[GaliWalker]

Unfortunately, I agree with Chief Joseph, at least on the first part of his statement. (I’ve thought this for about a year.) If everyone magically starts masking worldwide, and is vaccinated and boosted, then we could, maybe, stop the virus in its tracks and get past this. And we all know, that's not going to happen. Far too often I would be the only person at the grocery store who was wearing a mask. The only hope is that when we do get it, it's one of the milder variants like the one circulating now. Note: I'm not advocating that we stop mask mandates or anything like it! Far from it. I plan to keep taking precautions, the same as I have been.

[Anne Elk]

From today's NYTimes: What we know about long covid so far.

[Randito]

Cases have been climbing in the last couple weeks in King County. Probably a combination of relaxed measures and the latest flavor of Omicron being even more transmisable. I'm double boosted, but still wearing an N95 while in public indoor spaces. (Like the theater where I watch my granddaughters dance recital) I have friends whose elderly parents died died when the first wave ran through assisted living.

[Anne Elk]

Don't take a rapid covid test too soon "Most of the time, people are not getting a positive result until three to five days after they start to show symptoms”

[GaliWalker]

Yup, this was the case with a colleague of mine and my wife. Both tested negative on the first day of symptoms, but positive on the third. Forewarned, I only tested myself on the third day.

[Randito]

I'll also add that IME the quick tests are less sensitive than the PCR test. My kids and grandkids traveled during the Xmas break and their return flight had a 4 hour layover in Detroit Multiple quick tests during and following travel all came back negative. However the grouped PCR tests performed at the kids school 3 days after travel did show positive and then PCR tests for the whole family taken a week after travel came back with 3 of the 5 positive. None of them ever experienced significant symptoms. My wife and I were certainly exposed to them during the period where the PCR tests were positive. There may have been a few hours where I felt a slight headache and some throat irritation, or I might have just been slightly dehydrated. Our PCR tests came back negative. The biggest annoyance was waiting in the queue 1.5 hours after arriving at the BC campus testing facility at our appointment time. Based our and other extended family members experiences I think the quick tests are useful for telling you are actively shedding virus and informing you that you should isolate. But they aren't a reliable indicator that you are NOT infected.

[Chief Joseph]

Covid is so yesterday, Money pox...err I mean Monkey pox is what's trending now.

[Anne Elk]

More than 1 in 5 adult Covid survivors in the U.S. may develop long Covid, a C.D.C. study suggests "The researchers identified post-Covid health problems in many different organ systems, including the heart, lungs and kidneys. Other issues involved blood circulation, the musculoskeletal system and the endocrine system; gastrointestinal conditions, neurological problems and psychiatric symptoms were also identified in the study. In both age groups, Covid patients had twice the risk of uninfected people of developing respiratory symptoms and lung problems, including pulmonary embolism...the study results can potentially translate into millions of people with new diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, neurologic problems. These are lifelong conditions — certainly manageable, but not curable conditions.”

[Chief Joseph]

I already had all those.

[Joey]

Speaking of long COVID, if you scroll down just a bit on this tweet https://twitter.com/zalaly/status/1529494832489672710 then you will see: "Long Covid after breakthrough infection (vaccinated people who subsequently got SARS-CoV-2 infection) is indistinguishable in terms of clinical features from Long Covid in unvaccinated people" There is a link to a medical article. My current understanding for a vaccinated person is as follows. 1. If you get COVID then the odds are that your symptoms will be much milder then an unvac'd person and you will have a much lower chance of dying. 2. You will have a lower chance of developing long COVID. 3. If you develop long COVID then there is no real difference between your symptoms and those of an unvac'd person. And since you cannot get long COVID unless you first have an initial COVID infection, you should continue to take precautions to avoid getting COVID.

[zephyr]

[Anne Elk]

^^^^ I figure it'll take the researchers at least another year or two to understand the mechanisms behind all that; in the meantime, I'd rather not even get a mild case.

[zephyr]

Okay. Here's a question for Anne Elk, Joey, and/or Galiwalker. If your hair stylist suddenly decides that they are sick and tired of wearing a mask and refuse to continue since the mandate is over, do you just suck it up and drive on with you in the chair wearing an N95 and he going maskless? The salon is fairly open and the circulation is fair. The cut lasts at least 45 minutes. Asking for a friend--who's a senior with some underlying health conditions. ~z

[cdestroyer]

i have medical conditions, I dont want long covid or short covid or inbetween covid. dont want monkeypox either, dont want ebola, dont want tb, dont even want a common cold. I wear a n95 mask in stores or close quarters. there is no need to wear a mask outside if there is nobody around.

[Anne Elk]