Coronavirus preparedness

[FLBiker]

In the meantime, here in Arizona we now have a law that bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and Covid-19 testing for unvaccinated students.
Two school districts have a policy to quarantine un-vaxed students who are exposed to Covid-19.  When the governor's office found out they demanded the districts rescind that policy because it is "discrimination" to apply quarantine policies differently for vaccinated and un-vaccinated students. 

So, yeah.  Next wave is definitely coming because here at least we seem to be actively encouraging it.  SMH

Weird.  Most of the universities around here are requiring proof of vaccination to attend classes.  Most of our universities are private though.  Are your universities government run?  If not, how does the government have the power to interfere in private business choices like that?

Same in Florida.  I have worked for the past decade at a state university in Florida, and there is no mask mandate, you can't ask about or require vaccinations, etc.  And it isn't a public / private thing -- Florida has made it illegal for businesses to do things like enforce vaccinations.  (I don't know how you'd enforce vaccinations in America anyways, without a centralized record system, but that's another question.)

For non-COVID reasons, we moved from Florida to Nova Scotia last July, and seeing the tremendous disparity between how these two regions have handled COVID has really confirmed our decision.

[wenchsenior]

In the meantime, here in Arizona we now have a law that bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and Covid-19 testing for unvaccinated students.
Two school districts have a policy to quarantine un-vaxed students who are exposed to Covid-19.  When the governor's office found out they demanded the districts rescind that policy because it is "discrimination" to apply quarantine policies differently for vaccinated and un-vaccinated students. 

So, yeah.  Next wave is definitely coming because here at least we seem to be actively encouraging it.  SMH

Same over here in Texas.  I just ordered more N95 masks for my husband to wear this fall, cause no one who's a likely carrier will be wearing one.

[Chaplin]

For non-COVID reasons, we moved from Florida to Nova Scotia last July, and seeing the tremendous disparity between how these two regions have handled COVID has really confirmed our decision.

In terms of COVID response, those two are just about polar opposites. It would be interesting to hear any further thoughts you might have about that.

[Imma]

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/563052-8-vaccinated-health-care-workers-get-covid-19-at-pool-party-in-las-vegas

An interesting article. 11 people working at the same medical center all got COVID at a pool party. 8 of them were fully vaccinated. 10 of the 11 were confirmed to have been infected with the Delta variant. The cluster was so unusual that medical professionals reexamined the data for the batch of vaccine those 8 employees received to make sure it wasn't mishandled, since breakthroughs are supposed to be much rarer than that. 8 fully vaccinated people being infected at one party is startling. Odds are something weird happened there. However I'm starting to see more examples of fully vaccinated people contracting the Delta variant creeping into the news. It could just be fearmongering or clickbait but it's giving me pause about spending extended time indoors without a mask, even fully vaccinated. Especially now that masks have disappeared. Virtually no one is masking anymore in any of the places we've been.

It will be interesting to see what more data shows in this regard, as Delta trends toward the exclusive strain in the us.

Rather alarming article. 

I am starting to wonder about superspreaders. It seems every once in a while u hear of someone spreading covid to a large number of others while Joe down the street only managed to infect a few ppl.

What is it about these superspreaders that makes them more contagious? Are they more huggy? Are they producing more snot? Do they spit when they talk?

Maybe it is one of these superspreaders that caused so many breakthrough infections.

It's certainly concerning when you hear of breakthrough infections. So I keep comforting myself with statistics and follow various mathematicians who explain risk and the stats in ways more easy for me to understand. I often find myself confused when trying to understand if we're talking about the risk of 1 in a million vs 1 in a thousand.

Don't know if I am explaining myself well. Sometimes I look at numbers and the risk looks really high. Then I read the explanation by a mathematician who puts it into context and then I learn the risk is far lower than what I gathered reading the raw numbers.

Sent from my VCE-AL00 using Tapatalk

My friend was apparantly a superspreader. They had no symptoms, at all, but people around them kept getting sick. Turns out they had a very high viral count, no symptoms, they had probably been infected for a while and it took some time for them to test negative. So it seems their body wasn't able to get rid of the virus for a long time, but being asymptomatic they had no idea.

[LaineyAZ]

In the meantime, here in Arizona we now have a law that bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and Covid-19 testing for unvaccinated students.
Two school districts have a policy to quarantine un-vaxed students who are exposed to Covid-19.  When the governor's office found out they demanded the districts rescind that policy because it is "discrimination" to apply quarantine policies differently for vaccinated and un-vaccinated students. 

So, yeah.  Next wave is definitely coming because here at least we seem to be actively encouraging it.  SMH

Weird.  Most of the universities around here are requiring proof of vaccination to attend classes.  Most of our universities are private though.  Are your universities government run?  If not, how does the government have the power to interfere in private business choices like that?

Yes, there are 3 major state universities and many private smaller ones.
 
