# Coronavirus general discussion and chit-chat **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [August 12, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903 "2020-08-12T17:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 59
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1165 "2021-12-04T13:47:45Z")
For international travelers, the U.S. requires a negative covid test, either antigen or PCR, taken within one day of the flight. To enter Switzerland, travelers need a negative PCR test, which is more expensive, and takes longer for results (24-48 hours). Would be nice if all countries would have the same requirements. And it would also be good if flights within the U.S. would also require a negative antigen tests. However, children under 2 don’t get tested anyway. Nor do they have to wear masks. Seems to be a bit of a loophole. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1166 "2021-12-06T13:01:46Z")
I took my children to a clinic to have their first shot this weekend (they are in the 5-11 category). It was held in a school. The line snaked from outside, through a hall, into the gym, through another hall, and into the cafeteria. Nobody was distancing, and they actually took the straight line through the gym and compressed it into a wave in order to “fit more people in” o.O We arrived shortly after it was scheduled to start, and stood in line for 2 1/2 hours. There were hundreds of people in line and only 3 people actually giving shots. Paperwork was a 3 stage process and involved 4 people. The person actually trained to give the jab was also filling out extensive paperwork. The whole thing was a mess and poorly handled. Scuttlebutt was that they had multiple volunteers not show up. I should have walked when I got inside and saw how the line was being handled. We were trying to get them partially vaxxed ahead of a family Christmas gathering, but the risk they incurred standing in that line was almost certainly higher than anything they might have had from the family we are going to see. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1167 "2021-12-06T13:36:57Z")
But now they may be less likely to give it to members of that extended family. Although with omicron on the loose, who knows. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1168 "2021-12-06T15:49:46Z")
My two 8-year-olds got their first shots yesterday. We used our health system’s drive through vaccine and testing center. We had to make an appointment. One kid got the shot while sitting in the car. The other one got panicky and I asked if we could get out so she could sit on my lap. She’s always been scared of shots, but it’s seems like fully a phobia now. I was holding her hand, and one of the medical people was like, “hold her other hand,” to try to get me to hold her still while she was screaming “no, no, no!”. I didn’t want it to go like that. I kept talking to her, and was on the verge of saying we’d have to come back later, when suddenly she said, “OK, do it.” And it was over. She had a slightly elevated temperature last night – not enough to count as a fever – and they both have sore arms. We were worried that they might have bad side effects due to having had covid 6-7 weeks ago, but so far, it seems pretty typical. I’m glad they’ll have some extra protection as they and my spouse will be traveling to visit family after Christmas. There’s a psychologist available at out pediatrician’s office who helps people overcome needle phobias. We are going to try to set up an appointment to get started with that. I want the second shots to be in 6 weeks, so maybe there’s time to make headway by then. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1169 "2021-12-06T16:51:04Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > There’s a psychologist available at out pediatrician’s office who helps people overcome needle phobias. My daughter had a needle phobia. She wanted to get a piercing when she was ~14, but her fear was just too great. I took her to the tattoo shop where I knew everyone, and the piercer showed my daughter how piercings were done. After an hour or so of chatting, my daughter asked if she could hold my hand while her piercing was done and it all went smoothly. She is 31 now and a nurse. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1170 "2021-12-06T22:42:32Z")
Say, what’s with respectable news sites referring to the injection as a “jab”? See this from the BBC as an example: > **[Pfizer boss: Annual Covid jabs for years to come](https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59488848)** > > In an exclusive interview, Dr Albert Bourla says jabs have saved millions of lives. Seems to me that it’s mostly respectable news organizations outside the US that do this. In the US, I’ve only seen it used by tabloids. As an American, I think this is extremely informal usage, and really doesn’t belong in straight news coverage. The image it creates is of a mad scientist stabbing people without their consent. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1171 "2021-12-06T22:54:10Z")
