In a large, real-world study of Paxlovid in Canada, the benefit, in terms of reducing hospitalizations and deaths, in people age 65-74 who were vaccinated, was much less than expected. I don’t have access to the full article but here’s the link https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2830683
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gift link
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Current dominant variants LP.1 and XEC in comparison to Omicron variants targeted by vaccines (KP.2, JN.1, XBB.1.5, BA.5) and earlier variants (Delta, B.1). LP.1 and XEC are still not that far away from the 2024 vaccine targets KP.2 (Moderna and Pfizer) and JN.1 (Novavax).
Very strange thing happened to me. I flew last friday somewhere. By Sunday I was not feeling 100% but figured it might be due to many things. I flew back Monday and still
“off”. By Tuesday I was sneezing and coughing a bit, but nothing major. Wednesday morning I was super stuffed up. Figured just a cold, but on a whim took a covid test. positive right away. Took a different brand and same result. This morning, being day 5 from symptoms, I decided to check to see if the line had gotten lighter, aka where I was to when I could leave the house (with mask) , and completely negative on two different tests (note I still have some congestion and runny nose). So did I have covid and it resolved itself that fast?
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You probably did have COVID-19, and it went away, so you are no longer contagious.
The timeline of COVID-19 seems quite variable from one person to another (and likely varies based on prior infection and/or vaccination), so testing is more reliable than counting days if you are concerned about not wanting to spread it.
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Welp, my wife just tested positive for COVID. We’re both up to date on boosters (she got hers in October). So far I’m not testing positive but she’s been home only for three days. She was in South America all last week. She flew masked, but didn’t mask at the meeting which she participated in. There is a surge going on where she was, but she didn’t have time to explore, so little interaction with locals. The meeting though was international, though, so it could have come from anybody there.
I’m also isolating, and I’ll test in another two days, unless I start showing symptoms. Fun, fun, fun.
Oh, and we had a party yesterday. She only started feeling a little sick after the party, when we were sitting around decompressing. She woke up this morning feeling sick. She’s notified everybody who attended.
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YLE reports on a new variant, BA.3.2, mentioned by Ryan Hisner. It is probably due to intra-host mutation of BA.3 in a chronically infected host.
Finally got it a several weeks ago. I was babysitting the grandkids all day. GD started looking a little peaky, like getting a cold, and didn’t have much appetite. Next day she vomited and had stomach pain–covering doc thought it might be strep but negative. No one even considered covid. Next day, I started with the runny nose and sneezing. Figured I caught her bug, but that night, had fever and chills. Tested next day and low and behold. Her dad and my H also became first timers (kids and my D had had it before and except for GD for one and a half days, showed little signs). I got past the fever in a day, but cold symptoms and fatigue hung on for weeks (still feeling it a little). I opted not to take Paxlovid, but H did because of other conditions that made him a little more vulnerable.
Proud of taking five years to get it. Don’t want to do it again though!
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Yeah, I hoped I would not get it again. I’ve now had it three times, despite being up to date on boosters. I have had it the most times in my family, so I guess that makes me the winner (or maybe loser). Each subsequent time has been less yucky than the last, thankfully.
Happy to report that my aunt’s supposed allergies that were actually RSV didn’t result in me getting that, though.
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I am trying to dodge a bullet, as we are scheduled to fly out to meet our new grandson in 2 weeks. But one of my bridge buddies (who hosted last Monday) told me Thurs she has covid, and now we are hosting houseguests who recently returned from a cruise with their kids and grandkids and now they are both sick! She (wife/my friend) tested negative yesterday but we are all masking up. She feels worse today but they are flying home this evening, so we aren’t asking her to test again. She is in bed and her H and my H are out for a walk. I HOPE I can dodge whatever it is they have.
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anecdotally, we were able to get paxlovid in france in 2022 for my then 86 year old ex-smoker grandfather with dementia during his covid infection and it was like night and day for him in terms of cognition
Looks like the common current variants are still descendants of BA.2.86 / JN.1, although slightly different ones from before – now LP.8.1 is the most common, followed by XEC.
Current main variant is LP.8.1, followed by other JN.1 descendants.
Comparison of LP.8.1 versus previous vaccine-targeted variants:
LP.8.1 is more similar to last year’s vaccine targets JN.1 and KP.2 than JN.1 was to the prior year’s vaccine target XBB.1.5, or XBB.1.5 was to its prior year’s vaccine target BA.5.
Commentary: An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination
Authors:
Authors: Vinay Prasad, M.D., M.P.H., and Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H.Author Info & Affiliations
Not exactly an independent panel of researchers sounding their opinion.
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That’s not really accurate. Based on what CDC considers to be risk factors, it’s likely most anyone who wants one will still be able to get one, including smokers, pregnant women, those with diabetes, people with a BMI of 30+, those who are “physically inactive” etc.
Sorry to be imprecise – I posted hurriedly while waiting at CVS for the shot 
Here’s a gift link:
People with asthma are also at increased risk.
My heathy young adult children and their children would like the protection from long COVID the vaccines provide as well as a reduced chance of infection. But not for them. This is awful news. Are flu vaccines going to be the next ones limited?
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