I believe private businesses can still dictate and enforce their own Covid-19 policies. 
One example is that almost all medical and dental places still require masks and many are still doing temperature checks.  But retail stores and supermarkets are just keeping carts clean and posting new signs asking un-vaxed customers to please wear a mask - that's about it.

The major cities and counties are trying to enact more restrictive measures - following the guidelines of health officials - and the state legislature and governor are stomping all over those efforts.  Funny because they usually crow about "getting the government to leave us the hell alone"  [see federal rep Lauren Boebert at CPAC this year] but if local communities want to do something different about Covid-19 the Republican-led state government will forbid it.

[TomTX]

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/563052-8-vaccinated-health-care-workers-get-covid-19-at-pool-party-in-las-vegas

An interesting article. 11 people working at the same medical center all got COVID at a pool party. 8 of them were fully vaccinated. 10 of the 11 were confirmed to have been infected with the Delta variant. The cluster was so unusual that medical professionals reexamined the data for the batch of vaccine those 8 employees received to make sure it wasn't mishandled, since breakthroughs are supposed to be much rarer than that. 8 fully vaccinated people being infected at one party is startling. Odds are something weird happened there. However I'm starting to see more examples of fully vaccinated people contracting the Delta variant creeping into the news. It could just be fearmongering or clickbait but it's giving me pause about spending extended time indoors without a mask, even fully vaccinated. Especially now that masks have disappeared. Virtually no one is masking anymore in any of the places we've been.

It will be interesting to see what more data shows in this regard, as Delta trends toward the exclusive strain in the us.

So, earlier I read a scientific article about a recent Delta outbreak in China where 167 were infected. They 100% contact traced everyone.

Two things that really stood out:

• Symptomatic infection was much faster than earlier variants.
  
  
• Viral load was approximately 1000x higher at initial testing. Not 1000%. 1000x.
  

We've known for awhile that transmission of COVID is highly exposure dependent - which is why air circulation is so important, to keep the viral concentrations low.  Outdoors had very low transmission rates. If the infected person has 1000x as much virus in their system, I would expect them to have massively higher viral shedding rates and thus provides a plausible mechanism for how Delta is more effective at spreading.

https://virological.org/t/viral-infection-and-transmission-in-a-large-well-traced-outbreak-caused-by-the-delta-sars-cov-2-variant/724

[Abe]

Makes sense. The patients in that study were probably not vaccinated as China does not have an effective vaccine yet. Breakthrough infections are slightly more common with the delta variant (and clearly more common if a person hasn’t been fully vaccinated). The mRNA vaccines are 85-90% effective vs the 95%+ for other strains. However there is a big drop in efficacy for delta in people who’ve had only one dose (33% vs 60%+ for other strains). The articles together suggest that unvaccinated people produce such a high viral load that when they contaminate a vaccinated person, the immune system cannot fully prevent attachment and replication of all viral particles.

[former player]

Almost all the infection in the UK is delta variant.

We have 67% of total population fully vaccinated, 87% fully vaccinated, and yet infections are increasing by 40% in a week and on the same trajectory as the Jan/Feb peak.

The real benefit of vaccination is not in stopping infections, even at high levels of vaccination, it's in stopping most of the deaths and a significant number of hospitalisations.  I don't think there's much evidence yet of vaccination effects in relation to long covid or permanent organ damage.

[OtherJen]

Almost all the infection in the UK is delta variant.

We have 67% of total population fully vaccinated, 87% fully vaccinated, and yet infections are increasing by 40% in a week and on the same trajectory as the Jan/Feb peak.

The real benefit of vaccination is not in stopping infections, even at high levels of vaccination, it's in stopping most of the deaths and a significant number of hospitalisations.  I don't think there's much evidence yet of vaccination effects in relation to long covid or permanent organ damage.

It's scary. Three of my colleagues are in England, and they're all too young to have been able to receive more than one vaccine dose (not for lack of desire to be fully vaccinated). I'm really worried about them and so many others, especially as Johnson et al. seem to have pretty much given up trying to implement any public health controls. Please be careful.

Meanwhile, you have idiots here in the US turning down free vaccines, and even some medical professionals (who should have their licenses revoked) still claiming that the vaccines cause magnetism and 5G interference. As an American, I am all in favor of shipping extra vaccine doses overseas.

[Cranky]

In the meantime, here in Arizona we now have a law that bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and Covid-19 testing for unvaccinated students.
Two school districts have a policy to quarantine un-vaxed students who are exposed to Covid-19.  When the governor's office found out they demanded the districts rescind that policy because it is "discrimination" to apply quarantine policies differently for vaccinated and un-vaccinated students. 

So, yeah.  Next wave is definitely coming because here at least we seem to be actively encouraging it.  SMH

Weird.  Most of the universities around here are requiring proof of vaccination to attend classes.  Most of our universities are private though.  Are your universities government run?  If not, how does the government have the power to interfere in private business choices like that?

