Just the Facts, the Crown virus.

Bandmill Bandit · January 28, 2021, 01:14:12 PM

Grandson was exposed in school last Wednesday and was sent home from school friday (when the school health unit got results) along with 11 other kids that were in the class. The kid was asymptomatic but his mom, a nurse, was concerned cause he didn't want to eat anything cause it all "tasted yucky". She got him tested immediately same evening and kept him out of school BUT he'd been in class the one day before his mom picked up on it and kept him home and got him tested. He and Jax are pretty good buds so I am sure that was a factor. Jax was very concerned when they found out he had Covid.

Jax was showing symptoms Monday afternoon and was quite sick with a 103° fever through the night. By midday fever was down to 100° and hes feeling pretty good now but says "I gets tired too fast". He got his test yesterday afternoon should see results later today.

It's kinda scary because you never know how hard its gona slam a person. We wait and pray! So far all seems good. Taste, smell and fever have been his most obvious symptoms so far.

firefighter ontheside · January 28, 2021, 02:49:24 PM

I hope he recovers quickly Bandit and that his test is negative.
Good deal for your helper Bruno. Now is the time to double down on being careful since we are so close to everyone getting vaccine. If everyone would do that, numbers would go down.

I just did a phone interview for St Louis Radio station KMOX about being a firefighter and having gotten the vaccine. They asked how I was able to get it already and how my symptoms were. Asked about which vaccine I got and asked about symptoms from second dose. I told him that a lot have had worse symptoms from second dose. He asked if I knew why that was and so I quoted my Doc from Kansas about the immune system being primed from the first dose. It was recorded and I guess will be on the air tomorrow and saturday.

doc henderson · January 28, 2021, 03:56:25 PM

this is why it is good to share good information here, and get it to the folks. good job FF. God bless us all!

WV Sawmiller · January 28, 2021, 04:14:10 PM

My wife and I just got signed up. No idea how long before we get vaccinated or which location we will get assigned to. The state is currently registering 65 and older and high risk. They have an on line and a phone in registration procedure which is not too complicated. Now we will see how long it takes to actually get vaccinated.

Our daughter works at a Children's Hospital in Charlotte NC and got her second dose last week. She did not mention any issues with either dose.

SwampDonkey · January 28, 2021, 05:19:48 PM

From what I'm seeing in the news lately, if you had the shots and get immunity, that does not mean you aren't a carrier. Been seeing folks test positive for the virus since their vaccination and not getting sick themselves. Several cases. So if gramma has not had the shots and you have, don't go thinking you can't spread it. It's not that simple.

Runningalucas · January 28, 2021, 09:33:00 PM

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/what-do-coronavirus-variants-mean-your-masks-n1255518
"A mask "is a physical covering to prevent droplets," Fauci said Monday on NBC's "TODAY" show. "So, if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective.""

""If you put three or four masks on, it's going to filter better because it's more layers of cloth," said Dr. Scott Segal, chair of anesthesiology at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina."
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/what-do-coronavirus-variants-mean-your-masks-n1255518

I posted this, as I've seen a few folks talking about wearing 3 masks; one was on an evening news program. Fauci is now stating that wearing 2 is smart.

Also, I'm reading that with the variants emerging, they're leaning towards continued vaccines regularly due to different strains.

doc henderson · January 29, 2021, 08:52:59 AM

I think there will be diminishing returns. as has been stated/argued, some of the air shoots out the side of the mask. it at least deflects the projected droplets and airborne stuff so it cannot travel as far. like a bullet that hits something, and is deformed and tumbles to the ground. as you increase the thickness, you increase the resistance to air moving through the layers and more will go out the side, especially at high velocity, like a cough. If you made an airtight seal, that would be great, but now your chest has to work harder to move the air to breath. The question is are we trying to protect ourselves, or those around us, and the answer is hopefully both. not just mask wearing (hit and miss across the country) but all mitigation like sanitizing and socially distancing, has dropped the flu rate and other respiratory illnesses. that is a blessing in and of itself, but also seems that there is a correlation with increased precautions (i.e. they work). the best protection is a helmet that seals well, and filters the air like a PAPR. even that fails if you contaminate your hands taking stuff off, and then touch a mucus membrane. I hope the current vaccine will remain effective in the near future. It is reported that tweaking it to cover variants will be easy, once we figure out if there is resistance. If we contain 99% of the virus with a vaccine, it selects for the ones that are not taken out by the conferred immunity, and then you spread a new virus. thus is nature. natural selection and survival of the fittest. God bless us all.

