Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

With the CDC "going through some things," wanted to point out that there is a measles outbreak in Lubbock (an outbreak is 3 or more confirmed cases IIRC). The last I'd read it was at 12 confirmed cases and an ongoing investigation/tracking that officials believed might have more cases in the coming days due to the contagious nature of the virus and the reduced rate of vaccination (I think the article mentioned that one school had a rate of 46% with the two shots required for immunity. So, just as a reminder that post holiday global travel is often how measles lands stateside seasonally and then can spread among those that are unvaccinated (for various reasons), be on the watch if you have family members at risk. It is noteworthy that state data (kindergarten and 8th grade are the two groups reported) shows many schools have inoculation rates below 95% which is the level needed to maintain control/herd immunity. Around 1 in 5 cases require hospitalization.

 

 

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Like 2
Posted
19 hours ago, gmr548 said:

I have been sick with respiratory illnesses twice in the past two months, once in December, getting over another now. That's never happened to me. My wife came down with something a couple weeks ago. Hit her pretty hard. She actually went to an urgent care and tested negative for both flu and COVID. All three instances we never passed anything to one another.

Rough season for sure.

I had RSV last year and the year before.  For me personally both cases were far, far worse than the times I had Covid.  That shit sucks.

 What’s kind of interesting is years gone by I would have chalked those up to a “cold”.  But, last year I ended up getting tested at urgent care and got an actual diagnosis. Year before my son got tested and diagnosed a day prior to me having the same symptoms he did, so that one isn’t absolutely certain but I’m pretty confident.

Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

With the CDC "going through some things," wanted to point out that there is a measles outbreak in Lubbock (an outbreak is 3 or more confirmed cases IIRC). The last I'd read it was at 12 confirmed cases and an ongoing investigation/tracking that officials believed might have more cases in the coming days due to the contagious nature of the virus and the reduced rate of vaccination (I think the article mentioned that one school had a rate of 46% with the two shots required for immunity. So, just as a reminder that post holiday global travel is often how measles lands stateside seasonally and then can spread among those that are unvaccinated (for various reasons), be on the watch if you have family members at risk. It is noteworthy that state data (kindergarten and 8th grade are the two groups reported) shows many schools have inoculation rates below 95% which is the level needed to maintain control/herd immunity. Around 1 in 5 cases require hospitalization.

As far as I've heard, the measles outbreak is in Gaines County (Seminole area), not Lubbock, which is the nearest "big city". One thing to know about this county is that during the 1990s and 2000s, a huge number of Mennonites relocated to the county from Chihuahua, MX, with many of them regularly traveling back and forth between their local community and the one in Mexico.

Many of their kids don't go to public schools and, like the adults, go unvaccinated. For example, the Covid vaccination rate for the county's total population was 22%, one of the lowest rates for a county in the entire US. Lubbock County was 49%, which is still far lower than Travis at 71% (Bexar 72%, Harris 65%, Dallas 61%, Tarrant 57%).

News on the outbreak in Gaines Co.:
https://www.kcbd.com/2025/02/06/lubbock-public-health-confirms-measles-outbreak-gaines-county-increased-risk-unvaccinated-individuals/

image.png.d1f54fa200a27154384016ae19c7f169.png

Edited by bolverk
Added news story
  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Like 2
Posted
9 minutes ago, bolverk said:

One thing to know about this county is that during the 1990s and 2000s, a huge number of Mennonites relocated to the county from Chihuahua, MX, with many of them regularly traveling back and forth between their local community and the one in Mexico.

That community is also responsible for this, which we used to buy when we drove by their farms in Chihuahua, but now you can get on the shelves at HEB:

002089273-1

It's fucking delicious, perfectly melty for a quesadilla.  I guess you gotta pasteurize it to get rid of the measles, though.

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
  • Drool 1
Posted
41 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That community is also responsible for this, which we used to buy when we drove by their farms in Chihuahua, but now you can get on the shelves at HEB:

002089273-1

It's fucking delicious, perfectly melty for a quesadilla.  I guess you gotta pasteurize it to get rid of the measles, though.

