Who here has not gotten COVID? Who has long COVID?

abasket · June 27, 2024, 12:12pm

Have other people had to pay for their Paxlovid??? And it costs that much??!

Mwfan1921 · June 27, 2024, 12:33pm

The government stopped paying for all covid vaccines/treatments including Paxlovid in late 2023 (for those with non-govt health insurance.) IIRC Paxlovid will still be free for those covered by medicare and medicaid thru 2024…not sure what will happen after that.

ETA: Pfizer (mfr of Paxlovid) does have a patient assistance program that can help with co-pays. PAXCESS™ | PAXLOVID™ (nirmatrelvir tablets; ritonavir tablets) Basically our healthcare system forces some to play russian roulette with their health…don’t take Paxlovid (if you qualify) and run the risk of hospitalization and/or long covid which would cost everyone more. Greater risk of death too (again for those where Paxlovid is indicated.)

ucbalumnus · June 27, 2024, 12:37pm

How long after the most recent vaccine dose, and which vaccines did you have previously?

cinnamon1212 · June 27, 2024, 2:05pm

I did not pay for paxlovid when I took it about a month ago.

bluebayou · June 27, 2024, 2:41pm

Paxlovid is covered by many insurance plans, so your out-of-pocket costs will depend on your Rx plan (once the federal stockpile runs out).

MaineLonghorn · June 27, 2024, 7:03pm

You were lucky. You may recall that I’m self-employed and pay $890/month for crappy Anthem insurance. I wrote them to find out what I would have to pay out of pocket for Paxlovid.

ucbalumnus · June 29, 2024, 2:11am

Gene variants likely from Neanderthal people include those that increase vulnerability to COVID-19 and those that are protective against COVID-19.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2818-3

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2026309118

MaineLonghorn · June 29, 2024, 2:25am

My close friend and her husband returned from Italy a few days ago and now she has tested positive. I guess we won’t be going up to our cabin with them on Tuesday.

ucbalumnus · June 29, 2024, 2:53am

LB.1 (another BA.2.86 and JN.1 descendant) is becoming more common.

github.com

neherlab/SARS-CoV-2_variant-reports/blob/main/reports/variant_report_latest_draft.md

# Variant report 2024-05-23

JN.1 descendants continue to be the dominant clade globally. XBB descendants accounted for less than 0.5% of sequences collected in April 2024. Around 5% of global circulation are recombinants of BA.2.86 with XBB lineages that have a BA.2.86-like Spike and are thus antigenically most likely highly similar to BA.2.86/JN.1.

## S:F456L now in 70% of JN.1 and growing

Over the past few months, it has become increasingly clear that the substitution S:F456L is the single most beneficial mutation on top of a JN.1 background. It has independently arisen extremely frequently (a sign of the benefit it confers).

The plot below shows the fraction of JN.1 descendants that have S:F456L. In samples collected at the beginning of May 2024, it had increased to 70%, up from only 1% three months earlier.

![Fraction of JN.1 descendants that have S:F456L](images/456L.png)

The curve is fit well by a simple logistic model with a weekly growth coefficient of around 50%, meaning that the fraction of JN.1 descendants with S:F456L doubles in less than 2 weeks (during the initial exponential growth phase).

Importantly, all the fittest currently known lineages have S:F456L. This means it is more likely than not that S:F456L will remain dominant in the foreseeable future. While it is possible that a BA.2.86 descendant without S:F456L could outcompete the currently fittest lineages, this would likely require an evolutionary leap.

To maximize antigenic similarity between the vaccine and circulating viruses in the coming months, a JN.1 derived vaccine antigen with S:F456L might be preferable to JN.1 without the change at position 456.

## Notable lineages

This file has been truncated. show original

Nrdsb4 · June 29, 2024, 8:06am

For a week, I’ve had some kind of febrile illness, with temps 100.1-102.9. I’ve repeatedly tested negative for covid. Just took my temp and it’s 98.9.

In 8 days, I’ve had 3 fever-free days, but then it spikes again.

I don’t know what this is, but it’s been a rough week.

sarahbrown24 · June 29, 2024, 8:03pm

Would love to hear anyone’s experiences with Paxlovid - I started having symptoms six days ago, tested negative Monday night, Tuesday am, positive Tuesday pm. Pretty bad symptoms at first - body aches, chills, sore throat, fatigue - started taking Paxlovid Tuesday pm. Tested negative this am (Saturday, Day 5).

