Covid-19 Quarantine

[xianjiro]

speaking of Australia & Japan - interesting keeping tabs on the Australian Open lead in (tennis for those who don't track sports). For a country that's kept CoV under such strict control (especially when compared to other places), seems like a pretty good idea of what could be expected to happen if they do try to run the Tokyo Olympics. I'm thinking the best hope for a games is a requirement everyone traveling to Japan have received their complete vaccine regimen a couple weeks before boarding the plane. Failing that, the only other choice will be regular and constant testing. While I don't see how they can require 10s of thousands of athletes, coaches, and other support staff to wait in their rooms until they test negative, it's sure going to be heartbreaking for contenders who do have a positive test for the virus: just can't imagine they'll be allowed to compete.

But with what @weirdboy has said about no vaccinations yet, I can't imagine how they'll get the locals vaccinated before people start arriving for the games in June and July. I know no one wants to admit defeat just yet, but it's certainly looking like Covid has the advantage over IOC/TOCOG. Just wondering how long before it's game, set, and match.

[Armoreska]

How did the Perth guard catch it? It seems nigh impossible with Australian measures.

[maxwelldeux]

How did the Perth guard catch it? It seems nigh impossible with Australian measures.

Quarantine hotel.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... kdown.html

[mightysparks]

There have been zero cases since this started and restrictions are set to be lifted on Sunday assuming none appear over the next 24 hours. It’s been weird having to wear a mask/see everyone else wearing them and I’ll be glad to not have to anymore even though I don’t go out much. I can see why people complain about struggling to breathe as it’s made me a bit dizzy at times and the face sweat is horrible.

[Pretentious Hipster]

No offense but hearing someone complain about masks and like a 2 week lockdown screams entitlement.

[mightysparks]

I was just saying that after hearing about mask complaints for a year and finally getting a taste I can kind of, but not fully, understand how it must be for those who have had to do it for all this time. Sorry I live in a city that hasn’t really experienced COVID to its full extent.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Tbf you get used to it. When I work a full time shift I wear one for maybe 12 hours straight. It only affects me now when I'm out of breath from running for the bus or something.

[peeptoad]

I see there is only 1 person (on the poll) to get the vaccine: how did you feel after the 2nd shot?

[Pretentious Hipster]

I see there is only 1 person (on the poll) to get the vaccine: how did you feel after the 2nd shot?

Chills for a few days. The first night was the worst when I was shivering, but having a blanket on me felt too hot.

[peeptoad]

Good to know, thanks. That seems to be a relatively "normal" experience after the 2nd dose. We were discussing this earlier at work since we're getting close to en masse vaccination and are trying to avoid having a bunch of people call out sick at the same time following the 2nd.

[brokenface]

I got dose 1, UK is doing the 12 week thing so won't get dose 2 til April. very minimal effects from that. Have heard anecdotally that people who had Covid (work in a hospital so quite a few had) and then got the vaccine got the more side effects from dose 1, which is probably expected.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Good to know, thanks. That seems to be a relatively "normal" experience after the 2nd dose. We were discussing this earlier at work since we're getting close to en masse vaccination and are trying to avoid having a bunch of people call out sick at the same time following the 2nd.

Yep. Work didn't plan this at all. It was complete chaos. It didn't help though that my city would run out of vaccines at least once a week and had to reschedule everyone's appointments.

[Cippenham]

I got first vaccination, no side effects and as in the UK the second is in April after 11 weeks.

[xianjiro]

I found two things helped with the perception that I couldn't breath as well while masked: 1) slow down - it was easy to feel urgency to get out of the store and therefore rush. I'm not able to say how much oxygen I was or wasn't getting, but there certainly was a perception and maybe it's something of a trigger that reminds me of asthma or something. But taking it slow and easy has made it much easier to get used to wearing a mask and I don't even have to wear one more than a few hours a month since I'm mostly home or outside for a brief walk.

2) I tried washing my masks by hand initially and just couldn't get the soap out well enough. The combination of scent and probably chemical residue was irritating. I don't notice this after using even our relatively worthless washing machine, but it also might have something to do with the soap. I'm pretty sure what I have left in the apartment was a more 'normal' detergent and now in the laundry room I try to keep "fragrance free" type stuff.

[Pretentious Hipster]

Outbreak at work lol. Second time now, but 79% of staff have received both doses, and the seniors got their first dose on Wednesday, so it should be ok.

[brokenface]

That may well not be enough time from first dose to protect them. Worrying to get an outbreak a few days after vaccinations as it makes it sound like the process of vaccinating may have been how it spread?

[Pretentious Hipster]

That may well not be enough time from first dose to protect them. Worrying to get an outbreak a few days after vaccinations as it makes it sound like the process of vaccinating may have been how it spread?

I'd be curious to know if the employee who tested positive received the vaccine or not. They won't even indulge us on which department the employee was from though, which I think should be known.