Cube it and fry it up.

Posted
4 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

They should be happy at this kind of stuff, because if it works out and a lot of us take it, it makes them safer.

Lol. Have you been asleep the past 10 years? Optimism is always unwarranted. These dumb fuckers will accuse us of “shedding vaccine virus” and get this shit banned. 

Posted

I have the craziest sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I sound like Robocop when I’m talking and my coughing sounds like a barking dog.

The weird thing is there is no pain in my throat, no congestion, no mucus, no fever, no body aches, nothing else. This type of barking cough usually hurts like hell too. I was dry coughing once or twice every few hours but the coughing completely stopped after I took some cough syrup. I just can’t seem to shake the “sore throat” sounding voice even though there is no pain at all. It’s so weird. I’m on Day 4 of this. 

Any SurlyMDs have a diagnosis?

Posted
2 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I have the craziest sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I sound like Robocop when I’m talking and my coughing sounds like a barking dog.

The weird thing is there is no pain in my throat, no congestion, no mucus, no fever, no body aches, nothing else. This type of barking cough usually hurts like hell too. I was dry coughing once or twice every few hours but the coughing completely stopped after I took some cough syrup. I just can’t seem to shake the “sore throat” sounding voice even though there is no pain at all. It’s so weird. I’m on Day 4 of this. 

Any SurlyMDs have a diagnosis?

no MD but sounds like whooping cough(pertussis) which adults can catch

Posted
3 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I have the craziest sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I sound like Robocop when I’m talking and my coughing sounds like a barking dog.

The weird thing is there is no pain in my throat, no congestion, no mucus, no fever, no body aches, nothing else. This type of barking cough usually hurts like hell too. I was dry coughing once or twice every few hours but the coughing completely stopped after I took some cough syrup. I just can’t seem to shake the “sore throat” sounding voice even though there is no pain at all. It’s so weird. I’m on Day 4 of this. 

Any SurlyMDs have a diagnosis?

go for smaller dicks?

  • Haha 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
15 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I have the craziest sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I sound like Robocop when I’m talking and my coughing sounds like a barking dog.

The weird thing is there is no pain in my throat, no congestion, no mucus, no fever, no body aches, nothing else. This type of barking cough usually hurts like hell too. I was dry coughing once or twice every few hours but the coughing completely stopped after I took some cough syrup. I just can’t seem to shake the “sore throat” sounding voice even though there is no pain at all. It’s so weird. I’m on Day 4 of this. 

Any SurlyMDs have a diagnosis?

 

11 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

no MD but sounds like whooping cough(pertussis) which adults can catch

Yep.  My son came down with it when he was 17 or so.  At one point, I actually thought he was choking, and started to treat him as such.  It was wild to hear.  Doc diagnosed it, and it ran its course.  It sucked for him, but it wasn't nearly as dangerous as if he'd caught it as an infant -- just super annoying.

Posted
49 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

no MD but sounds like whooping cough(pertussis) which adults can catch

I had whooping cough as a kid and this is much different. Whooping cough feels like you’re choking and can’t catch your breath. Cough syrup didn’t help much when I was a kid.

The cough I have now goes away with cheap HEB Tussin if I take it every 4 hours. It’s more like a scratchy allergy cough but my throat sounds like complete shit like I have Strep or something. I can’t even work remotely or take calls because nobody understands what the fuck I’m saying. 

It’s just so crazy there is no pain or redness in my throat nor any mucus or chest congestion whatsoever. I don’t even get allergies regularly so I don’t know what the hell is going on. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted (edited)
11 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I had whooping cough as a kid and this is much different. Whooping cough feels like you’re choking and can’t catch your breath. Cough syrup didn’t help much when I was a kid.

The cough I have now goes away with cheap HEB Tussin if I take it every 4 hours. It’s more like a scratchy allergy cough but my throat sounds like complete shit like I have Strep or something. I can’t even work remotely or take calls because nobody understands what the fuck I’m saying. 

