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neek
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neek
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 9:51 am 
Randito wrote:
has loss sense of taste and smell
That's interesting, since these aren't common symptoms of Omicron. But still do happen.

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Randito
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 10:39 am 
neek wrote:
Randito wrote:
has loss sense of taste and smell
That's interesting, since these aren't common symptoms of Omicron. But still do happen.
Delta is still in circulation -- so it's possible he had that. Indications are he got it from his girlfriend who had traveled to Indiana for XMAS with family. Her family quick tested three days before and on the day of the big family XMAS dinner -- but she and an aunt developed symtoms afterwards and quick tested positive -- after an isolation period and clean quick tests she came back to LA. My opinion at this point is that the quick tests are useful for knowing you are infected -- but useless for telling you that you are not.

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Anne Elk
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 12:06 pm 
Randito wrote:
My opinion at this point is that the quick tests are useful for knowing you are infected -- but useless for telling you that you are not.
Agreed. One article I read claimed that the median incubation period for Omicron is 3 days, so a 50% chance it could be longer before you show symptoms, and/or build up enough virus to test positive. To be sure that you're really negative before a trip or gathering, you'd have to test twice at least 3 days apart, and have been isolating between the tests. Likely most people would have a hard time doing this. Meanwhile, the neighbor living in the apartment next to me caught it. We've been communicating by email and I did some grocery runs for her. She spent Christmas in CA with her parents, left on the 23rd and was back late on the 27th. Home sick the week of Jan 2nd. She's a dept manager at one of the local supermarkets, and was also back at work before getting sick. She wrote that "Both the CDC and my doctor suggest that I didn't get sick from travel but at work. What's odd is that I have been more isolated and spent little time with any one employee or coworker since I returned from my trip." I'd guess her to be in her early 50's, is vaxed and boosted and I'm certain she follows all the masking rules (don't know if hers are N95's) but her experience suggests at the least that masks, especially if they're not N95s, aren't going to protect you. My knee-jerk skepticism thinks she more likely got it on the plane. I don't think the CDC is right about everything, especially transmissibility in aircraft. The neighbor said her symptoms were mostly 60-72 hours of a bad sore throat which eased to a much more tolerable severity. She was cleared to return to work this past Wednesday but thinks she'll be feeling "off" for another week or two. It sounds like the vaccines are doing what they're supposed to, but I'd prefer to be overcautious at least until that new vaccine is ready - I'd read somewhere that somebody is working on a multi-valent product that will protect against a number of related viruses - SARS, MERS, Covid. At the least, we'll likely be getting covid boosters once or twice yearly.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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GaliWalker
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 12:15 pm 
Randito wrote:
My opinion at this point is that the quick tests are useful for knowing you are infected -- but useless for telling you that you are not.
I don't think the latter part is always true: if you're exhibiting symptoms, then a rapid test is relatively trustworthy. Or so we were told by our son's doctor. Our son had been sick, so we took him to the doctor, who administered a rapid test, which came back negative, and then the PCR test...which also subsequently came back negative.

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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Randito
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 12:28 pm 
GaliWalker wrote:
Randito wrote:
My opinion at this point is that the quick tests are useful for knowing you are infected -- but useless for telling you that you are not.
I don't think the latter part is always true: if you're exhibiting symptoms, then a rapid test is relatively trustworthy. Or so we were told by our son's doctor. Our son had been sick, so we took him to the doctor, who administered a rapid test, which came back negative, and then the PCR test...which also subsequently came back negative.
Several negative quick tests among my grandkids this week whom are all asymptomatic -- but two of three PCR tests positive. My point is that a negative quick test is not a reliable indicator of not being infected / shedding virus. A positive quick test does confirm that you need to isolate -- even if you have no symptoms. So while I might rely on a quick test for a "red light" for going out in public -- I don't view a negative quick test as a "green light" to go out and possibly infecting others.

day_hike_mike, GaliWalker
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zephyr
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zephyr
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 12:40 pm 
I just want to say that I appreciate that we can have these conversations here. Often very helpful--especially in a fast changing/moving paradigm. ~z

