We were all set to leave this Saturday for two weeks in St Martin (though I was dreading the flight). Conditions on the island have deteriorated daily due to Omicron. Now the French government has declared a medical emergency for the French side, hospitals filled, etc. Princess Julianna Airport is on the Dutch side so it is still open, but no one knows for how long.
We canceled our trip.
Our one neighbor “helps” with our horses. We have someone who comes twice a day to feed/water/check on things. The neighbor is there in case the caregiver cannot make it. She’s a great backup, but her services have never been needed. My gf called the neighbor to explain we canceled our vacation and why.
So, that neighbor was talking to our other neighbor and told them that we had canceled our vacation due to Covid, which is technically true, I guess. Other neighbor freaked out. They dropped off a big pot of soup to our front porch leaving a note asking how sick we were and if we needed anything. Mmmmm, soup!
We have received word this morning than [previously-mentioned-in-this-thread coworker] has tested positive for the plague and is not feeling well. She also has a sinus infection so she is out of the office for a bit to rest up. Further info will be provided as we know more.
Also, [Admin, also previously mentioned] is out today not feeling well. She got tested a few days ago and was negative so, hopefully, she just has some winter crud.
I was in the office Tuesday, and chatted with the coworker who has tested positive. She was behind her desk, and I stood outside the doorway; so she was about eight feet away and I was wearing a cloth mask. I was uncomfortable though, because another coworker, whom I’m pretty sure is unvaccinated, boxed be in between the wall and the door. 1) I think she’s unvaccinated; 2) I think she may not have been wearing a mask; and 3) I don’t know how close she got to the now-infected coworker when I wasn’t around.
I think this comes from the leftist governments overt covering up of the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, horse dewormer, UV treatment delivered via the anus, and doing lines of bleach powder.
True, but public discourse has generally been dumbed down to on this corner: Vaccine/mask/isolation; on the other corner: HCQ, Ivermectin, Anal UV, etc. People working on real treatments kind of are quietly standing there trying to be the Grey Man that nobody notices so nobody shoots at.
Basically if we’re being generous(*) it sounds like the line of thought is, since “we know people will not give the kind of compliance needed” with the prevention measures, so Operation Warp Speed should have been at least half focused on finding something to give those who will catch it so they don’t wind up in ICUs or with long-term effects.
This is a faulty line of thinking, especially in the case of a viral disease. For viral diseases, since we’ve known what they are the gold standard has been a vaccine. For most viral ailments, treatment of the symptomatic person has been and remains a matter of management. You manage a case of the flu so the person doesn’t develop pneumonia.
People may get confused because for bacterial infections we’ve been able in the post-WW2 era to use antibiotics to “kill the bug” (resistant strains aside). But with most viral illnesses we can’t “kill the bug” – and antivirals and immunobiologicals are relative newcomers to the scene. As mentioned there IS a strong effort to figure out a proper treatment regimen – the various MAB treatments being used are part of that.
(* If we’re not feeling generous, it’s a line of thinking of “create something to take care of those who do get sick so there is no requirement for the general population to do anything inconvenient”)
Not particularly new. I’ve read dozens of similar statements by anti-vaxxers on Twitter over the past month or two: Blah blah should’ve focus on early treatment so people don’t get sick enough to end up in the hospital, blah blah keeping Ivermectin from people because it’s cheap and doesn’t make the drug companies as much money as the vaccine blah.
Perhaps because I don’t use social media I don’t see that at all. My impression from general public interaction has been an immense gratitude for the medical advances made. Vaccines as the gold-standard and the front-line but also for such treatments as dexamethasone and the new antivirals.
I suspect that I just don’t come into contact with antivaxers, I haven’t spoken to a single one personally.
I want to share this email our company president just sent out:
Good morning, everyone:
As the Omicron variety of COVID passes through our greater community, our own [company] family is now nearly 25% impacted. To that end, I am requiring that all of us be tested on some kind of regular basis. In my family, everyone has had the lab test and we’ll be doing regular rapid tests at home. So far, we’re all negative.
I was on a Zoom call last Friday with six people. More than half the group was recovering from COVID-related illness. All were vaccinated; most also had a booster. Their universal view was that their experience was like having a bad case of the flu and it passed in a few days. All were of the belief that the vaccination had helped.
Finally, just to be clear, this comes from a purely health related perspective. I don’t care what your views are – political or otherwise – about vaccinations. We can debate the issue forever and likely never come to an agreement. I do, however, care mightily about a litany of pre-existing health concerns that exist among members of our team. If regular testing, masking and vaxxing will help others, then all are good things to do. I hope we will all consider others around us as we live through this. Moreover, if you’ve had COVID or think you may have had it, you would be wise to test yourself regularly because you can still get it again.
I will offer one other viewpoint. I live in an island community that, prior to COVID, was known for being among the highest unvaccinated areas in the nation. Personally, I never understood that position given the history and efficacy of vaccinations. Nevertheless, that has changed. Today, Vashon Island is over 93% vaccinated for COVID and most have already been or are getting boosted. The actually number of COVID cases over the last two years has been controlled significantly because of this focus on getting a shot and, as a result, Vashon has proven to be good place to live through a pandemic. Nevertheless, Omicron has come to the island just as it has elsewhere. So, I leave you with the following recommendation from one of the leaders of the island’s Medical Reserve Corp (a group of volunteer physicians, nurses and researchers):
“Keep yourself, your household, and our community safer by just assuming everyone around you may have Omicron or Delta. Four important things: Boost, mask, think, and test. Get the booster for optimum protection against Omicron. Mask up to keep the virus out of your nose, airway, and lungs. Think about where you are and who you are around to reduce exposure. And finally, if you have even mild symptoms, get tested.”
Enough said. Get tested, please, and be safe. And, if you don’t feel well, stay home!
Why do I think they were in Northern Virginia? I work on the border between Northern Virginia and the rest of Virginia and I see a stark difference between where I live and where I work in terms of masking. However, with Youngkin taking over this week I think we will see mask use plummet.
Last week and today one of my attorney bosses is staying out because he was exposed to someone who tested positive.
Today a second one of my attorney bosses called in and said that his teenage daughter had tested positive and that he was staying out.
I have a 70 year old husband with a comorbidity working from home. He’s livid that I am sandwiched between two possible exposures and might possibly bring it home. I told him that all I can do is test regularly, and to that end, I’m going to meet with HR asap and see if they’ll pay for testing kits for us.
I’ve just gotten off of the phone with Regence. They will cover COVID-19 testing, but only if ordered by a physician/PCP and it’s medically necessary. They won’t cover non-medical testing for employment purposes. This could get expensive. I have no sympathy for my coworker who complained about having to pay $50 cash for his weekly tests because he’s unvaccinated, but I think our company president needs to think about the financial impact of his edict. I’ve forwarded my concerns.