How are you dealing with life now with the Covid-19 virus situation? (2 Viewers)

[Malcolm R]

What I don't understand if you're limiting the amount of people in the stores then why are you restricting them from buying certain products. To me, that's BS as people who are stuck at home can't even complete some home projects now. IMO, the Covid-19 issues here in Michigan has nothing to do with the selling of those products.

They did that here in Vermont last week. Big box stores can only sell food, health products, and hardware. Aisles with clothing, electronics, toys, beauty products, jewelry, books, etc., are all closed off. I needed ink for my printer since we're supposed to work from home, but couldn't get it at Walmart. I had to go to Staples.

The thinking around here was that a trip to the big stores is one of the only things to do these days, and people were out and about shopping out of boredom, for things that were not "essential," rather than staying at home. The governor is trying to discourage this, so he restricted what the big stores can sell.

 

[Malcolm R]

Funny story. A coworker went to Asia late last year and brought something really nasty back to work in November. She came in one day, thought it was a cold, then took the rest of a week or so off to recover. When she came back she was still coughing and crap but was otherwise normal. She's 22, just out of college. The rest of the office is also young, I'm the most senior in my forties. Of course she knocked out the rest of the office suite for a couple of weeks. I would have called it one of the nastiest colds I'd ever gotten, with an upper respiratory tract component, so labored breathing. No fever that I can recall though I never thought to take my temperature. Took us all a couple of weeks to get back, but our coughs lingered into early 2020. When coronavirus and COVID hit, we all joked that she'd been patient zero, but of course we all still adhered strictly to social distancing. On our Zoom calls we still joke that "obviously we're all still healthy because we already got it from her..."

https://abc7.com/coronavirus-covid-19-herd-immunity-california/6091220/
From the article:

Now I really, really want to get an antibody test, if someone near me has it available. I showed it to the team, she replies "if you test positive for antibodies...you're all welcome."

Definitely a possibility. I'd read that they thought it might have been circulating for at least several weeks in Washington state, as well, before they labelled it as "coronavirus".

 

[Carlo_M]

I don't want to get my hopes up too much that she may have brought it to us early and we all survived it and have antibodies...but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm going to look for nearby antibody testing sites later today...

In hindsight it's actually frightening how quickly and completely it spread around the office. We don't work in particularly close proximity to each other, but it is an open floor plan so if what they theorize about the ease of transmissibility is true, that would make sense. We've gone through many cold and flu seasons and nothing hit all of us as completely and thoroughly as that did. And as I said, she came to work sick one day (at the very start, she was still feeling mostly okay) and then did right by calling out the rest of the time. But that one day was enough.

 

[John*Wells]

Sorry to hear that! Hope you can telework to some extent, or will continue to be paid through a furlough.

Thank you. I am actually very Fortunate to be paid because I work for a federal government contractor. The job is temporary though

 

[TJPC]

When the vaccine gets here then get back to me. Furthermore, you're assuming everybody is going to get vaccinated. That's far from a given.

How long have they been working on an HIV vaccine?

 

[Malcolm R]

How long have they been working on an HIV vaccine?

I don't think we can discuss the true reasons for that failing without breaking HTF rules on politics and religion.

 

[TJPC]

Those things did not enter in my thoughts. I heard scientists talk about how difficult their task was on a science pod cast.

 

[JohnRice]

Vaccines don't work for all viruses. With some, the immune system can't develop immunity.

 

[JohnRice]

Now I really, really want to get an antibody test, if someone near me has it available. I showed it to the team, she replies "if you test positive for antibodies...you're all welcome."

I would definitely try to get tested. Hopefully the followup on this entire issue will be handled properly, and there should be multiple antibody tests for everyone.

 

[Francois Caron]

I most definitely will. I haven't been in the habit of getting the flu shot, but at 55 I'm getting to the age where I need to make more of a habit of it. I've always had a robust immune system, which shows up in how seldom I need to get my teeth cleaned, but age will change that.

I'm 54 and started getting the flu shot at 50 when I moved to Ottawa and I could get it easily for free at the local pharmacy on my way home from work. I had had a bad bout of flu a few years earlier and I wanted to give myself the best chances of not going through that nightmare again.

So when the Covid-19 vaccine becomes available (also for free), I'll definitely get it as soon as I can.

