# The Quarantine Zone **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/the-quarantine-zone/29.md?page=8 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 9 --- ## [Belligerent covid patients frustrate ER personnel](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belligerent-covid-patients-frustrate-er-personnel/958068)
**Author:** [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Replies:** 129\ **Last updated:** [January 27, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belligerent-covid-patients-frustrate-er-personnel/958068 "2022-01-27T19:09:54Z")
My ER Nurse daughter is exhausted dealing with belligerent COVID patients. This is not the infrequent nut case running thru the ER. These are routine patients who won’t accept a Covid diagnosis. They reject the diagnosi… --- ## [What happened to face shields?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-face-shields/957971)
**Author:** [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 26, 2022, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-face-shields/957971 "2022-01-26T05:06:01Z")
Early in the pandemic, a few folks were wearing clear face shields instead of or in addition to cloth/surgical masks. They supposedly offered some protection against large droplets, especially for the eyes. Now we’re bei… --- ## [Reaction to Pfizer booster: did anyone feel unusually cold?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-pfizer-booster-did-anyone-feel-unusually-cold/957769)
**Author:** [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [January 24, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-pfizer-booster-did-anyone-feel-unusually-cold/957769 "2022-01-24T18:38:03Z")
I got the booster yesterday and last night I nearly froze to death. I couldn’t get warm despite extra blankets, wearing a heavy sweater in bed, and keeping the heat on. I’m in southern CA, so it wasn’t the weather. H… --- ## [Florida health official put on administrative leave... for SUPPORTING vaccination](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-health-official-put-on-administrative-leave-for-supporting-vaccination/958205)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2022, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-health-official-put-on-administrative-leave-for-supporting-vaccination/958205 "2022-01-23T12:37:13Z")
A health official in Florida has been put on administrative leave for encouraging his employees to get vaccinated against covid-19, despite legislation passed last year in the Sunshine State prohibiting public and priv… --- ## [How can I tell if I was asymptomatic with COVID?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-i-was-asymptomatic-with-covid/958067)
**Author:** [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 22, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-tell-if-i-was-asymptomatic-with-covid/958067 "2022-01-22T22:41:52Z")
I’m fully vaccinated and boosted. I gave blood a couple of weeks ago and was sent the results of an antigen test that said that I was positive which meant that I had either had COVID or was vaccinated. This isn’t parti… --- ## [When is it safe to visit people? And who?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-safe-to-visit-people-and-who/958124)
**Author:** [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 20, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-safe-to-visit-people-and-who/958124 "2022-01-20T21:53:33Z")
I’m trying my darndest not to get covid. I’m boosted but still staying home as much as possible, even more than March 2020 (I’ve resigned myself to grocery pickup), and if I do go out I’m wearing a N95 mask. I work from … --- ## [Is having Omicron worse than having flu?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-omicron-worse-than-having-flu/957588)
**Author:** [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-having-omicron-worse-than-having-flu/957588 "2022-01-19T21:38:47Z")
Having one of the earlier variants was worse than having flu, at least in some senses such as higher fatality rate. Is that true of Omicron? Apparently it’s fairly common to have covid and not know it, or have very mild… --- ## [What do the people who think ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 believe is the reason health providers do not want to prescribe it?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674)
**Author:** [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [January 19, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674 "2022-01-19T15:16:12Z")
Some kind of conspiracy I assume? Or what? --- ## [If I have covid, can I accidentally pass it to someone through the mail?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-have-covid-can-i-accidentally-pass-it-to-someone-through-the-mail/957406)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 18, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-have-covid-can-i-accidentally-pass-it-to-someone-through-the-mail/957406 "2022-01-18T15:49:36Z")
(Why hello, FBI, I hope you’re enjoying my search history. I am attempting not to pass my covid to other people, actually.) I live in Virginia. If I write a letter or card to a friend of mine who lives in Florida, wha… --- ## [\>$10 million in PPE abandoned in San Mateo, CA](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-million-in-ppe-abandoned-in-san-mateo-ca/957865)
