COVID-19 2nd wave - Texas only - Stats and such

[dcar00 14306]

15 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

It took me 10 days before I felt right again. 2 days with 102-104 degree fever feeling like I was going to die, and then 8 days without energy, periodic spikes, no energy, short temper etc. feels good to feel good again. Wife still feels shitty, has the runs etc. I got sick 1 day before her. 
but, the thing we were talking about today is how weird this thing was with migrating symptoms, each of us having different stuff, hitting in waves, going away, coming back. It was a difference experience than any other illness I’ve ever had. 

Its actually pretty predictable, from what I have heard.  Almost everyone I've talked to has 2-3 days where it is bad(mild to bad flu) and then another week before energy gets back to normal.

[chainsaw 9872]

1 hour ago, dcbc said:

With a random cold last summer, I did a teledoc visit through my PCP and asked the PA on the call if I needed to test for COVID.  He recently had had it and said, at our age, you usually know.  So while you may be one of those middle aged, male unicorns with an asymptomatic case, odds are, if you'd had it, you'd know about it.  That first night when I woke up with aches and pains, I didn't have much doubt about what it was.  Shoot, the minute I had a little hitch when taking a deep breath the day before, I suspected I'd picked it up.  I'd say take an antibody test if you're curious, but probably just easier to assume and keep playing the game.  I hear first prize is a set of steak knives.

 

Humblebrag, sort of, but I have a 100% positivity rate on every COVID test I've ever taken---one for one.

[StruggleBus 3922]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:15 AM, Captainant said:

Fuck I hope we're done after this surge.

[chainsaw 9872]

On 7/11/2022 at 9:15 AM, Captainant said:

Eh, I figure this is a pretty good scenario for going back to school for there to be a big flare up of COVID a month or two before the start of the year. Good and strong immune systems to finally start putting it all behind us.

 

....

 

Fuck I hope we're done after this surge.

I don't see it happening until they've rolled out the BMF vaccine that covers newer variants and (supposedly) is reasonably protective against future variants. Make sure to avoid Daddyland Festival and fomites so you don't get Gorrilapox-23.

[Brew 3049]

20 hours ago, Scheiss Meister said:

Yesterday afternoon I developed some of the worst chills I've ever had, along with a 100.3 fever.  I bundled up and tried to sweat it out, but it didn't go away until we had to go pick up a grocery order at HEB.  (Thank you for the contactless curbside, HEB.)  I stepped out into the 105 degree heat and felt a world better instantly.  So this weather has some use.  After we got home I fell asleep in my recliner and woke up an hour later thinking it was all over, I felt so good.  Wrong!  All day I've had an incessant headache, and the cough has started.  My sides and back are sore as hell, but livable.

We got Paxlovid this afternoon and started it tonight.  Here's hoping it helps.

Paxlovid, my doctor said here’s 2 ibuprofen, go to the ER if you can’t breathe at any point and that was it. Other than some residual congestion, I’m good now after it really hitting Monday at lunch.

[TexArcher 37987]

5 hours ago, dcar00 said:

Its actually pretty predictable, from what I have heard.  Almost everyone I've talked to has 2-3 days where it is bad(mild to bad flu) and then another week before energy gets back to normal.

My experience was a little different.  I was all-the-way-sick for about 6 days.  And for about 3 weeks after that I had some fatigue (like I was more tired in the afternoons than normal and I needed an extra hour of sleep at night) and a slight cough that would act up whenever I exerted myself.

I'm 46 and in otherwise pretty good health.

And a guy I know who is in better shape than any of us was on his ass for 10 days.

And an overweight and Type 2 girl I know barely had any symptoms at all for like 2 days, then good as new.

Weird how it affects people so differently, and not always what we might expect given overall health.

[dcar00 14306]

1 hour ago, TexArcher said:

My experience was a little different.  I was all-the-way-sick for about 6 days.  And for about 3 weeks after that I had some fatigue (like I was more tired in the afternoons than normal and I needed an extra hour of sleep at night) and a slight cough that would act up whenever I exerted myself.

I'm 46 and in otherwise pretty good health.

And a guy I know who is in better shape than any of us was on his ass for 10 days.

And an overweight and Type 2 girl I know barely had any symptoms at all for like 2 days, then good as new.

Weird how it affects people so differently, and not always what we might expect given overall health.

Oh I agree it affects people differently.  my comment is and "on average" based on probably 20-30 folks I've talked to that had it. certainly supposed to hit males worse.

I did have the slight cough for 3 weeks or so and did get a little more tired than normal in the afternoon but was pretty close to 100% a week after major symptoms stopped.