 

[Carlo_M]

The best health decision I made was in my early 30s getting my yearly flu shot. Ever since I was 17 I've been on a college campus, first as a student, then as staff. Every year, flu season coincides with final exams and students not taking care of themselves. Every year, like clockwork, the flu would knock me for a loop. Even in my twenties. Then in my early thirties I started getting the shots pretty religiously. Since then, it's not been 100% perfect, but more often than not I don't get the flu and when I do it's been relatively mild and short-lived. This is over a decade's worth of admittedly anecdotal data. The one time in recent memory that it hit me full force, I had been late in getting my shot and had only received it the week I got sick (so too late, as it needs 2 weeks to get to max effectiveness for prevention).

 

[Clinton McClure]

With all seriousness, I disagree. Old Normal is gone. A new normal will emerge.

Old normal was alive and well when I went to Kroger this morning. The store I went to was crowded, with me being the only shopper I saw wearing a mask. The checkers were all masked and gloved up and they had the plexiglass sneeze guard up at each register. Most people there were still not bothering with social distancing and would violate others’ personal space to grab something off the shelf. After about 5 minutes in that store, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk so I left and will go to a different store tomorrow morning for groceries.

 

[Clinton McClure]

The best health decision I made was in my early 30s getting my yearly flu shot. Ever since I was 17 I've been on a college campus, first as a student, then as staff. Every year, flu season coincides with final exams and students not taking care of themselves. Every year, like clockwork, the flu would knock me for a loop. Even in my twenties. Then in my early thirties I started getting the shots pretty religiously. Since then, it's not been 100% perfect, but more often than not I don't get the flu and when I do it's been relatively mild and short-lived. This is over a decade's worth of admittedly anecdotal data. The one time in recent memory that it hit me full force, I had been late in getting my shot and had only received it the week I got sick (so too late, as it needs 2 weeks to get to max effectiveness for prevention).

I’ve only gotten the flu once when I was in my early 20s. When I took a food service job in my late 20s, I was required by my employer to get a flu shot and I’ve been getting one every year since then.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Funny story. A coworker went to Asia late last year and brought something really nasty back to work in November. She came in one day, thought it was a cold, then took the rest of a week or so off to recover. When she came back she was still coughing and crap but was otherwise normal. She's 22, just out of college. The rest of the office is also young, I'm the most senior in my forties. Of course she knocked out the rest of the office suite for a couple of weeks. I would have called it one of the nastiest colds I'd ever gotten, with an upper respiratory tract component, so labored breathing. No fever that I can recall though I never thought to take my temperature. Took us all a couple of weeks to get back, but our coughs lingered into early 2020. When coronavirus and COVID hit, we all joked that she'd been patient zero, but of course we all still adhered strictly to social distancing. On our Zoom calls we still joke that "obviously we're all still healthy because we already got it from her..."

https://abc7.com/coronavirus-covid-19-herd-immunity-california/6091220/
From the article:

Now I really, really want to get an antibody test, if someone near me has it available. I showed it to the team, she replies "if you test positive for antibodies...you're all welcome."

My wife and I both had something similar in January and February (she came down with it first on New Year's Eve). I doubt it was the coronovirus, though, as there was no fever and it didn't knock either one of us off our feet, although I had miserable chest congestion and a nasty cough for almost 3 weeks.

 

[jcroy]

When I was young, I rarely ever got sick nor had any health problems. So it never occurred to be me to get flu shots either.

As I got older, I started getting regular flu shots.

 

[TravisR]

Old normal was alive and well when I went to Kroger this morning. The store I went to was crowded, with me being the only shopper I saw wearing a mask. The checkers were all masked and gloved up and they had the plexiglass sneeze guard up at each register. Most people there were still not bothering with social distancing and would violate others’ personal space to grab something off the shelf. After about 5 minutes in that store, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk so I left and will go to a different store tomorrow morning for groceries.

And that's basically in the middle of a pandemic. That's why I have no doubt that people will be right back to their normal routines as soon as possible.

 

[Tino]

Anecdotal evidence is mostly useless. I went to my local store and everyone was wearing gloves and masks.

 

[Robert Crawford]

And that's basically in the middle of a pandemic. That's why I have no doubt that people will be right back to their normal routines as soon as possible.

I think some states and cities are worse than others in following Covid-19 guidelines. Because of that, I think there is going to be another wave from this virus either in a few months or later this Fall/Winter.

 

[TravisR]

I think some states and cities are worse than others in following Covid-19 guidelines. Because of that, I think there is going to be another wave from this virus either in a few months or later this Fall/Winter.

Fall or winter? It seems like some people want to end our current quarantine so soon that there's going to be a new wave by the end of next month.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I think some states and cities are worse than others in following Covid-19 guidelines. Because of that, I think there is going to be another wave from this virus either in a few months or later this Fall/Winter.

True.