**Author:** [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [January 16, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-million-in-ppe-abandoned-in-san-mateo-ca/957865 "2022-01-16T14:19:47Z")
I wasn’t sure whether to post this here or in the Pit, so move it if you feel it’s appropriate. Anyway, I found this story while surfing You Tube last night, and the scope of it is visible at the end, in the drone shot,… --- ## [What is your current Covid comfort level?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-current-covid-comfort-level/954984)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 206\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-current-covid-comfort-level/954984 "2022-01-15T13:47:58Z")
So what do you feel comfortable doing under what circumstances these days? Travel? Restaurants? Social gatherings? Masked/unmasked? Indoors/out? Maximum numbers? I’m not sure if I’m falling victim of fatigue, but … --- ## [Do you say anything about the unvaccinated?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-anything-about-the-unvaccinated/954943)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [January 15, 2022, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-anything-about-the-unvaccinated/954943 "2022-01-15T13:08:24Z")
As the holidays approach, many of us may find ourselves socializing with people who may or may not have been vaccinated. What are your personal choices with respect to commenting on peoples’ choices to not get vaccinate… --- ## [Home Testing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-testing/957793)
**Author:** [@dauerbach1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach1)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2022, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-testing/957793 "2022-01-14T22:53:37Z")
Has anyone heard of a rationale concerning the government mandating private insurance pay for home test kits but exempting Medicare? The only reason I can think of is that they do not want to spend the money in the Medi… --- ## [Exposed to COVID, still negative - what is my level of immunity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-to-covid-still-negative-what-is-my-level-of-immunity/957620)
**Author:** [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2022, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exposed-to-covid-still-negative-what-is-my-level-of-immunity/957620 "2022-01-14T04:56:33Z")
I’m living with two COVID positive people (likely omicron but not typed). We tried quarantining from each other, but already had a few days of exposure before we realized, and after trying for a couple days, realized it … --- ## [US adds Canada to highest travel risk](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-adds-canada-to-highest-travel-risk/957561)
**Author:** [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [January 14, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-adds-canada-to-highest-travel-risk/957561 "2022-01-14T03:25:40Z")
US adds Canada to “highest risk travel” Given that as of today, January 10, Nine out of Thirteen provinces and territories in Canada have LOWER CASE COUNTS than 43 of the states, perhaps this risk level should be compar… --- ## [Vaxed, boostered, got Covid anyway and am mostly recuperated --- now what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaxed-boostered-got-covid-anyway-and-am-mostly-recuperated-now-what/957637)
**Author:** [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vaxed-boostered-got-covid-anyway-and-am-mostly-recuperated-now-what/957637 "2022-01-13T16:48:01Z")
So, I’ve done All The Things for Covid prevention - masks, vaccines, distancing, blah blah blah. The big caveat to all that is that my husband is a doc in a rural health clinic in the southern US, and I work retail 40 h… --- ## [What has the pandemic changed permanently for you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-pandemic-changed-permanently-for-you/957464)
**Author:** [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-pandemic-changed-permanently-for-you/957464 "2022-01-13T15:42:10Z")
Many of us temporarily gave up things we’ve already gone back to, or intend to go back to as soon as it’s safe. But are there any things you realized were never that important to begin with, and will never go back to? Or… --- ## [What would you imagine your odds of getting Covid over the next couple of months?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-imagine-your-odds-of-getting-covid-over-the-next-couple-of-months/956372)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 109\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-imagine-your-odds-of-getting-covid-over-the-next-couple-of-months/956372 "2022-01-13T03:15:37Z")
I’m thinking mine are pretty high. I’m not doing anything different than the past 1.75 years, but over the past couple of months several of the people I associate with have gotten breakthrough cases (all fully vaxxed/bo… --- ## [About losing your sense of taste (covid)-- it was very subtle to me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-losing-your-sense-of-taste-covid-it-was-very-subtle-to-me/957558)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 12, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-losing-your-sense-of-taste-covid-it-was-very-subtle-to-me/957558 "2022-01-12T18:42:49Z")
So, I believe I was exposed to COVID (possibly the Omicron variant) on Sunday, December 26 when I was at a gas station and some maskhole came in looking for tests. I started coughing the following day, and got runny nos… --- ## [To what degree does having Omicron protect against other variants?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-degree-does-having-omicron-protect-against-other-variants/957571)
**Author:** [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2022, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-degree-does-having-omicron-protect-against-other-variants/957571 "2022-01-11T23:45:56Z")
Yes, my whole family has had it for a week, and our booster shots have been postponed - our second vax is now 5 months old. To what degree are we at risk from more serious strains like Delta (which is still around 1/3 o… --- ## [Another gift from Covid: tinnitus](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-gift-from-covid-tinnitus/957092)