I'm more worried now because I never gotten a face shield since the dishwashers and cooks didn't need them. I know that employers must provide PPE to their employees, but I think they made the employees pay for theirs. With the government coming in tomorrow and me not having one this should be interesting...

[Pretentious Hipster]

Turns out employees do pay for it until we fought back.

To show how effective the vaccine is: the person who tested positive did not get vaccinated. She still lives with her family. Her younger brother works here to, but he was vaccinated. He tested negative. He is obviously self isolating now, but this was a surprise.

[xianjiro]

we had four cases this past week of people who'd been fully-vaccinated testing positive for the virus. Now sure anyone's fully teased this apart yet - are they different variants, for example, or what was the timeline - but this doesn't come as a surprise.

[blocho]

Isn't it possible that a positive test could be a false positive because of the vaccine itself? Or it's picking up something from a previous infection?

Were these four people actually ill? Did they have symptoms?

[xianjiro]

don't have the answers to those questions, I'm afraid. But I'd say much of anything's possible. I also wonder how long after their second dose did they test positive and why test anyway? Maybe they work in a place with mandatory weekly testing or something.

here's the link to the article: https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2021/02 ... ation.html

[brokenface]

These vaccines themselves can't cause false positive i don't think because they only have a small part of the virus sequence.

Vaccines in general cannot stop a virus getting in your body if you are exposed to an infectious person, but should mean you have antibodies to deal with it much quicker than otherwise if it does.

There will be more cases like this, more and more as more people are vaccinated, but it's not unexpected or particularly worrying, unless we start finding that there's a particular variant which is consistently able to cause severe cases in fully vaccinated people.

[xianjiro]

Agreed. I see this as a condition of the never-ending reporting on pretty much every facet of the pandemic. Honestly, the article is poorly sourced with more telling of what isn't known that what is known. However, if people have a discussion, ask critical questions, and share good information like we have done, then it serves a purpose.

I had reacted to "false positive" a bit differently since, for example, I will always test positive for TB if someone decides to test me again since I've had the most preliminary stages of the disease (and completed treatment successfully). So while I agree that it's improbable that the vaccines in current use in the States would cause a positive test result, I don't see any information on the kind of test that generated the positive result: are they testing for actual presence of the virus (nasal swabs if I understand correctly) or antibodies? This would make a world of difference in addressing the issues raised. Additionally, false positives have been an issue with Covid testing in general though I don't know where that all stands at this point. So that's what I thought about when @blocho asked about false positives.

The article is also telling because it plays on the expectation - and even used the phrase "breakthrough cases" - that once vaccinated, one is free of disease and this is clearly a common expectation. We get the measles vaccine so we won't get measles, right? Now I'm not so certain and will admit that I just get my vaccinations without asking too much about the specifics because in general I see the end as justifying the means and attendant risks.

Not sure that the populace understands that just getting the vaccine isn't a ticket to a return to life as we knew it back in 2019. And then there will be the constant issue of variants ...

[brokenface]

I would generally assume testing is referring to PCR testing of a swab for presence of virus (i.e. a current infection), unless stated otherwise. You'd be expected to be positive in some, but not necessarily all, antibody tests after vaccination as that is what the vaccine is meant to do.

Yeah I don't think there's been particularly good messaging in general to manage vaccine expectations. The problem is it's quite nuanced and media etc likes a very simple message and a binary view (idea that either you are 100% protected or 0%, or something is either perfect or useless).

I am optimistic that vaccines (in combination with some measures like masks ongoing for a while) will take us back to something close to normal, with Covid reduced to something that affects society on a similar level to flu, but it'll take time and happen at different rates in different countries depending on access to vaccine and current spread of the virus, and particular variants.

[xianjiro]

so, it appears that there are 118 requests (in Portland) for every vaccination appointment.

[hurluberlu]

[Ebbywebby]

Wow...bearded now!

[joachimt]

This week shops and some other things were allowed to re-open, but to go to a shop you have to make a reservation or something like that. Didn't really look into the details, because I'm not planning to go shopping now.

Stuff like hairdressers, beautyshops, tattooshops etc... are open again too. So I read about a nailstudio which was so glad to re-open and they were immediately fully booked for nailjobs and stuff like fake eyelashes. Seriously?! We're making a step towards an end of a lockdown and there are people who think "finally I can get those fake eyelashes done, because the past few months I really couldn't live without". I really wonder about the purpose of life for such people. Is that the kind of stuff you're living for?

[Knaldskalle]

This week shops and some other things were allowed to re-open, but to go to a shop you have to make a reservation or something like that. Didn't really look into the details, because I'm not planning to go shopping now.

Stuff like hairdressers, beautyshops, tattooshops etc... are open again too. So I read about a nailstudio which was so glad to re-open and they were immediately fully booked for nailjobs and stuff like fake eyelashes. Seriously?! We're making a step towards an end of a lockdown and there are people who think "finally I can get those fake eyelashes done, because the past few months I really couldn't live without". I really wonder about the purpose of life for such people. Is that the kind of stuff you're living for?

