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Post by Thorn on Aug 31, 2021 16:44:39 GMT -5
Hope he feels better soon! And that you stay okay, it's scary to me that you're not allowed to work from home anymore.
It's worth keeping in mind that the vaccine doesn't always stop people getting covid, but it does mean they get less sick if they do catch it (this is constantly reinforced in the updates on the outbreak we're currently dealing with here- it's the much-discussed delta variant, and a lot of people who were fully vaccinated are catching it, but they're only developing mild symptoms.)
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Post by Thorn on Aug 31, 2021 21:49:05 GMT -5
Fully vaccinated! Just waiting for fifteen minutes for ze observation now. I ordered myself a fancy pancake from a place nearby as a reward, because I really hate needles and so like...my anxiety really spiked there. xD
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Post by Carolyn on Sept 2, 2021 7:21:29 GMT -5
Thankfully, they're still doing the split time, so I can choose to work on the two least busy days (Mon and Fri) when all the full-timers do their "alternative work plans" to work 4 day weeks instead. Being a temp, I don't have this option even if for some ungodly reason I do make it another 6 months.
For sure--I recall a friend in the medical field saying that the goal is to make Covid non-lethal and greatly reduce the chance for long-term effects, not necessarily stop you from getting it. It's entirely likely that I have GI issues related to when I had Covid in December and I am not well-pleased about that lol.
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Post by Geodude 🇺🇦 🌻 on Sept 9, 2021 17:14:54 GMT -5
www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/joe-biden-covid-speech/index.htmlAn important development in the US fight against the coronavirus. There will be loud complaining and lawsuits but at this point, I don’t see a much of choice here. We have to get this back under control because it’s pretty scary with the Delta variant and other new variants.
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Post by Carolyn on Sept 10, 2021 10:13:10 GMT -5
To the above, Geo, I say good. Folks need to learn that the greater good and the safety of those around them is more important then "but mah freedumbs."
Ahhh I spoke with a gentleman today about his licenses and he said, "with this whole scamdemic, you'd have thought they'd have waived the training course requirements."
Me: Um. I can give you a course list for the deadline. There are plenty of online classes going on right now.
I just... People. Why.
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Post by Nat on Sept 12, 2021 17:42:51 GMT -5
It was very cool to go to the DMV yesterday and end up with a desk worker who coughed and sniffled right in front of me without wearing a mask, especially since this was the stage where I had no choice about taking my own mask off for the ID photo. Very cool for this to happen at a facility I have no choice about going to. I wish I'd said something at the time, since I'm living with someone immunocompromised and have been beyond anxious about it for over a year now, but it turns out I'm just too spineless to speak up in the moment.
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Post by Geodude 🇺🇦 🌻 on Sept 13, 2021 11:37:57 GMT -5
I’m getting my COVID-19 antibodies checked. While level of antibodies alone doesn’t indicate level of immunity, in the past I would have been considered immunocompromised due to a medication I was taking. I’m no longer in that category but I am still high risk so I would like to find out if I should get a booster soon or wait and get it with my flu shot.
Results are pending. I might share what I find. It has been 5 months since I was considered fully vaccinated.
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Post by Geodude 🇺🇦 🌻 on Sept 14, 2021 16:35:37 GMT -5
Antibody results.
I have antibodies. There is a number that doesn’t have too much meaning right now as we don’t know enough about whether the number translates to level of protection.
My doctor said it was a good concentration though and therefore says a booster is not needed at this time.
Here’s the official blurb from LabCorp.
This is indeed a novel coronavirus so there’s still so much that we haven’t learned yet. Keep on doing science, scientists, so we can get this figured out.
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Sept 15, 2021 9:54:10 GMT -5
Well, as expected, when vaccine passports were announced (mainly to prevent another lockdown with the Delta wave), protests began springing up. In some cases, they have been protesting at hospitals. Anyone see the irony (or two) in this? And then there's this. I don't know what to say, but it's definitely the wrong comparison. It's basically comparing apples to oranges.
