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

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Joey D
Ted Cruz is fighting with a Muppet over vaccines:
www.cnn.com

Ted Cruz just picked a fight with a Muppet. Again. | CNN Politics

On Tuesday, Elmo -- yes, the perennially joyful red Muppet who loves, literally, everyone -- got vaccinated against Covid-19.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

We really are the worst timeline.
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What I find most staggering is that rational human beings actually vote for him. Are they not able to seek out the US equivalent of the Guardian or no vested interest news channels?
 
Populuxe
How dare you insult the Muppets like that.
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Last I heard, the Grinch wasn't a muppet anyway.
Tired Tyres
What I find most staggering is that rational human beings actually vote for him. Are they not able to seek out the US equivalent of the Guardian or no vested interest news channels?
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[EDIT] And, as if on cue:

Screenshot_20220630-045157_Chrome.jpg
 
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I'm feeling a bit more lively today, though the cough is coming and going and I'm keeping it suppressed with a combination of paracetamol, ibuprofen, boiled sweets, a ton of water and bed rest. I had to get out of bed at 2 am as it was getting too much, but I was back in bed by around 4.30 and got back to sleep. My biggest problem is that my midriff is sore from all the coughing, and is quite uncomfortable.

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My friend and I both succumbed to the virus after 2.5 years of being extremely careful and doing everything that we could to avoid infection, and we both succeeded until now. However, now with a new wave of infections and zero restrictions, it was all too predictable that we would end up getting COVID, and indeed we both did independently within days of each other. We both knew it was possible/likely, since we have both embraced our regained 'freedom' and choose to go into work instead of working from home, and attend various social events etc.

But, I wouldn't have done any of that had it not been for the ability to test myself, as the chances of having an asymptomatic infection were too high - not knowing if I were infectious or not is not an option for me as both my parents are elderly and clinically vulnerable. Frankly, I'm staggered that there are people out there who have never bothered to use LFT tests - I can understand why one might not use tests much, but I don't know how people mitigate the risk that they themselves pose to more vulnerable family members, friends or colleagues without testing... I guess they don't, and that's never been something I've found acceptable.

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Speaking of tests, I decided not to waste my remaining tests and only test when I start to feel better, but then I figured that it would be a good plan to have a verifiable testing record incase it might come in handy at some point, and to test myself every third day.

I started to feel dodgy on Sunday night and tested positive for the first time on Monday morning, with a faint red line on the LFT test.

Today, Day 4, I tested again and there is now a solid black line :ill: I anticipate that to start fading (I hope!!) by Day 7 (when I will take my next test...) and hopefully it will be on its way out by Day 10. The general rule here is that two consecutive negative tests indicate that one can stop self-isolating, and I'm looking forward to those days!
 
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Day 8 and things are moving in the right direction for me. I'm only testing every three days, but I'm feeling a lot better than a few days ago. Day 1 I had a fairly faint test line on an LFT, but Day 4 it was solid black and I wasn't feeling well. Day 7, however, and the T line has faded back to just a bit darker than Day 1, and my symptoms are now very mild.

It turns out that one of the people I was out with a week ago Friday also tested positive on the same day (last Monday) as me, even though she was only in the pub for about 20 minutes, and we were standing in a fairly quiet part of the pub. From that, I'm hazarding a guess that we both picked up the same infection at the reception that was held for the Nobel laureate who visited the department that day...

My mate who tested positive a few days earlier has since tested negative and is back to work today, and he's already asking me to join him in the pub on Friday... jeez, no rest for the wicked, as they say. That said, I'm very reluctant to go back to the pub until this wave has at least peaked. I've heard/read of too many people getting reinfected, even though I'd assume that my immunity was now 'topped up' and that it's very unlikely that I'd be reinfected so soon after a first infection, but you never know. I also have an important family engagement the weekend after next, so I'll be laying low until after then.
 
Sureboss
Is there any reliable evidence for minimal gaps between reinfection? @Touring Mars
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Good question. I don't know what the likelihood of reinfection is with the same variant one has already had, but I would assume that reinfection is much more likely a) with a different variant and b) some time after one's previous infection; but I don't have any actual data on either of those things.

Prof. Alice Roberts reported the other day that she has come down with COVID again just 4 months after her first infection. A friend of mine says that she has had COVID three times already (!), and one report suggests that reinfection occured within one individual after just 20 days (though it's not clear if this was actually the case or not - a friend of mine tested positive again just weeks after a very mild bout of COVID, and it is very likely that he was not reinfected but rather than it was a resurgence of the prior infection...)
 