Worried about a possible rebound…

PS - please don’t pay out of pocket for Paxlovid - they’ll give you a coupon here -

cinnamon1212 · June 29, 2024, 8:51pm

The 1st time I took paxlovid I was REALLY sick; it made me feel better but then I felt bad again. I had a bad case of covid – what others have called “lingering covid” as it took 2 months before I felt completely back to normal.

The second time I was only mildly sick; the Paxlovid had me pretty much symptom free in 36 hours, never rebounded.

My theory is the first time the Paxlovid kept me out of the hospital, the 2nd time I just felt better much faster. Perhaps I had a higher viral load the first time.

HImom · June 29, 2024, 8:55pm

Paxlovid was fabulous for me and my H and kids. It helped us have pretty mild cases and recover pretty quickly in 7/24. Neither S nor I rebounded but both D and H did, but it was fairly mild.

We were all at increased risk—we all have asthma. H and I are also old. I also have another lung condition that is pretty severe.

MaineLonghorn · June 29, 2024, 9:26pm

Oh wow thanks for the tip!

halyardic · July 2, 2024, 10:47pm

at least for me, there seems to be a light at the end of the long COVID tunnel! i am feeling pretty much back to normal on a daily dose of 60mg propranolol XR. autonomic testing off the medication came back as slightly under diagnostic criteria for POTS, a hopeful sign that i am improving even without medication . the goal is to be off the propranolol eventually but i’m not too eager to change something that seems to be working.

ucbalumnus · July 9, 2024, 1:39pm

YLE mentions some research on long COVID:

CountingDown · July 10, 2024, 3:08pm

Got a Pfizer Covid vax yesterday. Cases in our area are at a “moderate” level and I was shocked at the number of people I saw wearing masks at Costco, as well as at food service and medical offices again.

The pharmacist told me the new version isn’t out yet, and not sure when it will arrive.

H was told he’d have to pay $280 for a Covid shot at CVS (our preferred pharm). I called our insurance – they said zero copay, and I indeed paid zero at Costco. They said my insurance would cover it. It’s one more reason I use Costco for pharma as much as possible – they know our coverage better than CVS and prices are better as well.

However, given my immunocompromised state, and that we are flying in three weeks, and the people I know who have gotten it recently all had air travel as the inflection point, my doc wanted me to get it anyway. I can get the new one in a few months.

Anecdotal data – S1 took Paxlovid and got rebound. Took three full weeks to clear. His GF got it from him and she had a more severe case, but was negative within five days (no Paxlovid).

Izzy74 · July 10, 2024, 3:46pm

This has been my anecdotal experience as well. My friend and I both had Covid last October (after eating out together), she took Paxlovid and I did not. I was sick for three days, she was sick for two weeks after a short day or two of being better and then rebounding. There could be a million other reasons that she was sicker than I was but it seems to be a scenario I’m hearing often enough.

sarahbrown24 · July 10, 2024, 4:06pm

Consistent with others’ anecdotal experiences, I did rebound - would 10/10 NOT recommend! Was negative Days 5-9 but had such low energy that I really didn’t do much, and then tested positive D10 w. very mild symptoms - a friend asked me to test, otherwise I wouldn’t have known. Very faint tests for D10, D11, obvious positive D12, fainter D13, very faint D14, negative D15. The rebound was very very mild but it was a huge hassle and prolonged my experience of not doing anything social for over 2 weeks.

I’ve heard that it’s still a good idea to take Paxlovid because it helps COVID be less likely to wreak havoc on your body, and it’s also very likely that my symptoms were so mild once I took Paxlovid because of the drug itself. But who knows, really.

mathmom · July 10, 2024, 8:23pm

I’ve gotten Covid twice took Paxlovid right away both times and felt better instantly no rebound. DH got a rebound with Covid both with taking Paxlovid and without. For the rebound with Paxlovid he was out taking hikes with me. Just not testing negative. I’d take it again. I think my DH is just prone to rebounding no matter what.

Who here has not gotten COVID? Who has long COVID?

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