[StruggleBus 3922]

Are there still requirements on getting paxlovid? Fat/old only?

[TexArcher 37987]

22 minutes ago, dcar00 said:

Oh I agree it affects people differently.  my comment is and "on average" based on probably 20-30 folks I've talked to that had it. certainly supposed to hit males worse.

I did have the slight cough for 3 weeks or so and did get a little more tired than normal in the afternoon but was pretty close to 100% a week after major symptoms stopped.

Yeah, I was like 90% after that first week.  Just those two lingering symptoms, which made it hard to get any exercise.  I actually gained 5 lbs after Covid, which is some bullshit.

[CooterBrown 18015]

Are there still requirements on getting paxlovid? Fat/old only?

I got it because of heart issues. Get it if you can. Granted, I had mild symptoms, but they went completely away after just the first dose.

[Bo 139]

Bummer it got to my wife and son now, but at least we can all hang out now. Super worried about my son since he is only 4 and no vax, his fever hit 103.7 yesterday. Cooled him down and he’s in the 99/100 now but had a rough night sleeping and would wake up and with some creepy laugh/cry thing with the chills he had. Poor lil dude.

Wife took paxlovid yesterday and has not had any fever/chills/body aches yet, just congestion.

I agree on the roller coaster, there was a period Tuesday and Wednesday where I thought was all good then it t would hit again. Feel pretty good today since I got some deep sleep I think.

Hope we can all recover well soon.

[drt 640]

Anyone else have sinus infection like symptoms that involve a cough?  I tested again this morning and still negative on the at home tests, but I can't remember ever having a sinus infection lead to coughing before..

[InkaUtexas 26007]

1 minute ago, drt said:

Anyone else have sinus infection like symptoms that involve a cough?  I tested again this morning and still negative on the at home tests, but I can't remember ever having a sinus infection lead to coughing before..

Yep, and won't go away. Three tests, all negative. Wonder if allergic to rag weed since that is high. Never have in the past. 

[Biff Tannen 45692]

1 hour ago, drt said:

Anyone else have sinus infection like symptoms that involve a cough?  I tested again this morning and still negative on the at home tests, but I can't remember ever having a sinus infection lead to coughing before..

This is what I had this time around.  Lasted a little under a week.  Never got too bad, but tested positive for sure.

[Anastasis 23479]

48 minutes ago, drt said:

Anyone else have sinus infection like symptoms that involve a cough?  I tested again this morning and still negative on the at home tests, but I can't remember ever having a sinus infection lead to coughing before..

This is basically what my daughters symptoms have been like.  Lingering congestion and cough.  She popped the faintest possible positive test. I even tried to talk myself out of seeing the line. The boy's on the other hand glowed red immediately but he is had basically zero symptoms after the first day or so.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

Daughter got sick last Friday, followed by me starting to get sick Saturday night. I had chills all night and then was fine by the next evening with just a lingering cough. She recovered about the same time. So about a day for me and two for her. Wife started to get sick night before last along with the two boys. She was sick enough she could barely get out of bed yesterday and took a test. Positive. I took a test this morning and tested positive as well, despite having been mostly over it for half of a week. She is still pretty sick, along with one of our sons. The other is only halfway sick still.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

On 7/13/2022 at 1:25 PM, kevwun said:

Me and the wife, my parents and her parents still haven't had it.  There's some genetic cause that keeps some people from getting it.  They just haven't figured out what it is yet.  We are going to Vegas this weekend and that will be the ultimate test.  This will be our third flight and out of state trip since March.  If we make it through again, I will just assume I am immortal.

I don't think Vegas is the test, rather Disney is.

I went to Vegas 5 times in 2021 and 2022, once for the NCAA basketball tournament and 4 times for conferences/trade shows. No hint of covid.

Went to the mouse house in Orlando for a conference and got it there. Really fucked up my trip to Amsterdam (where I came down with symptoms and tested positive).

[Biff Tannen 45692]

1 hour ago, Grade of D as in David said:

I don't think Vegas is the test, rather Disney is.

I went to Vegas 5 times in 2021 and 2022, once for the NCAA basketball tournament and 4 times for conferences/trade shows. No hint of covid.

Went to the mouse house in Orlando for a conference and got it there. Really fucked up my trip to Amsterdam (where I came down with symptoms and tested positive).

I've had it twice and both times were due to traveling to conferences.  Well, this last time my wife brought it home from a conference.  Who would've thought that flying people in from all over the country to gather in a single place for a weekend would be a bad idea?

