I was wanting to get that booster 3rd shot soon as I would be eligible. Now I'm wondering if I should fear getting myocarditis as a possible adverse reaction to the shot. Some research says that the risk for myocarditis goes up higher with each shot you get.

Hearing that Variant D causes your throat to harbor 1000 times as many viral particles as the original COVID infection has really spooked me. I'm hardly even leaving my apartment. Being at home by myself so much is starting to make me slightly crazy. Worst of all - I don't see this need for abstaining from close social contact ending anytime in the foreseeable future.

I guess that, eventually, everyone who isn't vaccinated will contract COVID and, thereby, have some naturally acquired immunity. I guess, once that has happened, the pandemic will wind down. Then - I guess - it will be like TB. TB is out there, but you don't run into it much. That could take a few years.

I'm thinking about infections like measles and whooping cough. The vast majority of Americans are either vaccinated against those two diseases, or have had the disease and gained acquired immunity . . . so the "herd immunity" should be pretty high. YET, we still hear of outbreaks and of individuals having bad outcomes from these infections. So I'm confused.

I'm thinking I may be living in fear of contracting COVID for the rest of my life. Sure, it's no big deal, if you get a milder case of it. But "long haul COVID" is horrible. I know someone who got COVID and seems to be permanently disabled from it. Before getting COVID, she was in great health, with no underlying health issues. Now, more than a year later, she's still to weak to work. When you know firsthand what this virus can do, it's hard to accept taking any risk.