Cool - or not cool for her - but I find anecdotes like this to be interesting. I also had a thought that maybe the boosters do help people more like me & H in our little city. When it was easier to track the covid variations and spikes, we were always several weeks/months behind. Not only do we not have a commercial airport, we don’t have an interstate. And we only have 1 train that goes through in each direction (in the middle of the night!) People tend to stay put here, except for the July trip to Myrtle Beach. So I wonder if the spike going around here Thanksgiving/December isn’t a better match for the booster H & I had in mid/late October vs the spike going around places like Boston, NYC, LA, or other major international/travel hubs. At least I can hope!
I still have avoided getting Covid. My wife had it once and when my kids got it only one was at home. I have been vaccinated with boosters.
But I can still remember getting sick 12/25/19 and I was out for a few days. Enough to keep me home from work and I never take sick days.
Well, my luck ran out. I’m fully vaccinated and received the latest booster in October. I thought it was a sinus infection because my symptoms of sore throat and metallic taste were similar to how those begin for me. Then my spouse tested positive so I tested too. I was exhausted for the first couple of days but then my symptoms improved. I still have a lingering cough but I feel better with each passing day.
The mRNA vaccines actually were 94% or so effective against the original virus that they were perfectly matched to, and close to that against closely related variants like Alpha. This was surprisingly good compared to original expectations and goals, which were to reduce the severity of infections.
However, the virus mutates easily, so variants like Delta and later Omicron that could break through immunity from the vaccines showed up, although the severity of infection after vaccination was less. In other words, the original expectations and goals were met, but after the initial 94% effectiveness against the original virus, that looked like a disappointment.
Boosters against recent variants likely help considerably against those specific variants, but the virus now mutates fast enough that the improvement in immune response against variants circulating when the boosters become available is more modest. The boosters and infections of the targeted variants also likely apply selective pressure to mutate, since those boosted or infection with the targeted variants are unlikely to be infected again with the same variant.
My H tested positive for the first time ever Sunday morning. Fully vaxxed and boostered. Thankfully he just has a runny nose. H tested because we were going to a party at friends who have a new baby. So far I’m negative. We’re isolating from each other and hoping we don’t derail our xmas.
How accurate are the home tests for the latest variant?
TL;DR - unless you want the reason for my question:
Repeated home tests (several brands) over the past five weeks have all been negative, and I hope they’re correct. My cough and congestion, while better than in the beginning, are still hanging on. At least the nausea and headaches ended after a few days, and I was able to get some rest by sleeping in a chair.
Our GDs, who we babysit often, had runny noses and coughs for a couple of weeks before mine started so I’ve assumed that’s where this originated. I can count on one hand the times I’ve gone anywhere in the past several months, and I always wore a N95 mask except for the few times I went to D’s house. I’m fully vax’d and got the latest booster in early October.
Except for the first week when we cancelled babysitting, I’ve been able to control symptoms with maximum doses of Sudafed and Robitussin DM plus throat lozenges. We have good air purifiers and conditioned fresh air intake systems that we run even when there’s a 40+ degree split between the outside temperature and the thermostat setting; I just don’t look at the utility bills.
If this is just a garden variety respiratory bug, then I hope to never contract Covid. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. (End of whine.)
It could have been RSV. That can do a number on some people. And I think you’re in the same general area of the country as me (southeast?), and I know it was going around terribly in November/December.
But I have wonder about the accuracy of the home tests as well for the latest variants.
Around here, if you go to the urgent care, they tend to now test for everything - flu, strep, covid and RSV.
My H was sick about 6 weeks ago. Tested negative for covid repeatedly and was sick for nearly 3 weeks. Much, much sicker than he is now. This time, he tested positive almost immediately. Same kind of tests. Precovid, he would have called this a mild cold and gone about his business without a second thought.
Good thing that they test for all of these because there are treatments available for more of them in addition to antibiotics for strep.
We are, and that’s possible. D and SiL will probably never have their children tested for anything and have only permitted the required vaccines for them.
I actually saw my PCP last month, in week two of this mess, and was the only person in the office wearing a mask. When I mentioned the symptoms, he blew them off and didn’t offer to test once he heard that I’d had both my flu shot and Covid booster this fall.
Ugh and I’m sorry. I know your area is like mine. Nobody here has required a mask in years. But today was the first time in AGES that we were required to wear one. We had to go to H’s Leukemia appointment for the first time (out of town) at Wake Forest. So yes, somewhere still does require them! And I was pleased that they had almost 100% compliance when we were there. I guess it was a cancer center… But still… Our hospital hasn’t required anything in several years.
Study finds that in 2020-2021, college athletes (young and fit) had about a 4% rate of long COVID. However, there was no long COVID among the few who had breakthrough infections after vaccination (the time period covered the pre-vaccine time until the early time period of vaccine availability, when ancestral and more closely related variants were predominant).
If you feel up to going out on that proverbial limb and sharing your off-label stuff, I will tell you mine.
Lying around with my 3rd case of Covid here. Not sure where I got this one. The first and second cases back in '22 were travel related. I did not have the recent booster, and wonder if that might have saved me another case. As I was traveling to Europe in September and concerned about the surge at that time, I got the old booster in August. As best recommendations are to wait four months, I did so, and was scheduled for yesterday, the day I tested positive. The good news is that I avoided Covid while traveling in Europe, though had brief contact with some folks who turned positive.
PM’d you!
I had my first COVID for Thanksgiving and now my daughter has her first case for Christmas. Back to Zoom holidays!
She has several health conditions and is taking Paxlovid and so far not too bad. Mine was horrible! (I had to stop Paxlovid after two days)
We are both fully vaxxed. Home tests were instantly positive for both of us. I am in MA and she is in NYC so might be different strains.
I just learned yesterday that in one school in my school system, covid positive staff are being told to come to work after 24 hours if no fever. Masking is only recommended. I’d heard this was the protocol in other districts, but I was disappointed that mine has it, too. But apparently in other schools, it’s 5 days out and then masking recommended for at least a few more days.
And this is just part of why covid is everywhere. Schools are particularly germy environments, and there is no effort at all to stop the spread.
ADVIL helps with the achiness a LOT. people underuse it. take 3 Advils every 6 hours, or 4 every 8 hours. not long-term, just for a few days. it really helps.
And the ‘we are our own test subjects’ adventure continues.
DH - now on day 13 post first positive test…
tested two days ago with Binax = negative
tested yesterday with Flowflex = positive (not instant but also not just a faint line(
tested today with Binax = absolutely completely negative.
tomorrow - test again with flowflex
Yes, both throat and nasal swabs for each test.
The reason for this is that schools are extremely short staffed. There are not enough staff or subs to cover classrooms. S is an elementary vice principal and has to juggle staffing nearly every morning. Sometimes classes have to be combined. Administrative staff constantly having to cover classrooms. It’s a serious mess. Neither situation is ideal for sure.