Coronavirus

[Bgunner]

If it wasn't for the socialization the kids need mine wouldn't have gone to in person at all. They need to be around other kids and talk to kids there own age so it is an important developmental thing. Schools in Pittsfield had gone to remote in the middle of last week due to teachers and students contracting the virus and I got notified this afternoon that my child's school is doing remote learning till at least the end of thanksgiving break which at that time it will be reassessed. So about 2 weeks for her also. There was only 2 reported cases in my child's school but that's enough to cause the heads to shut down and see how far this wave is going to go. Both reported case came in last week so at least the heads are exercising caution with this. It makes me feel better at least.

 

[MikeG]

This crap is pretty emotionally damaging to kids, I think. I was at a state park in a very remote area, and saw a kid walking around in a mask. Broad daylight, outdoors. Poor kid was jumping off the trail and getting away from any adults walking by, even though chances of catching this stuff (let alone dying from it in that age group) while outdoors are incredibly close to zero. I'd guess 5 or 6 years old. Parents didn't have masks on that I could tell. No idea if the kid wearing a mask was her own idea, or if someone was making her.

Either that or I smelled a lot worse by that day .... LOL

 

[MikeG]

For those who are holding out hope of a miraculous vaccine saving us all from the cooties, well, let's hope that it works out to be a LOT more effective than a flu vaccine. Breaking down effectiveness by age range is sobering - for those who don't need it, it works best (just over 50%) and for those who really do need it, it barely works at all (less than 15% effectiveness). Probably due to rapid mutations of the seasonal flu. This from the CDC themselves.

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness, 2018-2019

Influenza vaccine effectivness study for the 2018-2019 U.S. flu season

www.cdc.gov

 

[RonD]

Its great if a vaccine protects the vaccinated but not its only purpose
"If" you are protected then you CAN'T SPREAD IT, and that protects EVERYONE you come into contact with in your daily travels

The reason Covid-19 is a "pandemic", and not just another Flu, is yes it is more deadly to many, but also because it spreads so easily BEFORE there are symptoms, "I feel fine"
With the Flu, you get sick sooner and don't want to go out and spread it, lol, not so with Covid-19

So any Covid-19 vaccine's main purpose, IMO, is to limit the spread of it, so "I feel fine" is not a death sentence for people you come in contact with
This is the "herd immunity" concept, if enough people are immune then a virus can't spread very fast

 

[Jim Oaks]

I've never had a flu shot.

My son is 23, and says he feels fine. He just can't smell anything. Him and his girlfriend live together. She tested negative. Their theory is that she is O blood type, and O is less likely to get it. My son is A, and they're supposedly more at risk. IDK.

 

[racsan]

I get a flu shot every year, sometimes I will get sick a week after, sometimes not. This year Ive been fine & its been over a month. I dont know if my immune system is shot or if its just from getting older but it does take me longer to recover from being ill when I do get sick. Ive put on some weight in the past few years too and have had to start wearing glasses to read. Im guessing its all a “age” thing. Im not one to go to a dr unless its absolutely needed, which means by the time I go , I should of been there a week before. My mother & daughter are both in health care, I worry more for mom than my daughter, Mom is in her 70’s. I dont know why she wont retire, Dad is on oxygen pretty much full-time.

 

[RonD]

I get Flu shots every year because I believe it helps me, but also everyone else I come into contact with, I also wear a mask for the same reason
That's just my own limited idea of the science involved

 

[97RangerXLT]

I get a flu shot every year. (required by my employer) Usually when I get the flu without having a shot it is pretty bad for a few days. feel like crap, call into work. Since I have been getting the shot, I still will get the flu but it is much much milder, one day or a day and a half of mild symptoms and I am fine again.

As for the Covid shot.... I will wait for a few years before I get that. we don't know enough about it to create a really effective vaccine, and I personally do not want to be the guinea pig for them to figure it all out.

Now here is some interesting things.... my wife works for the IU School of Medicine as the business manager/ accountant for one of the genetics labs, and she has been thrown into the world of Covid testing as she is now supporting three new Covid test labs. She does not have to go into the labs (thank God) but does the ordering for all the supplies and works with the people running them. For you to get Covid, your contact with the person who has it has to be a minimum of 20 minutes within 6 feet of them to effectively pass it on to you. (for those that will pick this apart, not that does not mean you cannot get it from a short interaction, but it does mean it is tatistically not likely to happen unless you have been in contact for at least 20 minutes and within 6 feet during that 20 minutes.

AJ

 

[MikeG]

I think there is a little confusion about what these 'shots' do and how the immune system works.

The shots don't "cure" anything or 'kill' any virus. The purpose of the shot, is to stimulate your own immune system, into producing the correct antibodies, BEFORE you get exposed to .... whatever.

In a perfect world, the 'shot' causes your immune system to produce the exact same antibodies, as whatever is perceived as a thread. The antibodies are the 'warning system' for your immune system to know what is a dangerous pathogen, and what is not. When you have an antibody for a dangerous pathogen (whether you got it as a result of the shot, or the disease itself), that should give your immune system a leg up on this condition in the future. That's a good thing. If your body mistakenly produced an antibody for something that is NOT a pathogen, that can be a bad thing (ie. severe allergies).

