How are you all dealing with coronavirus and the restrictions... #2

Isnt your h already high risk?

Dr fauci said yesterday to go maybe one or two "rings" out of your usual zone for thanksgiving. Your h's plan sounds like a LOT more than that.

One complicating factor is that I have zero interest in seeing this person and negative interest in the trip over all. I hate going every year. I am willing to meet anyone outside but we stay at this person's house and usually go to an indoor restaurant or bar.


I am not sure if he is high risk anymore. He is in remission and has early stage COPD (so not treated, just something to look forward to in the future), but has also been vaccinated. I am younger but fatter than him and have diabetes.


I do think how much you want to do something affects risk tolerance. I see my unvaccinated brother and don't really think about catching Covid from him even though he works with the general public. A vaccinated family member is flying into town and I will see them even though airplanes seem like incubators and he's coming from a place with poor vaccination rates. I am taking a risk to see those people but the risk is worth it for me. Taking that risk to do something I don't want to do does not seem worth it.


But if he goes without me and catches it, I will get it anyway. Sometimes it feels like taking precautions is a waste of my time or excessive given my age and vaccination status.

Just a Clint Eastwood meme that I thought was cute. He's sitting outside in a rocking chair, drinking a beer. It says, "You never realize how anti-social you are until a pandemic comes along and nothing really changes." LOL.

Maybe this will cause a few smiles during our tough times.

Lol that’s funny!

Yes laughs are very welcome thanks!

Things are gearing up here and infections and hospitalizations and deaths are all up (the last 2 less steeply). Running between 43,000 - 50,000 daily infections, deaths were 233 yesterday.

I think there's denial around because people say it's just we test more, identify more etc but that sounds tenuous to me. Government are saying no contingency plans (yet!) I'm just anticipating this escalating further and then punitive lockdowns put upon us because we're past the early intervention stage, it's how it's been every wave so far.

I don't even have the energy to be angry any more.

Yep, that's exactly the same denial people in the Netherlands are in Try to keep the numbers down a bit over there, please, I've already booked my trip for November! I'm worried either the UK or the Netherlands (where I will be in the days before the UK trip) are going to mess it up

YES I have first world problems.

A few weeks ago it seemed like me may have been heading towards the end of all of this. More countries were planning to end all restrictions. Now it almost feels like we're back to square one.

To follow up about my brothers grandpa: He died last Friday. To be clear: he was admitted, put on a vent and never came off it. They think the hydrochloriquin caused a heart attack and afib. He also had a stroke and organ failure. My mom and brother went to Texas for the funeral and wore n95 masks the whole time. They are both vaccinated. They found the ivermectin In His barn with syringes.
Another note: my brother is a traveling Covid nurse, and he has two patients on ventilators that were vaccinated and they have breakthrough infections.

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I am so sorry for your loss! I have no words.

The % of hospitalized breakthrough infections in my area is alarming. It looks to me like the vaccine is wearing off for those who were vaccinated first, but what do I know. I also had a meeting with someone who has long Covid and hearing about her experiences raised my anxiety levels up a few notches. She got it last year and still can't smell or taste.

I was afraid of those very things - for my mother, my therapist, and others I know. The scientists at the various vaccine labs cautioned that there is waning of the vaccines over time, and that it would benefit everyone if they got the jab at month #5, a month before the 6-month mark, when they noticed great peaks in waning. Where the 8-month mark came from was purely political - largely because they hadn't come out with the boosters until about the 8th month when the first round got their jabs. But not all first-rounders got their boosters, including my mother. I worry about them. My mom is 86 years old!! I also worry about my therapist, who is in her early 60s. She will get the booster next week, a week after me. I just hope she doesn't have any breakthrough cases. I don't know what I'd do without my T.

I worry about the next surge in cases because the vaccines among the general population will wane to the point where they are being hospitalized. I also am concerned about those who have long-covid, and how that will impact increased disability claims, the overall economy, and increased vicarious stressors among those who are taking care of, say, someone who had a covid-related lung transplant, or someone who is struggling with a covid-related bed-bound loved one. They likely have to choose different jobs to keep them safe whilst also spending time with them to care for them. I swear that is where many of the workers have gone, and why certain industries are finding it hard to find workers. Who wants to work a high-risk job when they have a disabled person or elderly person at home to care for, or when they themselves have spent time in the ICU and fully recovered, but never want to experience that again. Medical trauma is real, as is vicarious trauma from all the frontline workers who witness this every day!

My friend in Chicago got the flu because his focus was primarily on the Covid vaccination. He was vaccinated with J&J initially, but then he decided to get the full Pfizer jabs #1 and #2 thereafter. He seemed to be doing great with that, but he keeps working out in the gym and training others, while also going to restaurants multiple times every week, and he didn't think he needed the flu shot. He's now sick with the flu. I'm worried about those people, too. Who knows what the flu could mutate into, due to this pandemic.