[Scheiss Meister 8408]

After a pretty crappy Monday and Tuesday, and sleeping like a cat yesterday and last night, I feel better today, but now cannot taste or smell anything.  Still a bit of a cough, but congestion is decreasing in both my head and my lungs.  My wife seems to be where I was Tuesday, but her symptoms are still a bit milder than mine were.  Paxlovid is the real deal.

[Pato del Muerto 52530]

No sense of taste and smell seems like a bonus for someone in your line of work. 

[kevwun 15806]

Or career ending if he works in Germany.

Edited July 14, 2022 by kevwun

[Scheiss Meister 8408]

47 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

No sense of taste and smell seems like a bonus for someone in your line of work. 

Smell, yes.  I don't taste it.

[HouTex 1886]

On the taste and smell thing, as I posted above, my symptoms were mild for the first three days.  Two days after my light fever went away and I felt fine, then I lost my smell/taste for two more days. I couldn’t taste my bourbon and that sucked.  

[Anastasis 23479]

Day 5 or whatever.  Boy tested negative but girl still popping positive. That sucks. 

[speed817 19397]

Mask mandate is back on at my office 😑

[DDD Dad 14344]

Went yesterday for my second Pfizer booster and am really feeling it today.  Woke up this morning with chills and sore arm; have felt like shit all day.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

4 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

Went yesterday for my second Pfizer booster and am really feeling it today.  Woke up this morning with chills and sore arm; have felt like shit all day.

I got mine a week ago, and it wasn't too bad.  Was just really tired the next day, but it was also a Saturday so that could have just been from a long week and a hangover.

 

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

My youngest daughter got COVID two weeks ago. I got it from her and it was full on two Sundays ago. It’s sucked. Like a bad flu for 3 days. Plus sinus headaches. My wife got it it after me and she only had a scratchy throat. Oldest daughter never got it as far as we know.

So this is twice now for my wife and I. Hopefully we can skip a couple of strains.

[DDD Dad 14344]

2 hours ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

I got mine a week ago, and it wasn't too bad.  Was just really tired the next day, but it was also a Saturday so that could have just been from a long week and a hangover.

 

I was feeling better earlier this afternoon but then around 4 pm it hit me again. I’m laid out on my couch now. 
 

None of the prior doses had this effect on me. 

[Biff Tannen 45692]

10 hours ago, speed817 said:

Mask mandate is back on at my office 😑

I fucking wish it was at mine.

[BigDHornfan 6549]

23 hours ago, speed817 said:

Mask mandate is back on at my office 😑

same.

[Pato del Muerto 52530]

This is like the little spike that could. It’s still only about 20% of omicron spike for hospital stats in Austin metro but it just keeps slowly building upward. 

[bschoolprof 6266]

33 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

This is like the little spike that could. It’s still only about 20% of omicron spike for hospital stats in Austin metro but it just keeps slowly building upward. 

I'm guessing the vast majority of the small but growing spike is "with, not for," but after 2+ years of this I guess we'll never get that data.  I don't think anyone really gives a shit anyway.  

[Pato del Muerto 52530]

1 minute ago, bschoolprof said:

I'm guessing the vast majority of the small but growing spike is "with, not for," but after 2+ years of this I guess we'll never get that data.  I don't think anyone really gives a shit anyway.  

One would hope that data would be properly parsed by now and with it being manageable. But they don’t say so one wouldn’t know. 

[South Austin 52521]

23 hours ago, speed817 said:

Mask mandate is back on at my office 😑

Not mine, and I think my firm is done with masks for good.

[Don Johnson 4754]

"At the current time, approximately 10 percent of patients admitted to LAC+USC Medical Center with a positive COVID test are admitted due to illness caused by COVID," the county said. "In contrast to our peak during the winter of 2020, when we had 285 COVID+ patients in the hospital, 120 of whom were in the ICU, we currently have approximately 30 COVID+ patients in the hospital, of whom 3 were admitted for COVID, none of whom are in the ICU."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-county-covid-hospitalizations-health-reinstates-mask-mandate?intcmp=tw_fnc

[bschoolprof 6266]

3 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

"At the current time, approximately 10 percent of patients admitted to LAC+USC Medical Center with a positive COVID test are admitted due to illness caused by COVID," the county said. "In contrast to our peak during the winter of 2020, when we had 285 COVID+ patients in the hospital, 120 of whom were in the ICU, we currently have approximately 30 COVID+ patients in the hospital, of whom 3 were admitted for COVID, none of whom are in the ICU."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-county-covid-hospitalizations-health-reinstates-mask-mandate?intcmp=tw_fnc

yeah - that's what I figured.  The hospital surveillance stats we have are pretty meaningless.  