Ohio has made it illegal for state universities to require vaccination.

Sigh.

[Zamboni]

^Universities require vaccination (or verified exception for religious or health reasons) for all kinds of diseases, especially for students who live in campus housing. It's just so very, very weird to me that this disease and vaccination has been singled out and so politicized.

Meanwhile I read today that the majority of vaccine misinformation on social media was spread by only 12 people. Alarming how the crazies and their crazy ideas can be so amplified.

For those thinking about plane trips: I've flown several times. From what I have observed, mask wearing on the airplane is pretty good in terms of compliance . . . but, of course, people are allowed to take their mask down to eat and drink, and the flight attendants are still serving beverages even on pretty short flights of an hour or two. Which kind of defeats the purpose, I think. And it seems like most of the airlines have dropped their distancing protocols, so you are likely to be surrounded on all sides.

I live in the American South, and over the past couple of weeks it seems like most people have stopped wearing masks in public places. I'd estimate that maybe 20% of people are still wearing masks inside? Places like Target seem to have dropped mask requirements for their employees as well.

[Metalcat]

^Universities require vaccination (or verified exception for religious or health reasons) for all kinds of diseases, especially for students who live in campus housing. It's just so very, very weird to me that this disease and vaccination has been singled out and so politicized.

Meanwhile I read today that the majority of vaccine misinformation on social media was spread by only 12 people. Alarming how the crazies and their crazy ideas can be so amplified.

For those thinking about plane trips: I've flown several times. From what I have observed, mask wearing on the airplane is pretty good in terms of compliance . . . but, of course, people are allowed to take their mask down to eat and drink, and the flight attendants are still serving beverages even on pretty short flights of an hour or two. Which kind of defeats the purpose, I think. And it seems like most of the airlines have dropped their distancing protocols, so you are likely to be surrounded on all sides.

I live in the American South, and over the past couple of weeks it seems like most people have stopped wearing masks in public places. I'd estimate that maybe 20% of people are still wearing masks inside? Places like Target seem to have dropped mask requirements for their employees as well.

I took a flight from Ontario to Florida back in January when things were really bad and distancing protocols at the airport were an absolute joke. I expected them to be strict and they were basically non existent. I was shocked.

[Cranky]

We’re currently traveling through Minnesota to S. Dakota. Minnesota is completely mask free and I bet that S. Dakota will be too.

[the_fixer]

Purchased flights and a hotel / air bnb in Costa Rica for a total of 4 weeks since we missed taking our big 25th anniversary trip in 2020 due to Covid.

I must admit the Delta variant and the amount of breakthrough has me a bit nervous right now.

Flights are on southwest so I can cancel them at anytime, hotel can be canceled a week prior to arrival but the air bnb we will lose money on. Still need to look into travel insurance to see if I can find one that covers medical during a pandemic just in case.

Part of the trip we are spending with friends that are residents of CR in an air bnb (12 of us total). A little worried about them even though they are fully vaccinated it was with AZ so not sure they will be as protected.

6 Months to go we will see what happens between now and then I guess…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChickenStash]

Regarding travel, is anyplace (in or out of the US) currently requiring proof of vaccination to enter or bypass any of the quarantine rules?

Like a good puppy, I have all my shots but I misplaced the little card. My state does have me recorded in the immunization registry so I'm "official" but I'm not sure how to use that to actually prove anything if I need to.

[Metalcat]

Regarding travel, is anyplace (in or out of the US) currently requiring proof of vaccination to enter or bypass any of the quarantine rules?

Like a good puppy, I have all my shots but I misplaced the little card. My state does have me recorded in the immunization registry so I'm "official" but I'm not sure how to use that to actually prove anything if I need to.

All of eastern Canada as far as I know.

[GuitarStv]

Regarding travel, is anyplace (in or out of the US) currently requiring proof of vaccination to enter or bypass any of the quarantine rules?

Like a good puppy, I have all my shots but I misplaced the little card. My state does have me recorded in the immunization registry so I'm "official" but I'm not sure how to use that to actually prove anything if I need to.

All of eastern Canada as far as I know.

Do they just check the easily faked text email receipt from the government, or is there some kind of database that they run stuff through?

[jrhampt]

Regarding travel, is anyplace (in or out of the US) currently requiring proof of vaccination to enter or bypass any of the quarantine rules?

Like a good puppy, I have all my shots but I misplaced the little card. My state does have me recorded in the immunization registry so I'm "official" but I'm not sure how to use that to actually prove anything if I need to.

You should be able to go back to your pharmacy where you originally got the shots (or your doctor, wherever), and get a replacement card.

[Metalcat]

Regarding travel, is anyplace (in or out of the US) currently requiring proof of vaccination to enter or bypass any of the quarantine rules?

