Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

I had Pfizer booster a week ago and was fine on the day, albeit with a sore arm. The following day, I was very tired but that lifted the day after that.

Similarly to others itt, this booster (Pfizer) unlike the others previous had basically no ill effects other than spending half a week feeling like I'd gotten two for flinching.

Huh, I haven't polled which version of the jab they got, but seems like most folks I know have reported being hit way harder by this one than the other rounds.

x-post - S, I thought they were only giving it to people over 65 here?

I’m classed as vulnerable because of childhood health problems.

Ahhhh, ok. Gotcha. Good that it wasn't bad side effects-wise. I never had any symptoms with mine but I know a lot did. Need to find out if I can get mine through work.

I only experienced fatigue after the 2021 booster.

Yeah, same.

Booked for my Nov. 2 shot(s). Psyched. I can't remember, did they give out "I got my shots!" covid vax stickers, or anything like that? If not, feels like a missed opportunity.

Poked and Proud

i got my shots about a week ago and 1) no documentation (or sticker) was offered, so i updated my card myself 2) got flu shot at same time and felt no noticeable side effects 3) i was under the impression that this was an entirely new vaccine, not a booster?

otm

Lately I just feel wretched almost all the time so it's a catch 22.

re: the covid detritus upthread, I was somewhere recently that still had those stickers on the floor six feet apart demarcating where you were supposed to stand in the checkout line.

I still see those in most supermarkets, and even the ones that removed them will have ghostly traces until they replace the linoleum.

They’re still everywhere ime
To me the worst are the saggy faded signs about heroes outside hospitals and nursing homes

My work still has a "Guests need to have their temperature read before entering" sign on the front door.

No sticker for me and also no new entry on the vaccine card, kinda bummed.

Well, about 10 days after getting the new vaccine ... my wife has covid. Thanks a lot, Fauci.

My least favorite relics are the sneeze guards, often crudely made and intrusive. They never did anything! Why are they still around?

I do love the old signs and have been slowly building a photo collection of them.

I'm scheduled for a booster tomorrow AM and I'll probably add on a flu shot, too. I'm hoping it will be no more trouble than the previous injections, but I'm planning on taking it easy for a couple of days, just in case.

I got the new one a couple weeks ago, and the only side effect besides the sore arm was feeling a little muscle-achy the day after.

And on the relics front, many businesses when they did open kept their restrooms locked. Now that there are no restrictions on any other aspect of having a store, the restrooms are still off limits. I guess they discovered it's easier/cheaper to not have them for the public.

Starbucks still reluctant to leave cream out. They fucking pour the cream into the coffee as if they were Dunkin Donuts. Judging from those portions, I didn't realize Americans prefer a side of coffee with their cream.

i got the novavax and felt nothing.

^^ Camus novel opening

Huh, I haven't polled which version of the jab they got, but seems like most folks I know have reported being hit way harder by this one than the other rounds.

Novavax m/l universally reported as having no side effects and little to no arm pain.

Starbucks still reluctant to leave cream out. They fucking _pour_ the cream into the coffee as if they were Dunkin Donuts. Judging from those portions, I didn't realize Americans prefer a side of coffee with their cream.

We both did.

I have to wait until early November to get my next covid booster (4 months), but plan on getting the covid, flu, and RSV shots all in the same day.

The Shingrix vaccine (which I got with two other shots) made my arm hurt the most of any I can remember, but I have never had any other side effects from vaccines.

Friend of mine is traveling and just posted a picture of a portable CO2 monitor he carries with him. This is while the plane was idling on the ground:

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/395318428_10161359009294085_6501657829487761960_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg_s1080x2048&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=vLrCAi2xpxUAX-1pnXd&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&oh=00_AfA9sVbd8F8zxkfiHDv7cQp6fU06zO8KhS13YuTwmU9NTw&oe=653C3705

Hence my masking on planes.

supposedly once they turn the engines (and therefore the hvac system) on, planes are one of the safer places to be. but just sitting at the gate they are bad news.

yeah, my dad, who works in AOG, says planes do an outstanding job of filtering air, but even the best systems get taxed when every seat is filled

when every seat is filled

So literally every flight I've ever been on in my life.

OSHA limit is 5,000 ppm for 8 hour periods of exposure.

I do miss the days of flying in half-empty planes.

I caught covid over the summer after flying home; my family, seated near me, did not get sick. My wife caught covid after coming home on a flight last week; I was sitting next to her, I did not get sick (yet/again). Maybe she got it on the flight. Maybe she got it in the airport. Maybe she got it at her doctor visit last Thursday, or maybe at the Taylor Swift movie Friday. By the standards of circulation, yeah, planes are supposed to be pretty safe, but at this point it's just one giant public pool of potential exposure.

It's unpredictable. I flew pretty much throughout the pandemic, hence my comment about half-empty planes. (Don't even get me started on empty LA freeways.) AFAIK, the only time I caught it was when my middle schooler brought it home.

It's weird, my flight from Dublin to Washington three weeks ago was only half-full, which I have not experienced on a plane for a long time.

My second bout, this summer, happened after international travel.

But here is the thing: there will never be a way to know if it was the hotel shuttle, the other hotel shuttle (that we had to switch to because the original shuttle broke down), the line for customs and immigration, the line for security, the VERY intimate security screening I got the gate, the plane, the other gate, the other plane, the OTHER other plane, the taxi home, or some random sneeze in the restroom or the bar the night before.

Maybe it was all of those places!

I took my youngest to a birthday party this past weekend at a video arcade/bowling alley. I could practically feel the viruses and bacteria seething around us.

something i have gotten used to in the last 3+ years:
don't touch anything
don't touch face
repeat to self as many times as needed

esp as someone who works with numerous people in a room in two public-facing jobs

two nights ago at the restaurant i served a couple that were clearly on a first date. three hours later, she went to the bathroom and he chose that opportunity to blow his nose -- twice! -- into his cloth napkin and then place it on his plate. he looked around to see if anyone was watching. i did not touch his gross snotty napkin.

Everyone in my family has had covid at least once. Two of us have now had it twice (that we know of). To date, none of us have ever had it at the same time.

just had to explain to my mom, in 20-fucking-23, that people can be totally asymptomatic and still transmit COVID. sigh.

boomers do not understand epidemiology!

This new vaccine kicked my ass. I got it at noon and had full-body chills all night starting at around 10 PM. Woke up this morning completely drained of energy. Breakfast helped, but I'm still shivering somewhat.

re: "covid detritus" upthread:

https://covid-signage.net/