Touring Mars
Good question. I don't know what the likelihood of reinfection is with the same variant one has already had, but I would assume that reinfection is much more likely a) with a different variant and b) some time after one's previous infection; but I don't have any actual data on either of those things.

Prof. Alice Roberts reported the other day that she has come down with COVID again just 4 months after her first infection. A friend of mine says that she has had COVID three times already (!), and one report suggests that reinfection occured within one individual after just 20 days (though it's not clear if this was actually the case or not - a friend of mine tested positive again just weeks after a very mild bout of COVID, and it is very likely that he was not reinfected but rather than it was a resurgence of the prior infection...)
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I thought that like other flu strains, once you are infected with a particular variant, you would build immunity towards that variant? In that case, re-infection wouldn't really be the right word, as while you'd still get Covid-19, it would be a different strain/variant/mutation.
 
The infections are going berserk here.

My best friend and his son, his entire festival travel party of !28! people tested positive, my mother in law, both the missus' sisters. And the staff in the shop next to mine are now all in quarantaine or waiting test results.

Screw everybody, I'm going hermit again.
 
Day 10 of COVID for me, and I knew I would test positive again this morning as I am still experiencing cold-like symptoms - my nose is not blocked, but I'm still stuffy - it feels like sitting in a smoky pub. Also, my cough is still there. Fortunately, the need to cough is still low, but when I do cough it is still noticably more chesty than normal.

After getting a very dark LFT line on Day 4 and a fainter line on Day 7, I was disappointed to get a pretty dark line again today. I guess it could just be down to how/when the test is carried out (more phlegm etc. can block the test to some extent...), but that's been pretty consistent, and I'm hoping that it is not a genuine resurgence of the virus... I've not heard of many cases where people felt better then got worse again in the same course of infection, but there you go.

So, now my next test will not be until Saturday morning, so it is likely that this is going to run for at least two full weeks... :(
 
A couple my mum knows have just been reinfected after catching Covid for the second time. They're regular churchgoers and just held a big party with the wife's nieces and nephews who work mostly in hospitals and care homes. They're in their late sixties and are coughing pretty bad when she talks to them on the phone.

I'd say it's time to go into isolation mode again but we never came out of it. When I tell people I gave up my job to look after my mum and for health reasons, this is what I meant.
 
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Omicron BA.5 is now the dominant strain in the US accounting for upwards of 53% of cases:

www.businessinsider.com

The Omicron BA.5 subvariant is now the dominant COVID-19 strain in the US, and it's driving a wave of summertime infections

New estimates from the CDC estimate that BA.5 accounted for 54% of the COVID-19 infections recorded in the US last week.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com

covid.cdc.gov

COVID Data Tracker

CDC’s home for COVID-19 data. Visualizations, graphs, and data in one easy-to-use website.
covid.cdc.gov

It's important to note that BA.5 is particularly good at evading the current vaccines and antibodies from prior infections. However, it's not any more or less severe than other strains of Omicron, which means we have a pretty good idea of what hospitalization and death rates will look like.

Last week, the FDA recommended that components be added to the vaccines to help prevent BA.4 and BA.5. I'm not sure how long that will take to roll out though, but I'm guessing it'll be at least a month or two. Hopefully by end of August/early September, another booster is authorized for the general public. I'm still batting around the idea of saying I'm immunocompromised to get another vaccine since it's been a sufficient amount of time where my previous booster is likely not effective anymore. Probably as soon as they announce the newly updated formulation, I'll jump on it.

www.fda.gov

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Recommends Inclusion of Omicron BA.4/5 Component for COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses

The FDA recommends the inclusion of an omicron BA. 4/5 component for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, beginning in Fall 2022.
www.fda.gov www.fda.gov
 
I'm a bit perplexed, because although those over 70 have already received a 4th dose here in the UK, there is currently no plan to extend boosters to anyone else (except for the most clinically vulnerable).

It has been over 7 months since I got my 3rd shot, and I got COVID last week... and although I've not been particularly unwell, it has been a fairly hefty dose of virus and I'm still very positive 10 days in.

I doubt there will be another round of vaccines for anyone other than the most vulnerable groups, and that will soon be reflected in increasing hospitalisations.
 
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Joey D
Omicron BA.5 is now the dominant strain in the US accounting for upwards of 53% of cases:

www.businessinsider.com

The Omicron BA.5 subvariant is now the dominant COVID-19 strain in the US, and it's driving a wave of summertime infections

New estimates from the CDC estimate that BA.5 accounted for 54% of the COVID-19 infections recorded in the US last week.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com

covid.cdc.gov

COVID Data Tracker

CDC’s home for COVID-19 data. Visualizations, graphs, and data in one easy-to-use website.
covid.cdc.gov

It's important to note that BA.5 is particularly good at evading the current vaccines and antibodies from prior infections. However, it's not any more or less severe than other strains of Omicron, which means we have a pretty good idea of what hospitalization and death rates will look like.