gspren · January 29, 2021, 07:00:27 PM

I saw a blurb of info on the news that so much bleaching and sanitizing of hands and surfaces may hinder development of antibodies to other "normal" germs and such. I think that pertains to young toddlers and babies.

firefighter ontheside · January 29, 2021, 07:34:08 PM

Yes, overdoing it may reduce the other germs we're being exposed to. I still get dirty and wash the same way I always did when I'm home and working outside. I'm not too worried that I'm suppressing my immune system.

Roxie · January 30, 2021, 05:28:12 AM

Plexiglass doesn't help and hinders air flow, which does help.

Ianab · January 30, 2021, 05:59:46 AM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 28, 2021, 05:19:48 PM
From what I'm seeing in the news lately, if you had the shots and get immunity, that does not mean you aren't a carrier. Been seeing folks test positive for the virus since their vaccination and not getting sick themselves. Several cases. So if gramma has not had the shots and you have, don't go thinking you can't spread it. It's not that simple.

I think one outcome of the vaccine is that if you are in the 5% that dont get full immunity, there is still a good chance you will only have a mild case, or maybe no symptoms at all, which can occur even without the vaccine. So yes there is a small risk you could be infectious. But the number of virus particles in your body, and hence the number you are spreading should be a lot less. So you are less likely to pass it on.
The vaccine doesn't need to be 100% effective, and 100 % wont need to have it. 90 % effective & 90% of the population taking it should be "good enough".
NZ has had a couple more cases get through the border isolation, but they dont seem to have passed it on. Probably just good luck and Summer weather?

SwampDonkey · January 30, 2021, 07:04:32 AM

It's not about the 5 % at all. It's about being a carrier even if your immune. Going uncovered, sucking it into your airways, it being able to live a certain duration and you expelling it before it expires.

Magicman · January 30, 2021, 07:34:47 AM

Our second stick of Moderna is scheduled for February 16th.

doc henderson · January 30, 2021, 09:20:56 AM

that is pretty fast. My first dose was on the first day it was available in our town and that was Dec. 16th. NYC has almost no vaccine appointments available.

Texas Ranger · January 30, 2021, 12:33:55 PM

My times were Jan 11 and Feb 8, got lucky when a friend called and said a signup had started at a local pharmacy towards the end of Dec. Texas has really screwed up system for sign up and shots.

SwampDonkey · January 30, 2021, 01:23:06 PM

Weekly updates by Dr. Osterholm @ Centre of Infectious Disease Research and Policy

COVID-19 Podcasts and Webinars | CIDRAP

firefighter ontheside · January 30, 2021, 03:17:44 PM

If anyone wants to waste 5 minutes of their life listening to me be interviewed. Skip to about minute 53.
The Bo Matthews Show, January 29th | KMOX-AM

doc henderson · January 30, 2021, 04:52:45 PM

I listened and thanks for the shout out! it starts at 35 minutes, and you did a great job and had good responses.

WV Sawmiller · January 30, 2021, 06:01:55 PM

We talked to our daughter this afternoon. She had her second (Phizer) C-19 vaccine shot Monday. Had some body ache and low grade fever the next day or two then Wednesday night got worse and finally Thursday she went to the urgent care clinic for EKG and CT. Her heart rate was up some and they checked for a clot and none there. She is severely allergic to shellfish (Iodine) and had bad reactions to that before requiring ventilator and epi back 25 years ago. She had been on some antibody tests before ever getting vaccinated and they said her antibody for C-19 was 80% the day she got her second dose. She said most folks are around 50% so they assume that was part of the reaction. She said if first dose gave her that much reaction that the actual virus would have been even worse so she still says she is very glad to have gotten it. Her reaction did not match any known cases so she agreed for them to send her results to Phizer. She did have some heart rhythm issues with her first pregnancy about ago. Did not notice any with second who will be 2 next month. All seems well now and she is still a strong advocate for the vaccine.