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Post by Gelquie on Sept 15, 2021 17:56:02 GMT -5
So, uh. How bad has the pandemic gotten? Several states are running out of room in hospitals. My state has gotten to the point where they have to ration care, and they just put out a notice asking people to not do risky activities, because if you get into an accident or have some other medical emergency, you might not be able to get treatment. And that's because all their beds and staff are so filled and busy with Covid patients, the grand majority who are unvaccinated. That's not a what-if. It's already happening. Doctor testimonials mentioned that they've had a really hard time finding a bed for a patient who was dying, for reasons entirely unrelated to Covid, and they were vaccinated. There are other ER patients who are forced to wait in their car. Relevant article on the topic for my state to corroborate those words.I think it's safe to say it's gotten bad. Yet the public is very slow to catch up. I had to go to the store yesterday (yay, but I needed to switch up an allergy medication because it was causing me problems and with me there's no not having allergy medication), and only now did I see about 50% of masking in the store, while all the weeks and months before it was here and there, despite cases skyrocketing and health people trying to sound the alarm for ages. But now it's all so politically divided on an issue that shouldn't be divided. And meanwhile, the new mayor of one of the major areas is digging his heels about allowing or mandating even masks at all (among other issues, but that's a separate rant). People are refusing to get vaccinated or even mask, there have been schools opening up mask-free only to require masks again in a week or two because Oh No It Went Wrong!, and some schools still digging in their heels on that regardless, and in general there's people not being as careful as they should or skeptical in the face of overwhelming evidence, and meanwhile the hospitals are so screwed over from the carelessness that everyone is screwed over vaccinated or no, and it's just... so tiring. To address an earlier comment on vaccine accessibility that I never got around to responding to for no good reason: That is an issue in some areas, yes, such as rural areas. I can't really speak for the mainland US because I don't live there. But that's not really the case in Alaska. Actually, Alaska had a really good program set up for reaching and vaccinating all the rural areas, to the point where I think they're among the mostly vaccinated regions in the entire US, with some regions at ~90% vaccination. The problems are the city areas. It's not that there's lack of access, because there's been all sorts of things set up at this point. All one needs to do to get a vaccine is go into a local grocery store, and now you don't even really need to make an appointment for it anymore. (I might go to one for my flu shot next time; may as well help to not be a vector for that too.) And in some of the major cities, there's even been offers to bring the vaccines to someone's house. There are a few areas where I could still see the issue, but overall I'd say vaccine accessibility is good. (Plus there's all the vaccine incentives, which can be ridiculously high at times. xD My opinion on that later.) I think it stems back to misinformation. Or maybe Too Much information, thanks to the internet and people not necessarily being able to parse good sources from bad. It's not even necessarily their fault; it's something a lot of students have to tackle in college. (I can tell you I certainly wasn't good at information parsing in high school.) And it's to the point that people who already felt that Vaccines Bad are digging in their heels, despite growing evidence about the vaccines, despite assurances that while vaccines were hurried, they were not rushed, because they didn't cut any corners that would compromise safety. (What they did was do several normally-separate steps at the same time.) And now it's increasingly hard to convince them. And... here's where my unpopular opinion comes in. I don't think the incentives and US administrative words admonishing the unvaccinated and anti-vaxxers are really going to help the issue. When these people are admonished or when the only comeback is "but thou must", they're just going to dig their heels in further, and grow to see The Other Side as The Bad Guys, which just makes them less likely to listen, and more likely to dig deep into their source of information that may be total crap, because confirmation bias is at play. That's especially highlighted since people in power are furthering those issues. As for incentives, I'm not wholly against them because I think they do have an effect, but not so much of one that I think there should be as much leaning into them as there is. What I think would really help is this cohesive nationalized campaign to really help with the information problem, do information and education campaigns, and maybe make the vaccine thing a point of national pride as I think they were trying to do earlier. A decent balance of each. (I understand there's some information stuff, I guess I just have quibbles about how it's being done?) But maybe that's too difficult to do right now, as fractious as the US has become. So... I dunno. Bluh. (I also wish the US would give more vaccine patent accessibility to other poorer nations so that they'll have the ability to catch up and not create a ripe spot for another variant. x'D Donating vaccines is good, but I don't think it's enough.) I'm not wholly against mandates. I think it does need to be done, and there is something to say for "well, I guess I gotta because otherwise it's illegal" And since Pfizer has FDA approval, I think there is more room to argue for vaccine mandates now, especially since they've already allowed medical exemptions. (Some people really just can't. I'd say they're few and far between, though.) I guess I just don't like the way it's being presented, even if I overall agree, because psychologically speaking I think it may just push people away, when a different touch may be more effective and have wider reach. I know people are frustrated, and there's absolutely reason for that. But having done education stuff: Acting on that frustration with snarky come-backs is not how you reach people who need to be reached. Anyway. A lot of thoughts. I don't know if much is going to change. I think we're just in trouble and maybe doomed for the time being. x'D Gonna do my best to curb health stuff and not get into accidents, I guess; that's all I can do. Wish I could take that blood test to help with the former so I know for sure what to work on or if something's happening.
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Post by Geodude 🇺🇦 🌻 on Sept 17, 2021 15:02:22 GMT -5
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Post by Geodude 🇺🇦 🌻 on Sept 20, 2021 19:43:08 GMT -5
CW: death, post about a grim pandemic milestone
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Post by Ginz ❤ on Sept 20, 2021 21:10:49 GMT -5
I'm finally getting my second dose on Wednesday! Very excited about it
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Post by Geodude 🇺🇦 🌻 on Sept 29, 2021 13:42:22 GMT -5
Next weekend marks the six months since my second dose of the vaccine.
Based on my medical conditions, that would mark the time that I will be eligible for a Pfizer booster. From consultation with my doctor, we agree that the best decision for me right now is to go and get the booster. I understand that the US position on boosters is controversial around the world because people in many countries haven’t gotten their first dose yet. I don’t necessarily feel guilty for taking a booster because the shot is allocated already for people here I’m not saving a dose for anyone if I don’t take it. But perhaps we could have waited on the booster announcement and been more willing to share doses and knowledge. However, now that the cat is out of the bag, I might as well do what I can to protect myself.
After all that, we have those here that can get a vaccine but choose not to get one because of some newfound “religious beliefs” or “freedom” or whatever. Those people are part of the reason why the virus continues to circulate and infect more vulnerable populations.
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Post by Rabbit ♠ on Sept 30, 2021 17:55:26 GMT -5
I am happy to announce that I have gotten my second dose of Moderna.
I recognize it'll take some time for my body to build up that immunity, but I'm happy I got it done.
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