Like a good puppy, I have all my shots but I misplaced the little card. My state does have me recorded in the immunization registry so I'm "official" but I'm not sure how to use that to actually prove anything if I need to.

All of eastern Canada as far as I know.

Do they just check the easily faked text email receipt from the government, or is there some kind of database that they run stuff through?

Not an expert, I have no idea.

[Villanelle]

 

I'd relaxed for a bit and wasn't masking inside in places that weren't crowded, but I'm back to masking any time I'm indoors.  I had two different workers come to the house today and was pleased that both were masked without me having to ask, and I masked while they were here as well, for their comfort and safety.

We have two trips planned for the fall.  I'm no preparing myself for both to be canceled.  I would be 0% surprised if DH goes back to HPCON B, which means basically he's not allowed to go anywhere except absolutely vital errands.  Fun times.

And all so, so preventable.  Even more preventable than the initial outbreak and spread in early 2020. 

[GoCubsGo]

I got the JnJ vaccine, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not feeling great about  this new Delta wave.   I read an article yesterday about people who got JnJ walking into pharmacies and lying about receiving a vaccine so that they could get a Moderna vaccine (apparently some doctors have done this as well).  That seems stupid without knowing the repercussions, but at the same time, there isn't a lot info coming from the coronavirus task force or CDC regarding this subject. 

I did hear today that the Biden administration will likely not recommend another shut down and major cities mayors are also afraid of the political fall out of rolling back restrictions.  So we are just gonna have to hope people wise up and get vaccinated.

[habanero]

  So we are just gonna have to hope people wise up and get vaccinated.

Given everything that's already happened, it doesn't feel like the most likely end result. It's hard to wrap my head around what's happening in the US - a heavily hit country, I guess almost anyone in the US must know someone who has had a serious case and prob even died from it. We have very high vax rate (prob end up >90% of adults, under-18s not eligible for the time being) but for a lot of folks here, myself included, a serious case is generally something you read about or hear via-via. I personally don't know anyone who has had a bad case, I know a few confirmed infected but they've been fine after a short while. The serious business is just stuff I read about in the newspaper .

[GuitarStv]

I got the JnJ vaccine, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not feeling great about  this new Delta wave.   I read an article yesterday about people who got JnJ walking into pharmacies and lying about receiving a vaccine so that they could get a Moderna vaccine (apparently some doctors have done this as well).  That seems stupid without knowing the repercussions, but at the same time, there isn't a lot info coming from the coronavirus task force or CDC regarding this subject.

Yeah, who do you think you are mixing vaccines with no testing results to prove safety/efficacy . . . the government of Canada?  We've been recommending the mixing of adenovirus vaccines with mRNA vaccines for two months now.

:P

[hooplady]

Friend finally took a long-planned trip to an African county to do some volunteer work. All five in the party were fully vaccinated. Three tested positive upon return, one had an extended hospital stay.

At this point I'm just confused. According to the CDC, the vaccination protects me from "severe illness and death". Heck, I had what would have been considered a mild case last year and I literally thought I was going to die. Do I need to go back to self-isolation? I've been masking more often than in the past couple months, but we know that's for the protection of others, not me. Should I start disinfecting the Amazon boxes again? I've been going to grocery stores but still haven't started going to restaurants or other such places. It's really a quandary right now.

[the_fixer]

  So we are just gonna have to hope people wise up and get vaccinated.

It's hard to wrap my head around what's happening in the US - a heavily hit country, I guess almost anyone in the US must know someone who has had a serious case and prob even died from it.

Yep.

My aunt died from It

My step dad died of It

My uncle was in the hospital for 3 months with Covid and is still struggling to get back to a normal life

My sister and both of her kids got it and faired ok

Countless people at work came down with it to varying degrees

Maybe people around me just have bad luck…

Amazing that people still doubt it and that misinformation is so rampant it really is sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[the_fixer]

Friend finally took a long-planned trip to an African county to do some volunteer work. All five in the party were fully vaccinated. Three tested positive upon return, one had an extended hospital stay.

At this point I'm just confused. According to the CDC, the vaccination protects me from "severe illness and death". Heck, I had what would have been considered a mild case last year and I literally thought I was going to die. Do I need to go back to self-isolation? I've been masking more often than in the past couple months, but we know that's for the protection of others, not me. Should I start disinfecting the Amazon boxes again? I've been going to grocery stores but still haven't started going to restaurants or other such places. It's really a quandary right now.

Confusing time’s indeed hopefully more information will start to be shared so we know what to do and expect.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The 585]

I got the JnJ vaccine, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm not feeling great about  this new Delta wave.   I read an article yesterday about people who got JnJ walking into pharmacies and lying about receiving a vaccine so that they could get a Moderna vaccine (apparently some doctors have done this as well).  That seems stupid without knowing the repercussions, but at the same time, there isn't a lot info coming from the coronavirus task force or CDC regarding this subject. 