Joey, day_hike_mike, Anne Elk
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GaliWalker
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 1:07 pm 
Randito wrote:
So while I might rely on a quick test for a "red light" for going out in public -- I don't view a negative quick test as a "green light" to go out and possibly infecting others.
Yeah me too. No way do I want to suggest a negative rapid test as any type of "green light"! I'm just saying that I'd be less apprehensive of having infected someone (with COVID) if: - I was feeling sick, i.e. I had some type of symptoms (and since COVID runs the gamut, it's difficult to say of what) - I had a negative rapid test - I was awaiting a PCR test - I inadvertently came in contact with someone during this period

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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Anne Elk
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PostFri Jan 14, 2022 1:55 pm 
This is probably silly, but it had crossed my mind. A bit over a week ago, my cat got sick. Interest in food dropped to zero. Refused to move from the same spot in bed all night - usually she'll cuddle, wake me up in the morning, etc. Scariest - she'd not used her litter box in 12+ hrs. Uh-oh. She perked up a bit the next day and resumed eating a little but then started sneezing - a lot. This kept up for several days. She obviously had an upper respiratory infection, but how? I wondered if maybe I'd picked up covid, was totally asymptomatic, and infected her. frown.gif I know pets can catch covid, but it seems unlikely I'd be completely asymptomatic.
Tweety likes her buckwheat heating pad
Tweety likes her buckwheat heating pad

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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Randito
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 12:26 am 
Cats and other companion animals can get sick from COVID-19. https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/covid-19/pets.html

Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 12:44 am 
^^^ The only human Tweety's been around is me, which is how I can't figure out how she got sick. She seems ok now though. Good article on covid in pets. It would be tough testing her - swab up the nose? I'd get my face slashed.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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Randito
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 12:33 pm 
In my son's family none of the quick tests showed a positive result -- but 2 of 5 PCR tests did show a positive result. No symptoms other than a mild headache. So it is concievable that you were infected, but asymptomatic.

grannyhiker  Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 1:40 pm 
Randito wrote:
In my son's family none of the quick tests showed a positive result -- but 2 of 5 PCR tests did show a positive result. No symptoms other than a mild headache. So it is concievable that you were infected, but asymptomatic.
Your family's experience highlights issues that I think everyone is wondering about. My questions re the above are: - How much time between doing the quick test, and doing the PCR test? - Age and any pre-existing at-risk conditions of those who only got a mild headache. I've been reading accounts posted by journalists and readers in the NY Times of family units where one or two individuals test positive, and none of the other family members ever do. It seems that it would be good to have at least two quick test kits per person on hand in case of a known exposure, to use with enough time between tests to improve accuracy. It might help prevent overloading the medical system.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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Chief Joseph
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 2:20 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
I've been reading accounts posted by journalists and readers in the NY Times of family units where one or two individuals test positive, and none of the other family members ever do. It seems that it would be good to have at least two quick test kits per person on hand in case of a known exposure, to use with enough time between tests to improve accuracy. It might help prevent overloading the medical system.
See, it's things like that that cause many people not to trust the entire process.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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Anne Elk
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 3:06 pm 
Chief Joseph wrote:
it's things like that that cause many people not to trust the entire process.
Variables in testing can include potential "tester error", as well as an individual's viral load. People want absolute certainty, and there's almost no such thing when factors like these are involved. There may be other sociological issues affecting peoples' behavior, as these doctors posit in a NYTimes essay. An interesting take. I have one friend who doesn't fit the profile(s) in the essay, but for whom "alternative medicine" might as well be a religion. His sister was hospitalized for several weeks and survived, he still won't get vaccinated. He didn't want to vaccinate his kids when they were babies. You can't reason with someone like that. Behind low vaccination rates lies a more profound social weakness

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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Chief Joseph
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PostSat Jan 15, 2022 4:22 pm 
"The whole diagnosis of COVID-19 has been dependent on one simple tool: The PCR Test. If the PCR tests are not accurate, then we can’t believe anything we’ve been told about this virus. Most people bought these statements at truths: If you stick a swab up your nose and turn it in to your local pharmacy or hospital, you will learn, with reasonable accuracy, whether or not you have the virus. If you get positive test results, you have the virus, regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. The fact is that PCR tests are terribly inaccurate, and there are several studies that prove it." https://thetimetospeak.com/the-pcr-test-is-not-accurate/

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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