[justhookit 4191]

2 hours ago, bschoolprof said:

yeah - that's what I figured.  The hospital surveillance stats we have are pretty meaningless.  

That and the case numbers, if you can even find them are meaningless too. Of the 7 extended family members I know that have tested positive this summer exactly 0 of them were reported.

[South Austin 52521]

42 minutes ago, justhookit said:

That and the case numbers, if you can even find them are meaningless too. Of the 7 extended family members I know that have tested positive this summer exactly 0 of them were reported.

As long as the strains remain relatively moderate and don't start putting a ton of folks back into the hospital, ain't going to be no more reporting.*

 

 

 

*I understand that is a double negative.

[DaysOff 7959]

The problem is with each subsequent infection your odds of long covid rise. This isn't exactly strengthening your immune system contrary to popular belief.

[dcbc 14492]

I just got an invite for a fourth Cares draw.  I guess I'll see how my vaccine antibodies are two weeks out from infection.

[Humble Beast 258]

Why do y’all retest continually after getting the initial positive?

[bolverk 29694]

7 minutes ago, Humble Beast said:

Why do y’all retest continually after getting the initial positive?

To answer a question with a question, how many times have you been banned now?

[mdmost 43007]

Daughter tested positive today after we returned home from our trip to see her friend in Minneapolis. I tested negative. I guess we'll see how long that goes. I don't see how I don't test positive in the next few days given how much we were in the car together. At least this happened after the trip and not before it. That actually happened when the friend tested positive before the original trip in late June. And this is why I don't book anything non-refundable in the Covid era. 

[Anastasis 23479]

Well, I think that our household is out of the shit. ~10 days out and doesn't appear to be any secondary household symptomatic transmission. 

[Guest]

So what's the latest word on an Omicron-focused vaccine dose? Whenever the vaccine first came out, there was a big buzz about how they could quickly change the dose to the most common variant. Since then... crickets.

 

[Sawbonz 27580]

22 hours ago, DaysOff said:

The problem is with each subsequent infection your odds of long covid rise. This isn't exactly strengthening your immune system contrary to popular belief.

Link?

[elfenix 34328]

for those traveling:

Quote

Here’s the cheat code: Instead of masking up for your whole flight, just cover up at the start and end of it. Those crucial few minutes—first when you’re boarding the plane, and then after you’ve landed—account for only a sliver of your travel time, but they are by far the riskiest for breathing in viral particles.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/07/covid-omicron-ba5-wave-airplane-masks/670565

[DaysOff 7959]

Link?

There's other studies but WebMD was first hit.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220707/each-covid-19-reinfection-increases-health-risks#:~:text=Researchers%20saw%20worse%20health%20effects,or%20contributes%20additional%20health%20risks.

[Skipper 6136]

7 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

There's other studies but WebMD was first hit.

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220707/each-covid-19-reinfection-increases-health-risks#:~:text=Researchers%20saw%20worse%20health%20effects,or%20contributes%20additional%20health%20risks.

I know this made a bunch of negative headlines but there are also a bunch of doctors that eviscerated this study.  There is still a big chasm between the "alarmist/fear mongorers" in the scientific community that think we should all still be locked down/masked forever and those saying tap the fucking brakes.  I set up a twitter account at the start of pandemic following docs and it's quite shocking to see the contrasts following both sides.  It makes you realize why, like anything else, one's view on COVID is likely highly dependent on the sources they get the information from.   Topol, for example, is conservative and gets picked up in USA Today and others while Marty Mackary is the opposite and is picked up frequently in the WSJ.   

At this point I'm certainly far more aligned with the Mackary and similar view of tings given the fact that the world is, in fact, not falling apart with this current wave that started in May and is ongoing and anecdotal evidence given I've now experienced an infection as has almost everyone else I know and don't know a single person that is both 'low risk' and vaccinated that has had material or long term issues (although degrees in severity have varied as we all know).

In any event, as it relates to this study, I believe the primary criticism is it was disproportionately based on 65+ and other pre-existing conditions.  So if a bunch of otherwise high risk people continue to get COVID, it's not surprising there may be poor outcomes.  Particularly if the first go round (prior to vaccines/paxlovid etc.) damaged them. 

This article even has a caveat that effect if you read to the end and not just the headline.

Veterans’ Risk Factors Different?

"When you look at that study, the big caveat is that veterans don't resemble the general population," says Amesh Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

"I don't think you can generalize [the study] to everybody, but really for people that have risk factors for severe disease," he says, because veterans tend to be older and have more health conditions.

He says a lot of people who get reinfected are testing positive at home. As a result, their cases don’t make it into research. In contrast, the veterans in the study were "people who for whatever reason wanted to get a formal test."