I swear, in about 6 months we'll see major surges, if not sooner, and the CDC and FDA will probably go back to changing their mind on boosters for all, and full-dose boosters eventually for the Moderna crowd. Or, Moderna and their capitalism will sell to the other countries at the full rate (which they charge more than they do the U.S.) while telling the rest of us to just go to Pfizer for the full boosters in the future. Who knows. This whole pandemic has turned political; money and the business of hospitals over and against actual public safety. It's sickening.

Meanwhile, I can't imagine the mental disabilities from those who have experienced worsening PTSD, depression, anxiety, OCD, and other conditions because of having deaths or disabilities in the family, experiencing medical traumas themselves, etc. I know my condition has worsened from witnessing alone. Over 700,000 in the U.S. dead from Covid-19, and an average of 9 grieving persons per deceased. That's a lot of people grieving in this nation alone.

Here they have gone pretty quickly with offering booster shots, first for those who got Sinovac and now for people that received other vaccines. This week I qualified because anyone over 16 who got their second vaccine on May 23rd or earlier was eligible. I tried to go today. The place opened up at 8:30 and I got there at 8. With my first two, there was something of a wait, but it wasn't bad. This time, the line was already around the corner. I guess there were so many people because they are also vaccinating kids 6+ while opening up the boosters to more people. I heard someone in line say they got there since before 7 AM - and they weren't even the first person in line! I left because there was a good chance that even if I waited several hours they might run out of doses before it was my turn.


I am at about 5.5 months since my second dose right now. My husband thinks Tuesday might work because Monday is a holiday and after a long weekend, people are more likely to be lazy and not go. I also heard that they will be offering vaccines on weekends, which should spread the demand out more.

Amazing, in the US they are having a hard time to convince people to get vaccinated while in this country, people are waiting in huge lines to get their vaccine.

rechu, I'm glad your country is doing well with vaccines! I swear, politics changes everything in our country - including people's decisions, regardless if it's healthy or not.

Yeah it's become political in England too (I'm separating us from Scotland Wales and N. Ireland because policies were so different) and it should never have become political IMO it should have been purely a public health matter.

6 months from 2nd dose is the booster period here, clinically vulnerable people and care workers are eligible now so several people I know are thankfully 3rd dosed. Just a few months ago they were arguing the 3rd dose wasn't necessary for most. It's confusing. Israel's data is clear though, they've been giving boosters since summer and cases are dropping.

We're way behind on vaccinating children here and that's where the main infections are now supposedly.

So glad that your country is on top of giving out the 3rd dose! That's amazing!

I totally agree - it shouldn't be political at all; the focus is on global public safety.

Well, my husband just showed me an article that discussed why things were so chaotic yesterday at the vaccine center. While the 55+ group was good about getting their first vaccines, they have been somewhat slower on the uptake of the boosters even though they have been available for a few months for that age group.

Like some other countries we have a vaccine passport system for things like indoor dining. Anyways, the Health Ministry recently announced that if you are 55 or older you have to have the third vaccine to keep your vaccine passport valid. All the people that didn't go when it was initially their turn are now clogging up the vaccine centers to keep their passports valid. It's kind of annoying for those of us that are only eligible now and don't have all day to wait in line.

Now, they announced that on Tuesday there will be a special day for only the 55+ group, so I can't go then either.

I am sure it didn't help that my municipality only has 3 centers available now. Earlier when they were doing the first and second doses, we had 9. It made sense for a while to have fewer centers when most adults were vaccinated, but now that they are vaccinating kids and doing third doses, they should probably offer more centers again.

I just got my Moderna Vaccine #3 and my flu shot. I'm super tired.

I also had blood work done earlier in the morning (around 6:40 a.m.).

I hardly slept.

But I will sleep now!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and Halloween!

First world problem whining here too. I don't know WHEN I will get to take a vacation. I freelance for a small company, so I have to ask for time off way in advance. We also have to arrange to kennel the pets. Things just seem too uncertain to make any major plans at the moment.


It especially sucks because in the few years before the pandemic, we had to cut back on travel to finish saving to buy our house. Basically, the rental market had gotten completely out of control with rents doubling over a few years and landlords becoming very demanding. We were renting a falling apart house from an elderly landlord who didn't think she had to maintain it. We also had severe neighbor issues. We had to move from there, but at the same time, renting didn't make sense any more.

I don't regret buying the house, prices have gone up so much in the last few years, we would not be able to buy now. However,, we didn't have much of a chance to get away in the last few years while we saved the rest of the down payment. Now we have money to travel, but it's probably still going to be a while.

I am grateful for a friend that stayed with the pets for a few nights in February 2020 so we could at least get a short getaway before the pandemic arrived here.

@rechu if there is a lull in cases, I'd take advantage of it ASAP, even if you have to stay within the borders. I really regret not going on my road trip this spring when I was freshly vaccinated and cases were quite low. It would be especially nice to go after you both get your boosters!

Covid feels a lot closer to home lately. A friend has been working extra shifts through a workplace outbreak and now he may have it. Another person in my volunteer community passed away and I wonder if she would have if Covid hadn't disrupted treatment.