Bandmill Bandit · January 30, 2021, 07:26:06 PM

Quote from: Bandmill Bandit on January 28, 2021, 01:14:12 PM
Grandson was exposed in school last Wednesday and was sent home from school friday (when the school health unit got results) along with 11 other kids that were in the class. The kid was asymptomatic but his mom, a nurse, was concerned cause he didn't want to eat anything cause it all "tasted yucky". She got him tested immediately same evening and kept him out of school BUT he'd been in class the one day before his mom picked up on it and kept him home and got him tested. He and Jax are pretty good buds so I am sure that was a factor. Jax was very concerned when they found out he had Covid.

Jax was showing symptoms Monday afternoon and was quite sick with a 103° fever through the night. By midday fever was down to 100° and hes feeling pretty good now but says "I gets tired too fast". He got his test yesterday afternoon should see results later today.

It's kinda scary because you never know how hard its gona slam a person. We wait and pray! So far all seems good. Taste, smell and fever have been his most obvious symptoms so far.

Test results landed yesterday just after lunch and ALL the kids were NEG! 4 had a fairly transmissible cold by the testing so health unit recommended 14 days isolation for the whole class.

DPatton · January 30, 2021, 07:34:32 PM

Today the U.S. has surpassed 26 million cases.

doc henderson · January 30, 2021, 07:40:13 PM

8% of the country, but I am sure many cases have gone undiagnosed, and therefore uncounted.

Ianab · January 30, 2021, 08:09:47 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 30, 2021, 07:04:32 AM
It's not about the 5 % at all. It's about being a carrier even if your immune. Going uncovered, sucking it into your airways, it being able to live a certain duration and you expelling it before it expires.

It's possible that could occur.
I just think the odds of being infected that way are REALLY slim.
When someone has a full on infection they will be coughing up millions of virus particles, and there is a good chance people nearby will catch the virus. The less viruses you breathe out, the less chance there is of those people being infected.
It's sorta the same as masks. They don't completely prevent transmission, they just make it maybe 50% less likely, by intercepting some of those virus particles. So by my reasoning, if you are only spraying out 1% as many viruses, then you are 100X less likely to infect others? Of course if you wear a mask, that might make it 200X less likely?
Still not impossible, but unlikely. The things is the virus control doesn't need to be 100% bullet proof. If just needs to get the R (reproduction) ratio down below one. Without a vaccine, that's hard. You have to use ALL the other control methods. Add a 90% effective vaccine (and some basic control measures) and it becomes pretty easy.

We should get to a point soon, where enough people have had the vaccine to have an effect. Then you might have R = 0.5. At that stage your 1,000 cases create only 500 new ones, then 250 the next round etc. The lower you get the R value, the faster the pandemic dies out.

firefighter ontheside · January 30, 2021, 09:59:56 PM

Yes, Ian, it will be interesting to watch numbers on new infections as more and more get vaccinated. As you say, vaccine isn't the only thing that can cause the numbers to drop. Continued mask wearing and other proven measures to reduce spread is key to stopping this thing sooner.

Runningalucas · January 30, 2021, 11:56:53 PM

Avoid preventive pain relievers before getting a COVID vaccine: Experts - ABC News

"Vaccine recipients typically experience minimal side effects -- the most common being temporary pain and swelling at the injection site, fevers, chills, tiredness, muscle aches and pains and headaches.
While these side effects are generally a minor nuisance to most people, some attempt to prevent them by taking common over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (e.g., Motrin, Advil) beforehand. However, experts said these medications might not just dull the pain, but they may dull the vaccine from fully working."

I've really been debating all of this stuff, but I guess I'm out now, I live in pain, and take prescription 800mg Ibuprofen, pain killers, and muscle relaxers daily. There's no way I'm sitting through several days feeling worse than I do on a given day, and no 'feel better' allowed, lol.

My brother is a NP working the ER, I think it was around last March, took a full discharge to the face of a man that definitely died from Covid, his lungs told the story for sure. My sister, and I thought my brother, who's extreme high risk due to health factors was a dead man. It's sad, but we watched my brother like a science experiment/barometer; he never even got sick. He's got mixed feelings as well on the vaccine, but he's definitely aware of what Covid can do to some folks lungs.

Be Safe out there, and should you get a vaccine, stay away from the Aspirin cabinet!