COVID-19

So where are you guys at with your own personal risk assessments on this thing?  Triple boosted, and kinda waiting out this Omicron surge... but also pretty much resigned to the fact that this thing is going to be a new Endemic problem.   So a big part of me is wondering to what end I'm waiting out this surge at least in terms of small things like going out to a restaurant for dinner.

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

So where are you guys at with your own personal risk assessments on this thing? ....

According to some people on here I might be an unvaxxed mouth breather who is running around without a mask on and licking doorknobs everywhere I go...

The reality is that I'm dbl vaxed (still waiting for booster notification), wear a mask (have used a respirator a few times in dicey situatons) and have modified my behaviour to be very low risk. When I'm at work (gym) I'm in the office by myself and away from other people most of the time. When I go grocery shopping (or most other shopping) I go about 30 minutes or less before closing when there are next to no other people in the store. I have been out to a restaurant 2-3 times during this whole thing - although I've popped into a Subway a few times when it's been quiet. My bubble/circle consists of 5-6 people. The only thing that has been a "concern" was a family meal at Christmas time that included my bro-in-law's brother/wife who were here from Florida. But they'd had recent tests that were negative. I've only had two work reno clients over this time and for the most part they haven't been home when I've been working. In general, I'm not concerned about transmission very much as I've been able to keep my exposure to different people really low by maximizing my physical distancing practices and of course masking - not cloth. School has been online anyways so that's something I don't have to consider. My biggest worry over the past two years happened the other night when I went to look at some appliances with a friend at one of those used places. None of the chuckleheads there had masks on (we did) and a couple of the guys in the shop were even smoking. Needless to say we weren't there very long.

In the grand scheme of things I haven't had to modify my behaviour a ton, but I've been at the point for a while where I'm tired of having to make the changes I have. I think people with families (wife/kids) are fucking lucky even though they have some higher risk as they're able to have regular contact with other humans, including things like giving hugs. That's the biggest thing that's wearing on me probably, that lack of physical connection where you can give someone you care about a hug.

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

So where are you guys at with your own personal risk assessments on this thing? ....

According to some people on here I might be an unvaxxed mouth breather who is running around without a mask on and licking doorknobs everywhere I go...

The reality is that I'm dbl vaxed (still waiting for booster notification), wear a mask (have used a respirator a few times in dicey situatons) and have modified my behaviour to be very low risk. When I'm at work (gym) I'm in the office by myself and away from other people most of the time. When I go grocery shopping (or most other shopping) I go about 30 minutes or less before closing when there are next to no other people in the store. I have been out to a restaurant 2-3 times during this whole thing - although I've popped into a Subway a few times when it's been quiet. My bubble/circle consists of 5-6 people. The only thing that has been a "concern" was a family meal at Christmas time that included my bro-in-law's brother/wife who were here from Florida. But they'd had recent tests that were negative. I've only had two work reno clients over this time and for the most part they haven't been home when I've been working. In general, I'm not concerned about transmission very much as I've been able to keep my exposure to different people really low by maximizing my physical distancing practices and of course masking - not cloth. School has been online anyways so that's something I don't have to consider. My biggest worry over the past two years happened the other night when I went to look at some appliances with a friend at one of those used places. None of the chuckleheads there had masks on (we did) and a couple of the guys in the shop were even smoking. Needless to say we weren't there very long.

In the grand scheme of things I haven't had to modify my behaviour a ton, but I've been at the point for a while where I'm tired of having to make the changes I have. I think people with families (wife/kids) are fucking lucky even though they have some higher risk as they're able to have regular contact with other humans, including things like giving hugs. That's the biggest thing that's wearing on me probably, that lack of physical connection where you can give someone you care about a hug.

Sounds like I'm at a similar place to you.  Minus the doorknob licking of course.  

I was starting to get back to normal life in the fall, even went to a couple of movies.  Now I'm thinking I've swung too far back to lockdown mode over this Omicron variant.  Winter greyness in Vancouver is bad enough, but the sense of languishing is really grating on me.

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

So where are you guys at with your own personal risk assessments on this thing?  Triple boosted, and kinda waiting out this Omicron surge... but also pretty much resigned to the fact that this thing is going to be a new Endemic problem.   So a big part of me is wondering to what end I'm waiting out this surge at least in terms of small things like going out to a restaurant for dinner.

We're definitely in the COVID burn-out spiral in our house. Both my wife and I work full-time and as such our 4-year old is in Daycare full-time as well. We don't have any family support, so as much as we would love to isolate further, we don't really have that luxury, but we do everything in our power to keep ourselves and our daughter safe. My wife is a recent cancer survivor, thankfully our munchkin, who is also at-risk, was able to stay home through the bulk of the pandemic, until my wife's return-to-work this fall. I just booked my booster this morning, my wife is boosted as well, as she is a healthcare worker. Anyone who enters our home gets our informal risk assessment interrogation. 