I did hear today that the Biden administration will likely not recommend another shut down and major cities mayors are also afraid of the political fall out of rolling back restrictions.  So we are just gonna have to hope people wise up and get vaccinated.

I have the same concerns, especially since I'm traveling to Italy and Ireland next month. If boosters were officially recommend after getting the J&J I'd do it for sure, but we're stuck in this middle ground where some are recommending it and some aren't. Plus I don't know if it would through off my "fully vaccinated" status in a database somewhere.

[OtherJen]

  So we are just gonna have to hope people wise up and get vaccinated.

It's hard to wrap my head around what's happening in the US - a heavily hit country, I guess almost anyone in the US must know someone who has had a serious case and prob even died from it.

Yep.

My aunt died from It

My step dad died of It

My uncle was in the hospital for 3 months with Covid and is still struggling to get back to a normal life

My sister and both of her kids got it and faired ok

Countless people at work came down with it to varying degrees

Maybe people around me just have bad luck…

Amazing that people still doubt it and that misinformation is so rampant it really is sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My city's mayor and one of my former classmates died of it in December. Our city clerk is still experiencing long COVID effects after testing positive in March. All of my mom's coworkers had it last winter, and her boss nearly died.

All of that was before the Delta variant. Two friends (a couple) developed symptoms in the last 24 hours and just tested positive for Delta. They are both fully vaccinated with two doses of Moderna vax.

It's real.

[Freedomin5]

Friend finally took a long-planned trip to an African county to do some volunteer work. All five in the party were fully vaccinated. Three tested positive upon return, one had an extended hospital stay.

At this point I'm just confused. According to the CDC, the vaccination protects me from "severe illness and death". Heck, I had what would have been considered a mild case last year and I literally thought I was going to die. Do I need to go back to self-isolation? I've been masking more often than in the past couple months, but we know that's for the protection of others, not me. Should I start disinfecting the Amazon boxes again? I've been going to grocery stores but still haven't started going to restaurants or other such places. It's really a quandary right now.

The vaccine only protects you from severe illness and death. Meaning, you can still get COVID even when fully vaccinated; you're just probably not going to die from it.

Keep masking and social distancing. Avoid or minimize being in crowded public places. And carry hand sanitizer with you. And wash your hands frequently and don't touch your face when you're outside and not sure what else your hands have touched.

[Taran Wanderer]

Step-mother had it and has long-haul difficulties. 

Several family members of co-workers died from it.

DW and kids and I all had it. Mild symptoms only kept us adults in bed for a week, 3 more weeks of fairly significant fatigue and brain fog. Lingering physical and sense of smell impacts. We are now vaccinated (Moderna or Pfizer) and are out and about. I will report in if we end up having new symptoms. I don’t particularly want to go through what we had again, but I don’t really want to go through a hard lockdown again either. Universal vaccination is the most effective path to avoiding both.

[wenchsenior]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about 20 % of their new Covid cases are fully vaccinated individuals.

I suspect they may have a local vaccine-evading variant that has popped up, and if that's happening there, it's going to happen elsewhere and spread like wildfire, especially given the fact that most states/governors/mayors have given up on mask mandates.

Locally, our cases went from several months (post vaccine rollout) of single digits every day to doubling every 2-3 days starting a couple weeks ago. We just passed more than 100 new cases per day again. And college students are set to return to campus in a couple weeks.

Given how little genetic sequencing the U.S. is doing to identify variants, I'm fully expecting more Lexington type scenarios to start hitting the news shortly.


Edited to less alarming stats when I found the article and reread.  Phew, that's a relief.

It was 20% of total new cases, not hospitalized cases.  Still indicates trends toward more vaccine 'evasion' by the viruses recently than a few months ago, but it could also be statistical noise or changes in testing.

Still, with cases starting to spike locally, I sure am not taking off masks or mingling in crowds any time soon.

[StarBright]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about ONE QUARTER!! of their new hospital cases of Covid are of people supposedly fully vaccinated.  Not just 'new cases', but new hospitalized cases.

I suspect they may have a local vaccine-evading variant that has popped up, and if that's happening there, it's going to happen elsewhere and spread like wildfire, especially given the fact that most states/governors/mayors have given up on mask mandates.

Locally, our cases went from several months (post vaccine rollout) of single digits every day to doubling every 2-3 days starting a couple weeks ago. We just passed more than 100 new cases per day again. And college students are set to return to campus in a couple weeks.

Given how little genetic sequencing the U.S. is doing to identify variants, I'm fully expecting more Lexington type scenarios to start hitting the news shortly.

Do you have a link on that? I just googled and didn't see something obvious on the top returns.

I am the lone voice trying to cancel an upcoming vacation w/ unvaccinated inlaws and unvaccinated children and everyone is telling me I'm over reacting.

