaccinated, some will get sick and some won’t. Having been a teacher of young children for over 30 years, I feel I have had every disease known to man, LOL. So maybe yours and as well mine immunity systems are strong. However, as we get older we become more inclined to get sick. Even if vaccinated you can still spread this virus in closed settings. That is because the virus is alive in your system until your body neutralizes it. So, if you sneeze, cough or in anyway project particles into the air, others can breathe it in. So, I have to agree with Compiler, that people working in close quarters should be vaccinated. It does provide some protection from spreading. That is, if those vaccinated haven’t recently been infected. The main problem is how fast this virus mutates. Let’s hope we all build immunities fast enough to the mutations and that science can get ahead of the new ones to come. My best to you.
Jack
I forgot to add the most important message. Halbert, get well soon buddy.

One more thing, guys, if this goes any more down into a vax/unvax debate I'm going to ask the mods to lock the thread. I opened it to report my experience which is simple: I'm vaxxed, with one booster, and I got it. I suspect, but cannot prove, that given the symptoms I have had, in an unvaxxed state it could have been a LOT worse. And that's good enough for me.

Halbert, have you heard that those that have taken Paxlovid and get reinfected get long Covid? I don’t know if I heard that right and if any have research on it, I would appreciate any replies. It does look like it is really helping if taken early. Glad you are doing better.
Jack

" I would guess that we both had it and our bodies fought it off."

Jack64 - Nah. Was tested for the antibodies at the lab in early 2020. Negative.

We just disagree on several points. In the workplace I could catch it from an infected vaxxed worker just as fast as I could from an infected unvaxxed worker. I am actually pro-vaccine. Vaccines have largely eliminated many serious diseases like polio, smallpox, chickenpox, shingles, mumps, tetanus, etc... But I might add that it took many many years of rigorous testing for each of those vaccines to gain FDA approval. The mRNA vaccine was quite different in that regard. The corona virus vaccine studies largely failed in the animal phase testing (undue side effects) prior to the mRNA approval. Wouldn't it be cool if we could cure the common cold?

But thank you for your opinion. It's worthwhile to hear from both sides to gain new perspectives. I welcome everyone's opinion. That's how we learn.

Best wishes and Godspeed to all the vaxxed and unvaxxed, and particularly to those (Halbert) in covid recovery during this nasty war on the awful virus.

Ende.