Last week, the FDA recommended that components be added to the vaccines to help prevent BA.4 and BA.5. I'm not sure how long that will take to roll out though, but I'm guessing it'll be at least a month or two. Hopefully by end of August/early September, another booster is authorized for the general public. I'm still batting around the idea of saying I'm immunocompromised to get another vaccine since it's been a sufficient amount of time where my previous booster is likely not effective anymore. Probably as soon as they announce the newly updated formulation, I'll jump on it.

www.fda.gov

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Recommends Inclusion of Omicron BA.4/5 Component for COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses

The FDA recommends the inclusion of an omicron BA. 4/5 component for COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, beginning in Fall 2022.
www.fda.gov www.fda.gov
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Geez, that sucks, since I'm supposed to get my booster around next week or so...
 
Dennisch
The infections are going berserk here.

My best friend and his son, his entire festival travel party of !28! people tested positive, my mother in law, both the missus' sisters. And the staff in the shop next to mine are now all in quarantaine or waiting test results.

Screw everybody, I'm going hermit again.
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Looks like everyone is doing okay again, friend had 1 day of extreme fever, and then moved on to flu like sickness with a lot of coughing. Mother in-law about the same. Sisters are fine again after a couple of flu days. The staff are all sick.

We once again dodged the bullet. When we get a new booster type, I'm in.
 
Had to travel for work for a few days, got back yesterday. Developed a sore throat overnight, did a self test this morning, and the test line colored bright red in about 10 seconds...

Guess I'm staying home for a while
 
Monday last week I felt a bit off so stayed home from work, and my entire family had tested positive by Tuesday night.

I (double vaxxed) had two days of extreme fatigue, brain fog and a never ending headache. My wife (boosted) had one day of sleepiness, a particularly nasty cough and a week of no taste/smell. My 14 month old was extremely tired and irritable for about 5 days, which was pretty hard to watch.

It’s been 9 days and we’re now all feeling better, but still getting the coughs, fatigue and headaches from time to time. After avoiding Covid for 2.5 years I can safely say it was worth trying to stay away from.

Pretty much my entire workplace now has the virus as well, with everybody (who isn’t too ill to work at all) now working from home. It’s made things a bit tough, but thankfully everybody seems to be doing ok.

Crazy to think we used to shut down the whole state, have hourly news conferences and mass hysteria when one case would make its way in from Sydney. South Australia is now recording some of its biggest case numbers and hospitalisations ever, I personally know over 15 people with the virus, but it’s barely getting a mention on the news at all.
 
My nephew and his girlfriend now have Covid and are isolating. My cousin was exposed and now he's isolating. I still wear a mask everywhere I go. But I think the virus has won, and we can now only try to cope.
 
Dotini
My nephew and his girlfriend now have Covid and are isolating. My cousin was exposed and now he's isolating. I still wear a mask everywhere I go. But I think the virus has won, and we can now only try to cope.
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It's not about winning and losing. It's about not dying, spreading, and being permanently harmed. We have the vaccines now, so dying, spreading, and being permanently harmed are much less likely.
 
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It's been one month since I had my Covid and antibody test done. The Covid test came back negative but I'm still waiting for the antibody test, which is the one I'm really interested in and the whole reason I volunteered for the study.

At no point have I felt bad enough to quarantine but there were a few times that I went into the testing site just to be safe but they all came back negative. I'm really curious what the results will show, though.
 
I thought I had tested negative this morning, but there is still a (very) faint line there, but I'm quite surprised and pleased given how dark the T line was just two days ago...

I'm feeling fine now, though I do still have the remnants of a cold; and although I don't feel the need to cough, when I do cough it is still quite chesty. I wasn't feeling great yesterday and even had a mid-afternoon nap, which has been a common feature of my bout of COVID so far, but today I'm feeling brighter all round.

The LFTs are not intended to be quantitative, but given that I try to do the test in the same way every time, it's surprising to see how much the appearance of the T line has varied. Typically for a science project of mine, the results are unsatisfactorily random, unlike these folks who have even made graphs based on the contrast ratio between the C and T line using ImageJ/Fiji... sad bastards.
lookaround.gif
 
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My son got his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. It took far too long for this to happen, but since it did happen I wasn't going to waste the opportunity to get him some protection. I was proud of him too, he didn't cry when the nurse gave it to him. Even better, he had no reaction and only complained of a sore leg at the injection site. Nothing a Spiderman band-aid couldn't fix though.
 

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