Again, an antibody is an antibody, and it doesn't matter how you got it, as long as you survived up to that point.

The rest is up to your immune system, to react via the antibodies, and deal with the problem appropriately. Whether you got a 'shot' or not, is entirely irrelevant by then.

So..... looking at the charts of effectiveness, it should not be a surprise that the age range where it was most effective, is in the youngest population. After all their immune systems are the strongest.... just ask anyone whose kids came home from school and gave them the latest cold going 'round, where the kid barely notices, and the adult suffers for a week. Then, where the 'shot' is the weakest is also what ought to be expected - in the oldest population (on average). The older we get, the less effective our immune systems tend to be. Get to 80+ and be in a nursing home with one foot in the grave and the other on the banana peel.... that person's immune system is going to have trouble with any pathogen, whether it is the latest flu or cooties or whatnot.

If would be beyond baffling, if the oldest, weakest population received the most benefit from any 'shot,' because their immune systems (on average) are the weakest.

If you have the flu, or the cooties, or whatever.... it doesn't matter by then whether or not you had the 'shot' ahead of time. You're shedding viruses, either way. Getting the 'shot' ahead of time might well reduce the severity, because (in theory) your immune system gets a leg up by producing the antibodies sooner.

 

[Grumpaw]

I'm 71 next month, wife is 67. I get flu shot every year, and haven't had it in over 30 years. Wife, works at local hospital, gets flu shot every year.
We've both had shingles vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, and are in generally good health. We both wear masks whenever we walk into any type of building other than our own home, and have limited our outings to shopping and a weekly night/meal out at restaurants that practice the virus protocols, or a drive thru/pick up. Still take drives up on the Blue Ridge to get out weekly, so we do "get out"
The local hospital where wife works has gone from 3 or 4 covid cases on their covid floor to 17 in the past 10 days, and their dedicating a second floor to just covid cases. These are serious cases and admissions, not just positive tests.
If a vaccine were available tomorrow, and the true experts gave an OK, I would get it ASAP. There is no down side as far as my health is concerned.

 

[Alan_nc]

Grumpaw….
Us Seniors do need to be more careful. Like you I have gotten a flu shot for years (employer required it when I worked). Would also get a covid shot if were approved by the experts.
Wear a mask any time I'm in public. Haven't eaten in a restaurant since February. Buy our groceries on-line and drive by and pick them up. Haven't seen some of my grandkids since last Christmas, and won't see them till there is a vaccine.

I'm real tired of the whole mess.....but I'm going to stick with the proper protocols.

 

[MikeG]

I'm 71 next month, wife is 67. I get flu shot every year, and haven't had it in over 30 years. Wife, works at local hospital, gets flu shot every year.
We've both had shingles vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, and are in generally good health. We both wear masks whenever we walk into any type of building other than our own home, and have limited our outings to shopping and a weekly night/meal out at restaurants that practice the virus protocols, or a drive thru/pick up. Still take drives up on the Blue Ridge to get out weekly, so we do "get out"
The local hospital where wife works has gone from 3 or 4 covid cases on their covid floor to 17 in the past 10 days, and their dedicating a second floor to just covid cases. These are serious cases and admissions, not just positive tests.
If a vaccine were available tomorrow, and the true experts gave an OK, I would get it ASAP. There is no down side as far as my health is concerned.

Glad to hear that you aren't getting the flu. No fun at all and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Means you are in the 12-16% (in your age range) for whom the flu vaccine is effective. Or in other words, your immune system is doing much better than your peers. Potentially a very good thing if you were exposed to you-know-what.

 

[Grumpaw]

Grumpaw….
Us Seniors do need to be more careful. Like you I have gotten a flu shot for years (employer required it when I worked). Would also get a covid shot if were approved by the experts.
Wear a mask any time I'm in public. Haven't eaten in a restaurant since February. Buy our groceries on-line and drive by and pick them up. Haven't seen some of my grandkids since last Christmas, and won't see them till there is a vaccine.

I'm real tired of the whole mess.....but I'm going to stick with the proper protocols.

Glad to know I'm not the only "senior" looking out for my health.
Know what your going thru with your kids...we haven't seen our kids and grandkids since last Thanksgiving...very tough on my wife, but yeah, we're sticking it out.
We do go shopping, but here I would say that 95% of people in stores are wearing masks and keeping distance. Same in the few restaurants we frequent, but we run thru drive-thru's more often now.
Wife loves to cook/bake, so all is not lost !

 

[19Walt93]

I've gotten a flu shot every year for a long time and I'll get a covid shot as soon as it's available. No drug company is going to release a vaccine that they aren't confident will be profitable and not cause massive law suits. If they create a dangerous product their reputation and business will go down in flames.
Vaccinations work, that's a fact. Nothing is perfect, that's another fact. The best you can do is the best you can do.

 

[MikeG]

There can't be "massive lawsuits." Drug companies are specifically protected against lawsuits from faulty vaccines. Cootie-vaccine kills ya.... your family may be entitled to some small financial compensation (there is a fund set up).

This has been federal law since 1986.

If you think the drug companies care about their reputations, see the opiod epidemic....

"In 2019, reported deaths from drug overdose in the USA reached an all-time high of almost 72 000, with opioids involved in more than two-thirds of the total deaths. " That quote from the Lancet (medical journal).