[wenchsenior]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about ONE QUARTER!! of their new hospital cases of Covid are of people supposedly fully vaccinated.  Not just 'new cases', but new hospitalized cases.

I suspect they may have a local vaccine-evading variant that has popped up, and if that's happening there, it's going to happen elsewhere and spread like wildfire, especially given the fact that most states/governors/mayors have given up on mask mandates.

Locally, our cases went from several months (post vaccine rollout) of single digits every day to doubling every 2-3 days starting a couple weeks ago. We just passed more than 100 new cases per day again. And college students are set to return to campus in a couple weeks.

Given how little genetic sequencing the U.S. is doing to identify variants, I'm fully expecting more Lexington type scenarios to start hitting the news shortly.

Do you have a link on that? I just googled and didn't see something obvious on the top returns.

I am the lone voice trying to cancel an upcoming vacation w/ unvaccinated inlaws and unvaccinated children and everyone is telling me I'm over reacting.

Found it. Less alarming than I originally read it as.  Still not good, though.  I edited my post above.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/nearly-25-percent-lexington-covid-211508547.html

[FLBiker]

I am the lone voice trying to cancel an upcoming vacation w/ unvaccinated inlaws and unvaccinated children and everyone is telling me I'm over reacting.

My fully vaccinated, retired physician father was going to come to visit us next month, but he decided to cancel because he was coming from Missouri (where things are going nuts) to Nova Scotia (where things are cool) and we have an unvaccinated 6 year old daughter.  He didn't want to be a vector.  My in laws have expressed an interest in coming in October (from Florida) and my wife told them we'll see what's going on then.  Being in a province where things are very well under control, we're definitely planning to stay put for a while.

[TomTX]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about 20 % of their new Covid cases are fully vaccinated individuals.

I think you're optimistic. Things are going to shit much more quickly than that.

Hospitalizations have been spiking at an alarming rate here in Austin. We are early in a period of rapid community spread - and this is one of the more vaccinated areas in Texas!

I had started grocery shopping in store again while double masked. Ended that a week ago - curbside only now, and I replaced some of the pantry goods we had been working down.

[jrhampt]

I am the lone voice trying to cancel an upcoming vacation w/ unvaccinated inlaws and unvaccinated children and everyone is telling me I'm over reacting.

My fully vaccinated, retired physician father was going to come to visit us next month, but he decided to cancel because he was coming from Missouri (where things are going nuts) to Nova Scotia (where things are cool) and we have an unvaccinated 6 year old daughter.  He didn't want to be a vector.  My in laws have expressed an interest in coming in October (from Florida) and my wife told them we'll see what's going on then.  Being in a province where things are very well under control, we're definitely planning to stay put for a while.

I'm still not hanging out with my unvaccinated relatives.  They're either high risk or stupid or both.

[hooplady]

Friend finally took a long-planned trip to an African county to do some volunteer work. All five in the party were fully vaccinated. Three tested positive upon return, one had an extended hospital stay.

At this point I'm just confused. According to the CDC, the vaccination protects me from "severe illness and death". Heck, I had what would have been considered a mild case last year and I literally thought I was going to die. Do I need to go back to self-isolation? I've been masking more often than in the past couple months, but we know that's for the protection of others, not me. Should I start disinfecting the Amazon boxes again? I've been going to grocery stores but still haven't started going to restaurants or other such places. It's really a quandary right now.

The vaccine only protects you from severe illness and death. Meaning, you can still get COVID even when fully vaccinated; you're just probably not going to die from it.

Keep masking and social distancing. Avoid or minimize being in crowded public places. And carry hand sanitizer with you. And wash your hands frequently and don't touch your face when you're outside and not sure what else your hands have touched.

Yep. All the things I was doing a year ago, except it seems a bit harder now. More people are out and about unmasked, fewer options for curbside pickup. The last couple times I arranged a drive-up order at Target, when I got there the parking spots were closed with a sign instructing customers to pick up inside.

[StarBright]

I am the lone voice trying to cancel an upcoming vacation w/ unvaccinated inlaws and unvaccinated children and everyone is telling me I'm over reacting.

My fully vaccinated, retired physician father was going to come to visit us next month, but he decided to cancel because he was coming from Missouri (where things are going nuts) to Nova Scotia (where things are cool) and we have an unvaccinated 6 year old daughter.  He didn't want to be a vector.  My in laws have expressed an interest in coming in October (from Florida) and my wife told them we'll see what's going on then.  Being in a province where things are very well under control, we're definitely planning to stay put for a while.

Thanks for making me feel not crazy :)

If they are embarrassed by my fully masked and face shielded children (my son likes wearing a face shield or goggles when he wears a mask - he has sensory stuff so I just roll with whatever works for him) they can deal with it!

And we still have some time left for the CDC or Fauci people to say something like "we don't recommend travel for children under 12" if they did that my husband would be on board w/ cancelling.