It really feels like we're back to square one, doesn't it? Like the vaccines haven't made any difference at all. Worries about the hospitals overflowing again. Restrictions that were lifted being reinstated. Still no normal life.

Sorry for the gloomy post. Feeling a bit hopeless today:/

On the bright side, I won't have to worry about being expected at the office anytime soon with these rising numbers.

Where I'm at, the entire state remains on "crisis standards of care" in hospitals. Indeed, it is like we're back at square one - and most of the people taking space in ERs and ICUs are unvaccinated persons. Meanwhile, the residents of this state continue to act like there's no pandemic, and they refuse to adhere to recommendations for masking and vaccinating.

That said, the vaccinations and masking work for the vulnerable populations. Masking helps to prevent disease - probably way more better than any current vaccine would. The masks won't go away for certain vulnerable populations, sadly. If you're not immunocompromised, elderly, or high-risk, then you could go maskless if you've been vaccinated. For most parties, the vaccinations do prevent severe disease and death, so we're technically not back to where we began there. But in terms of primary (not tertiary) prevention, yes, we're in the same boat. If you want to prevent getting Covid altogether, a mask is required from here on out - at least until the pandemic/endemic is over and/or until they find a cure. People would rather get sick and risk death than get vaccines these days (at least 40% of the population, that is, if they are still alive). So we have to now wait on advances in treatments and cures.

Good luck in funding once they declare that this is now an endemic (the pandemic funding will be ceased, and there will be no more emergency funds to states from the federal or local governments). This is where we are headed, which is worse than a pandemic with certain benefits and protections in place. With an endemic, it will be the "new (dreadful) norm."

@hvert - The issue is that I just can't take off when there is a lull because I need to ask for the time off several months in advance. It's so hard to know these days what the situation will be like in a few months. I wish I had a crystal ball. As it is, we seem to be heading into another wave and I don't know when the vaccination centers will calm down a bit so I can get the booster.

The whole time off issue is a big reason why I see myself quitting down the line, but for now I figure it is best to stick it out for longer and sock away as much money as I can.

@BreakForTheLight - I am feeling exactly the same way as you are. Most people thought that the vaccines were the solution, but between their waning efficacy against infection over time, the variants and the antivaxxers, it is not shaping up that way. It's extremely discouraging.

@rechu ahh, several months in advance is a lot of planning ahead.


The vaccine situation is depressing. If so many people here refuse to get a first shot, how many will get a third? My friend has Covid and no health insurance. I assumed he was covered by Medicare since he had retired and started collecting social security, but he is too young.

I am not going with my husband to visit his friends/family. He says he is not mad but obviously is. He refuses to discuss it and told me not to bring it up anymore. I am not sure if my choices are good or over the top.

@hvert - Yeah, it is really tough to make any plans 2-3 months ahead at the moment, unfortunately. I am sometimes able to plan my week to have Fridays free, but it varies on the workload (some projects are more time consuming than others) and having no changes in my project schedule for the week. So, it's never a sure thing either.

As far as your trip, everyone has their individual ways of assessing risk and deciding how much risk they are willing to take. It sounds like you and your husband just have different points of view about this, rather than one or the other being right or wrong. Hopefully he won't be mad for too long.

Hello my friends, yes I hear you this does feel never-ending.

@rechu that is so frustrating that you have this issue booking leave. Hoping that will change and you can somehow get the break you want and deserve. I too treasure memories of our last one night break in January 2020, before covid hit England, we saw two Chinese people wearing face masks at the train station which seemed so ridiculous at the time!

We've had 2 covid cases at work, not connected as their shifts didn't coincide, one of them doesn't know where she caught it. Thankfully both double vaccinated and only mild symptoms. I worked quite closely with one of them and have been taking lateral flow tests regularly since. So far I'm clear. Lots of cold viruses going around too but so far I've evaded them too thankfully.

Cases still high here. I wonder if because vaccinated people who get infected often have only cold like symptoms they may be inadvertently spreading covid?

Weirdly I don't even feel anxious these days but I think I've got so used to this odd pandemic it feels like normal now.

I think that is definitely a possibility. With the corona pass many countries have, you can get into places without a test beforehand if you've been vaccinated or tested. Which doesn't mean you can't still have the virus and be contagious.

I'm a litte worried about my London trip - not for myself, but I'm returning to my parents' place afterwards. Their vaccination is a while ago already but I don't think they've been offered a booster shot yet. Although I will be there for less than 48 hours before I'll be on my way home again so I guess if I did catch the virus in London, the chances of me spreading it to them are very low. It's gonna be weird, I'm still used to masks being mandatory inside. Do people generally still wear masks inside in the UK or has that mostly been abandoned after freedom day?

Also thinking of the logistics of the proof of vaccination if we're still in this mess next year? My proof of vaccination is only valid for a year. In Italy it's only 270 days - and I have tickets for an event there next year. Obviously if the situation is still like it is now, it will most likely be cancelled. (I bought the ticket in 2019, the event was supposed to be in 2020, then postponed to 2021 and now 2022 so I really, really hope it can finally happen after three years!)