We’ll need some British Dopers to confirm, but from what I can tell … “_jab_” in British English can be an unmarked\*\* synonym for “_injection by syringe_” and by short extension, “_vaccination_”. In American English, “_jab_” used to mean “_vaccination_” often belies some level of disrespect for the process. … \*\* "_Unmarked"_ here meaning “_neither pejorative nor complimentary_”, “_neutral in connotation_”. ---
**Author:** ![EnglishGrey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/englishgrey/32/14111_2.png) [@EnglishGrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnglishGrey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1172 "2021-12-06T23:29:01Z")
It’s a perfectly acceptable, if slightly informal, way of referring to vaccinations in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1173 "2021-12-07T00:27:00Z")
My understanding is that in the UK you “get jabbed” where in the US you “get a shot”. They are similarly informal, but perfectly acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1174 "2021-12-07T00:31:43Z")
I see, that’s interesting. I had a feeling the word has a different connotation in the UK vs the US. To put it bluntly, in the US only an anti-vaxxer would refer to it as a jab. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1175 "2021-12-07T00:35:59Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My understanding is that in the UK you “get jabbed” where in the US you “get a shot”. Maybe it depends on where you live in the US. Most people I know use both expressions. In the MPSIMS, “get the jab” seems to be the more common one. I prefer “get the jab.” “Get the shot” sounds too much like a different sort of shot entirely. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1176 "2021-12-07T01:46:18Z")
“Jab” makes me wince. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1177 "2021-12-07T02:09:58Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I see, that’s interesting. I had a feeling the word has a different connotation in the UK vs the US. To put it bluntly, in the US only an anti-vaxxer would refer to it as a jab. Naw, I’ve started referring to jabs. “Shots” has to many other meanings. I’m very pro-vax. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1178 "2021-12-07T02:12:43Z")
I concur with the above posters. Very common to refer to the vaccine as “the jab” where I’m at (Chicago.) Doesn’t have any anti-vaxxer connotations that I’ve noticed. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1179 "2021-12-07T04:29:02Z")
The connotations of _spoken_ “jab” versus “shot” in the U.S. is probably context-dependent and variable by region. Where I think American usage of “jab” connotes disrespect for the vaccination effort is when it’s used in print/online media. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1180 "2021-12-07T15:57:25Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I see, that’s interesting. I had a feeling the word has a different connotation in the UK vs the US. To put it bluntly, in the US only an anti-vaxxer would refer to it as a jab. Nothing to do with pro- or anti-vax in the UK. I’ll go with “quaint” colloquialism for injection, with quaint in quotes because it annoys the hell out of me, in part because its so pervasive that on bad days I’ll find myself using it. It’s the stuff of lazy headlines in low end newspapers; but yes, pervasive - as you point out, the BBC are using it. It also connotes, to me at least, Britishness signalling (you might call it, modelling the phrase on “virtue signalling”). In the same way that someone might say “good old fish and chips” or “proper beer”. j ---
**Author:** ![GirlInterrupted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e79b87/32.png) [@GirlInterrupted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GirlInterrupted)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1181 "2021-12-07T16:08:17Z")
A sore arm can be a sign of a good immune response. You get shots in both arms to spread the load if you get soreness from them. The sore arm you get from a shot, the vast majority of the time, can be alleviated with paracetamol and usually resolves in 24 hours or less. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1182 "2021-12-07T16:22:01Z")
To me, “jab” implies that someone is not using all due care, but just rams the needle home. I imagine it might raise the hairs on someone who is needle-phobic. But it is understandable as a term for the fourth estate. After a saying ‘injection’ for several months, a reporter might welcome a one-syllable replacement. And short words are obviously preferred for headlines. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1183 "2021-12-07T16:38:27Z")
I hadn’t really thought about jab vs shot before. In my very pro-vax mind, jab is used for COVID shots and shots are used for flu, shingles, measles, etc. I have no clue how that became cemented in my head, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903/1184 "2021-12-07T18:48:19Z")
Yes, I have had some clients on the edge of being vaccinated who were too repulsed by “jab,” which to them sounds violent, and helped push them in the direction of not vaccinating. I also find it stabby terminology but I have mad cognitive-behavioral skillz to get me through. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=58) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903.md?page=60)