[ixtap]

  So we are just gonna have to hope people wise up and get vaccinated.

It's hard to wrap my head around what's happening in the US - a heavily hit country, I guess almost anyone in the US must know someone who has had a serious case and prob even died from it.

Yep.

My aunt died from It

My step dad died of It

My uncle was in the hospital for 3 months with Covid and is still struggling to get back to a normal life

My sister and both of her kids got it and faired ok

Countless people at work came down with it to varying degrees

Maybe people around me just have bad luck…

Amazing that people still doubt it and that misinformation is so rampant it really is sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My old neighborhood had an astonishing number of deaths last year. Most families refuse to say of what, in at least one case at the request of the deceased when they first went into the hospital. I had an aunt whose second to last Facebook photo was "no mask, as God intended." Then a few weeks later, her daughter posted a photo of her with oxygen, then a death notice. As such, I think there are a lot of people kidding themselves that they don't know anyone.

[GoCubsGo]

Most gave a lost of sh*t to the previous administration (very deserved) but this administration isn't doing a very good job on messaging to the public right now IMO. If kids can spread the delta variant and vaccinated people can get the delta variant , shouldn't there be much more forceful messaging from the CDC/Government regarding children?  It sounds like Israel has been throwing up some alarms about efficacy past 6 months but I haven't heard anything from the CDC and what their studies show.

Even public transportation masking has been getting more and more lax here in Chicago and if anything it should be ramping up right?  Fauci has been in the news more the past week, but I haven't heard anything from the taskforce all summer on the national news networks.  What happens when we all go back indoors when weather gets cold this fall.  This is definitely getting old. 

[GuitarStv]

Most gave a lost of sh*t to the previous administration (very deserved) but this administration isn't doing a very good job on messaging to the public right now IMO. If kids can spread the delta variant and vaccinated people can get the delta variant , shouldn't there be much more forceful messaging from the CDC/Government regarding children?  It sounds like Israel has been throwing up some alarms about efficacy past 6 months but I haven't heard anything from the CDC and what their studies show.

Even public transportation masking has been getting more and more lax here in Chicago and if anything it should be ramping up right?  Fauci has been in the news more the past week, but I haven't heard anything from the taskforce all summer on the national news networks.  What happens when we all go back indoors when weather gets cold this fall.  This is definitely getting old.

Unvaccinated kids under 12 are dying very rarely (keeping an eye on the variants here though).  Same thing with fully vaccinated people.  While it doesn't prevent catching covid, the vaccine appears to reduce covid to bad flu/cold levels or below for the majority.  So as long as vaccination numbers go high enough, there's no reason for concern.  Then the whole thing becomes similar to the flu . . . lots of people get it, but we can deal.

The problem is if large numbers of adults choose to remain unvaccinated, hoping that everyone else's vaccines are going to keep them safe.  That's not a good bet to make.  The unvaccinated are likely to be clogging up the hospitals.

[habanero]

Most gave a lost of sh*t to the previous administration (very deserved) but this administration isn't doing a very good job on messaging to the public right now IMO. If kids can spread the delta variant and vaccinated people can get the delta variant , shouldn't there be much more forceful messaging from the CDC/Government regarding children?  It sounds like Israel has been throwing up some alarms about efficacy past 6 months but I haven't heard anything from the CDC and what their studies show.

Even public transportation masking has been getting more and more lax here in Chicago and if anything it should be ramping up right?  Fauci has been in the news more the past week, but I haven't heard anything from the taskforce all summer on the national news networks.  What happens when we all go back indoors when weather gets cold this fall.  This is definitely getting old.

Given how contagious the delta variant is assumed to be, its probably a reasonable assumption that "everyone" will be exposed to it sooner or later. With the current vaccination rate in the US, and frankly most other places, there is very low probability it will go away anytime soon. So you best bet is to be vaccinated, which reduces the probability of a serious outcome down to a very low number, but not to zero. It is a bit fascinating so see how far the goalposts have been moved. It started out with great concern for the elderly and vulnerable, when they where vaccinated it moved on to the middle aged with a decent risk of needing ICU treatment, then it was onto the young who cold also in some cases get seriously ill and now it's on to children - a cohort noone worried about in the beginning of the pandemic as they were considered very low risk.

The higher infection rate of the delta variant doesn't really change the total outcome, just how long it takes, if we assume the risk of a serious outcome is around the same as earlier variants which afaik is a topic of some debate still.

In the UK confirmed cases are around the previous peak but hospitalization rate is 1/10th or so and death rate is 1/20th. Vaccines work.

[Freedomin5]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about 20 % of their new Covid cases are fully vaccinated individuals.

I think you're optimistic. Things are going to shit much more quickly than that.

Hospitalizations have been spiking at an alarming rate here in Austin. We are early in a period of rapid community spread - and this is one of the more vaccinated areas in Texas!