**Author:** [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-gift-from-covid-tinnitus/957092 "2022-01-11T21:08:46Z")
After my bout of Covid a few weeks ago I’ve had some lingering symptoms. A cough that shows up especially in the morning, some occasional stuffiness, nothing major. I noticed my neighbor(town house) started to play their… --- ## [What would have happened if Omicron was the original COVID strain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-happened-if-omicron-was-the-original-covid-strain/956986)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2022, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-have-happened-if-omicron-was-the-original-covid-strain/956986 "2022-01-11T13:24:41Z")
I assume it would have ripped through the human population before any significant prevention methods were able to be implemented. --- ## [Is Omicron the most transmissible disease to ever exist](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-omicron-the-most-transmissible-disease-to-ever-exist/957570)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [January 11, 2022, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-omicron-the-most-transmissible-disease-to-ever-exist/957570 "2022-01-11T05:41:42Z")
So I read an article that Omicron is one of the most contagious virus to exist, behind measles. But I also read that while measles has a higher R0 (15 for measles vs 6 for omicron), that omicron incubates and spreads f… --- ## [Free cigarettes for vaccines?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-cigarettes-for-vaccines/957548)
**Author:** [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-cigarettes-for-vaccines/957548 "2022-01-10T23:43:54Z")
A modest proposal: offer a carton of cigarettes (their choice of brand) to any currently unvaccinated person who gets a Covid vaccine. Two advantages: it induces some of these dumbasses to get vaccinated, AND it acceler… --- ## [Dispel (or provide proof for) this Omicron “fact”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431)
**Author:** [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2022, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dispel-or-provide-proof-for-this-omicron-fact/957431 "2022-01-10T23:35:57Z")
Someone at work who just came back from Covid said we both had Delta because we lost our sense of taste. I have seen some non-scientific articles that state loss of taste is much less prevalent with Omicron but it didn’t… --- ## [What would we (society in general) have done if the flu mutated to be like Omicron?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-we-society-in-general-have-done-if-the-flu-mutated-to-be-like-omicron/957542)
**Author:** [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [January 10, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-we-society-in-general-have-done-if-the-flu-mutated-to-be-like-omicron/957542 "2022-01-10T20:55:42Z")
I got to idly wondering the other day how society would have reacted had the influenza virus mutated to be more similar to the Omicron variant of COVID-19- i.e. more lethal and more transmissible, instead of COVID happen… --- ## [Fighting "Mark of the Beast" vaccine hesitancy](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-mark-of-the-beast-vaccine-hesitancy/953149)
**Author:** [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fighting-mark-of-the-beast-vaccine-hesitancy/953149 "2022-01-09T18:00:12Z")
My landlady is an evangelical Christian, and part of the reason she doesn’t want to get the vaccine is because she sees a lot of similarities between it and the Mark of the Beast in Revelation. What do I even say to tha… --- ## [Could a variant emerge that keeps us perpetually sick?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-variant-emerge-that-keeps-us-perpetually-sick/957438)
**Author:** [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [January 9, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-variant-emerge-that-keeps-us-perpetually-sick/957438 "2022-01-09T15:55:53Z")
The conventional wisdom and experience tells us that viruses weaken over time, in terms of being deadly to their host. The strains that kill off their host are eventually crowded out by the ones that keep the host alive… --- ## [I got Covid for Christmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-covid-for-christmas/957043)
**Author:** [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-covid-for-christmas/957043 "2022-01-08T16:28:07Z")
Well, a few days later. My dumb older son who refused to get vaxxed started showing symptoms Tuesday. He’s been pretty sick with a high of 101.5 temp. Test showed positive. He’s getting better now but still hacking. My y… --- ## [Idaho doctor: Vaccinated pilots should be grounded](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idaho-doctor-vaccinated-pilots-should-be-grounded/957335)
**Author:** [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [January 8, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idaho-doctor-vaccinated-pilots-should-be-grounded/957335 "2022-01-08T02:43:54Z")
An Idaho doctor that is already under investigation for anti-vaccine comments joined others in sending a letter to the FAA demanding vaccinated pilots to be grounded. Personally if I was going to fly, I would prefer a va… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/the-quarantine-zone/29.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/the-quarantine-zone/29.md?page=9)