We've only had one close-call so far, and unfortunately it was pretty much unavoidable as it was through our kid's daycare center. There was an outbreak when a COVID positive 2 year old infected a staff member in their cohort, the only symptom that the toddler had was that they woke up one night with a headache and red cheeks, the parents reasonably assumed that it was just teething. The center was shut down the week before Christmas due to two additional related positive tests. Our kid returned to the center on the 4th and two days later we were notified that the day kiddo returned, they had come into close contact with a COVID positive kid in their cohort, so my wife and I rearranged our schedule and took some vacation days so kiddo could isolate at home. We're guessing that our winter will likely be an ongoing series of 10 day isolation periods and we'll just have to miss some work and use some of our emergency funds to get by. It's pretty frustrating feeling like you're child's safety is partly in the hands of the other parents in her cohort, we're just trying to trust that they're making sound decisions and listening to experts, not bullshit advice from keyboard warriors on Social Media, but considering the prevalence of misinformation we encounter on a daily basis, that trust is waning.

Just white-knuckling it at this point, hoping to make it through the winter in one piece with everyone happy and healthy.

At the pharmacy, the tech asked whether I want Pfizer or Moderna. I told her I've already had Moderna, so this time Pfizer as I might as well mix it up a little. So she says that Moderna would be better. I told her sure, whatever, to which she replies that it is up too me. I say Pfizer, and she replies that is up to me but I should consider Moderna.

Same conversation was going in with the woman in the next booth.

Do you think they have more of the one vaccine and are pushing it because of that? Because nothing I've read on the two show that one is any more effective than the other.

I’ve read that Moderna may be a more effective booster. Not sure where.

saw this: 

A recent study out of the United Kingdom indicates a third dose of Moderna offered more effective protection against Omicron, compared to Pfizer. The study from the UK Health Security Agency showed that among those who received a Pfizer primary course, vaccine effectiveness was around 70% after a Pfizer booster, dropping to 45% after 10-plus weeks and stayed around 70 to 75% after a Moderna booster up to 9 weeks after booster.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1043807/technical-briefing-33.pdf

no, i haven't fact checked the brief. 

received a moderna booster this week (after 2 rounds of pfizer). unlike the previous shots, this is the first time i've had a reaction of any sort - mild flu-like symptoms (chills, body aches, etc).

Second exposure since being back to work after the holidays (Jan 4th). Fuck ya! Love life!

Neat.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/19/boris-johnson-announces-end-to-all-omicron-covid-restrictions-in-england

Posted by: switch

At the pharmacy, the tech asked whether I want Pfizer or Moderna. I told her I've already had Moderna, so this time Pfizer as I might as well mix it up a little. So she says that Moderna would be better. I told her sure, whatever, to which she replies that it is up too me. I say Pfizer, and she replies that is up to me but I should consider Moderna.

Same conversation was going in with the woman in the next booth.

Do you think they have more of the one vaccine and are pushing it because of that? Because nothing I've read on the two show that one is any more effective than the other.

I got asked the same question with the booster. My first 2 were AZ, I had a choice for the 3rd. I replied, I have no knowledge to base a decision on, that's your job, you pick. Got Pfizer, probably should have done the Moderna. All in all, I'm not sure it matters that much.

As for risk level these days. I'm pretty similar to the others here. My circle is small, very small. I do have to go to work in an office though and currently half of the office is home with covid. My teenage kid is in school and my 90 year old mother in-law lives with us so I try to keep the risk level pretty low considering I have to accept the risk of the things I have to do. I'd love to get back playing hockey. I stopped before Christmas when the cases started to surge. I just don't know if it's a good thing to do right now.

I got that same question as well.  I was double AZ and my booster ended up being Pfizer.  I guess my 2nd booster will be Moderna, when they eventually roll that out...

I have had all three so far.  I think if you had 2 shots of AZ you will want an mRNA vaccine, but that is all they offer now so everyone is good.

Posted by: Ride.DMC

I got that same question as well.  I was double AZ and my booster ended up being Pfizer.  I guess my 2nd booster will be Moderna, when they eventually roll that out...

Eventually the booster will become a morning ritual for everyone where we'll have to buy these fancy machines that download the day's copy of the vax via 6G and if you don't take it the state security controls will keep you locked in your home.

/esarc for the nitwits who's lack of contextual reading capabilities won't allow them to figure that out on their own.

Posted by: syncro

a family meal at Christmas time that included my bro-in-law's brother/wife who were here from Florida. 

I'm interested to hear more about this brother-in-law's brother/wife. This really does sound like a 'Florida Man' story ...