Heh, my mom just made a similar point in an email. "Yay, now I can buy new clothes that all my friends that I can't have over can't see."

[Knaldskalle]

I got the first shot of the Moderna vaccine today. I already feel under the weather, like I'm getting the flu. I just want to go to bed and sleep.

[peeptoad]

I had the first dose of the Pfizer vax last week and the day after I felt a little run down and had a mild headache for about 24 hours... that's about it. I expect worse after the second since the antibodies will be more reactive (similar to what happened after the 2nd in the rabies vax series I had years ago).
Also grateful I was able to get it through my employer because if I had to wait for my State's plan I wouldn't be up for receiving it until June or July.

[3eyes]

First dose of Moderna today. Feel fine so far, just exhausted from trek down there (all of 6 blocks, but I hadn't been out much lately). Spent the whole time after I got there in a wheelchair. Converted ex-movie theater (TLA), seats taken out so lots of sloping floors. My daughter accompanied me and we took an Uber home. But everyone was very nice, good experience overall.

[xianjiro]

[Bing147]

I got my first dose of Moderna two weeks ago today. No major symptoms, had a slightly sore arm for a day or so, a headache on the second day for a few hours, and there were about 12 hours where I just felt kind of worn down, but not terrible or anything. I just relaxed and took it easy.

Two weeks in, with the level of protection I should have at this point, I finally feel comfortable going out and doing at least essential things, something I haven't felt even a little okay about since early fall when numbers were way down. Got my dog in to get her updated shots today, getting an oil change done tomorrow. First time I've done that since last March, I got one right as things were shutting down not knowing when I would be able to again, though I didn't expect it to be a year. Still, I've driven under 1000 miles in that time, working from home has its benefits. My dog is getting groomed on Sunday, first time since last fall and she terribly needs a haircut, her hair is in her eyes. Planning to try making an appointment with an eye doctor in the next few weeks, my vision has been deteriorating the last few years and I feel like in the last six months its gotten worse. Its still fine most of the time, but I used to have like 20/20 vision. The joy of staring at a computer screen at least 8 hours a day for a decade for my job.

I think after my oil change tomorrow I'm actually going to go grocery shopping instead of doing curbside pickup. Haven't done that in a year and I miss it terribly. Kind of funny, if a year ago you'd told me I would miss grocery shopping I would have called you crazy, but as nice as curbside can be, having to deal with others picking out your produce, random items not being available and being unable to adapt, having items just not be substituted even though you've enabled it and there's no way they were out of every item like it, it gets old. I can't tell you how many times I've ordered 8-10 ingredients to cook something only to have one completely necessary ingredient not end up in my order, so that I can't cook the meal.

Once I'm a couple weeks past the second dose (so in about 4 weeks) I'll likely start increasing what "non-essential" things I do. Still not going crazy, but I'll likely be willing to go shopping at just general stores because I want to and not because I have to, or maybe run out to pick up just a couple of small things I need instead of saving it up for one big order. I'm also planning to visit my family at the end of next month which I am so incredibly excited about. My mom got her first vaccine dose yesterday. My youngest brother got his first two days ago. My grandfather got his second last week. wife's grandmother got her first a few days ago. One of my aunts got her first this week, an uncle is getting in next week. My dad, my other brother and his wife, and a few of my wife's aunts and uncles all have had COVID so they'll have some protection. Figure by the end of next month most of those I care about will have enough protection that I feel comfortable (still following the CDC guidelines of course). Going to be wonderful, most of them I haven't seen since early last year and I miss them terribly.

[3eyes]

All sounds good, Bing.

I'm getting mighty tired of the Old English sheepdog look. We've had to hide the scissors because my husband (going on 90) keeps trying to trim his hair and beard and cut his ear last week.

[Knaldskalle]

Looks fine to me

[Kublai Khan]

Got the first dose of Moderna vaccine today. My school board got it through a federal grant to vaccinate educators (among others). Governor DeSantis still is prioritizing the elderly (I think they are down to 60+)

[Kublai Khan]

I got a little bit of headache, vertigo, and kind of a general malaise for most of the second half of the day. A nap cleared it up. I self-reported it in the CDC V-safe thing.

I also saw this list of self-reported vaccine side effects in a tweet. Made me laugh a bit.




I wonder about people who report stuff like "arthropod bites", "tooth loss", and "genital herpes" as side effects to the vaccine.

[xianjiro]

Nothing surprises me about this. One even wonders how many people are reporting the nonsense - we all know what a bored person in front of a computer can do. Maybe we should start reporting "seeing ecstatic visions of Judgement Day" to get the you-know-whos to take the vaccine.

[Knaldskalle]

Maybe we should start reporting "seeing ecstatic visions of Judgement Day" to get the you-know-whos to take the vaccine.

Ah, that would explain the loud trumpets I heard outside the other day...