I had started grocery shopping in store again while double masked. Ended that a week ago - curbside only now, and I replaced some of the pantry goods we had been working down.

Is it because of the new lambda variant that was recently identified in Texas?

https://news.yahoo.com/lambda-variant-covid-19-identified-194603117.html

[Freedomin5]

I am the lone voice trying to cancel an upcoming vacation w/ unvaccinated inlaws and unvaccinated children and everyone is telling me I'm over reacting.

My fully vaccinated, retired physician father was going to come to visit us next month, but he decided to cancel because he was coming from Missouri (where things are going nuts) to Nova Scotia (where things are cool) and we have an unvaccinated 6 year old daughter.  He didn't want to be a vector.  My in laws have expressed an interest in coming in October (from Florida) and my wife told them we'll see what's going on then.  Being in a province where things are very well under control, we're definitely planning to stay put for a while.

Thanks for making me feel not crazy :)

If they are embarrassed by my fully masked and face shielded children (my son likes wearing a face shield or goggles when he wears a mask - he has sensory stuff so I just roll with whatever works for him) they can deal with it!

And we still have some time left for the CDC or Fauci people to say something like "we don't recommend travel for children under 12" if they did that my husband would be on board w/ cancelling.

Does this site from the CDC help?

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-risk.html

There are clear statements from the CDC indicating that unvaccinated folks should avoid other unvaccinated folks. There are guidelines about avoiding unvaccinated folks that are not from your (immediate) household, etc. etc. The guidelines are quite specific so hopefully you can find some that pertain to your vacation situation that you can use.

[TomTX]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about 20 % of their new Covid cases are fully vaccinated individuals.

I think you're optimistic. Things are going to shit much more quickly than that.

Hospitalizations have been spiking at an alarming rate here in Austin. We are early in a period of rapid community spread - and this is one of the more vaccinated areas in Texas!

I had started grocery shopping in store again while double masked. Ended that a week ago - curbside only now, and I replaced some of the pantry goods we had been working down.

Is it because of the new lambda variant that was recently identified in Texas?

https://news.yahoo.com/lambda-variant-covid-19-identified-194603117.html

Nope. All based on Delta spread.  Karnes County, TX has the highest infection rates in the contiguous USA, only beaten by Sitka, AK. Austin area is doubling cases in 9-10 days.

[elaine amj]

I have been very hopeful about vaccines and we have relaxed a lot of our restrictions.  I was even starting to consider socializing with some unvaccinated friends. But now all this chatter is heightening my concerns again.

To top it off, my little niece (across the pond in the UK) has just tested positive.  She was soooo close to being safer, but right before school let out for the summer, she caught it from her classmate. So far only very mild symptoms and thankfully both parents are fully vaccinated and we are all hoping they stay negative.

On the good side, we live in Canada with high vaccination rates. It's often challenging to assess our personal risks though.

Sent from my VCE-AL00 using Tapatalk

[beekayworld]

I'm expecting things to go to shit this autumn and winter again. Recent reports out of Lexington KY are that about 20 % of their new Covid cases are fully vaccinated individuals.

I suspect they may have a local vaccine-evading variant that has popped up, and if that's happening there, it's going to happen elsewhere and spread like wildfire, especially given the fact that most states/governors/mayors have given up on mask mandates.

It's the same in Los Angeles: 20% of cases in June were in fully vaccinated people. FYI 50% of our population is fully vaccinated.
https://deadline.com/2021/07/delta-variant-los-angeles-twenty-percent-covid-cases-vaccinated-people-1234798599/

[/quote]

[Khaetra]

I live in FL and our cases are soaring.  I was hoping to take an in-state mini-trip this fall but sadly that's off the table. 

I am fully vaxxed but I still wear my mask (I take meds that lower my immunity plus have underlying conditions so I wear it if I need to or not) and I have seen folks not wearing them that are coughing and not looking well in general, along with sick kids so I am again holing up at home and only going out if I need to.  Overkill?  Maybe, but I'd rather take too many precautions and stay healthy.

[SunnyDays]

I live in FL and our cases are soaring.  I was hoping to take an in-state mini-trip this fall but sadly that's off the table. 

I am fully vaxxed but I still wear my mask (I take meds that lower my immunity plus have underlying conditions so I wear it if I need to or not) and I have seen folks not wearing them that are coughing and not looking well in general, along with sick kids so I am again holing up at home and only going out if I need to.  Overkill?  Maybe, but I'd rather take too many precautions and stay healthy.

Meanwhile, CBC news reports that several states (Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota) no longer provide daily data, but only weekly.  So trying to make decisions is harder, when relying on old data.  I would certainly err on the side of caution too.

[Shane]

The sooner all the unvaxxed people get infected, recover, and develop immunity from Covid, the better. The ones who die or end up with long term health issues only have themselves to blame.