It’s just so crazy there is no pain or redness in my throat nor any mucus or chest congestion whatsoever. I don’t even get allergies regularly so I don’t know what the hell is going on. 

That sounds very much like something I had in early December, which was the first time I'd gotten sick in a couple of years.

So far as I know, I never ran a fever and never really felt very bad elsewhere (just not 100%), but I don't think the glands underneath my jawline had ever swollen that large, my throat had ever been that soar (this part was really brief), or my voice more hoarse. It wasn't that terrible the whole time, but I think it lasted about a week and a half, all told. I don't know what it was, but it eventually went away.

Edited by bolverk
  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted
1 hour ago, MrBig said:

I have the craziest sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I sound like Robocop when I’m talking and my coughing sounds like a barking dog.

The weird thing is there is no pain in my throat, no congestion, no mucus, no fever, no body aches, nothing else. This type of barking cough usually hurts like hell too. I was dry coughing once or twice every few hours but the coughing completely stopped after I took some cough syrup. I just can’t seem to shake the “sore throat” sounding voice even though there is no pain at all. It’s so weird. I’m on Day 4 of this. 

Any SurlyMDs have a diagnosis?

You got the AIDS

  • Hook 'Em 3
Posted
1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

 

Yep.  My son came down with it when he was 17 or so.  At one point, I actually thought he was choking, and started to treat him as such.  It was wild to hear.  Doc diagnosed it, and it ran its course.  It sucked for him, but it wasn't nearly as dangerous as if he'd caught it as an infant -- just super annoying.

Wait until you hear how long he should stay away from work.

Posted
41 minutes ago, MrBig said:

I had whooping cough as a kid and this is much different. Whooping cough feels like you’re choking and can’t catch your breath. Cough syrup didn’t help much when I was a kid.

The cough I have now goes away with cheap HEB Tussin if I take it every 4 hours. It’s more like a scratchy allergy cough but my throat sounds like complete shit like I have Strep or something. I can’t even work remotely or take calls because nobody understands what the fuck I’m saying. 

It’s just so crazy there is no pain or redness in my throat nor any mucus or chest congestion whatsoever. I don’t even get allergies regularly so I don’t know what the hell is going on. 

I've got a similar deal right now.  I took a 1 ounce shot of apple cider vinegar at 3:00 this morning, downed some water, and it still doesn't hurt anything like what it did last night as of right now.  

Posted
2 hours ago, MrBig said:

I have the craziest sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. I sound like Robocop when I’m talking and my coughing sounds like a barking dog.

The weird thing is there is no pain in my throat, no congestion, no mucus, no fever, no body aches, nothing else. This type of barking cough usually hurts like hell too. I was dry coughing once or twice every few hours but the coughing completely stopped after I took some cough syrup. I just can’t seem to shake the “sore throat” sounding voice even though there is no pain at all. It’s so weird. I’m on Day 4 of this. 

Any SurlyMDs have a diagnosis?

Sounds like Croup. My son (8) had it a couple weeks ago and one of the main symptoms is this weird barking cough. 

Posted
4 hours ago, bolverk said:

As far as I've heard, the measles outbreak is in Gaines County (Seminole area), not Lubbock, which is the nearest "big city". One thing to know about this county is that during the 1990s and 2000s, a huge number of Mennonites relocated to the county from Chihuahua, MX, with many of them regularly traveling back and forth between their local community and the one in Mexico.

Thank you for the correction and further information. The source I used was a Lubbock website and I looked no further to verify so my bad for that.

  • Like 1
Posted
4 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Lol. Have you been asleep the past 10 years? Optimism is always unwarranted. These dumb fuckers will accuse us of “shedding vaccine virus” and get this shit banned. 

I didn’t say they would be happy, just that they should be.  And my anti-vaccine relative screamed at us and other relatives over the shedding COVID proteins thing when she found out that a bunch of us were vaccinated when they became available (the first of many times she chewed family members out for getting vaccinated), and would not wash her clothes in the same washing machine that vaccinated people used unless she ran an empty load with bleach through it.

Posted

Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate.

 

A measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level.

In late January, two children in Gaines County were hospitalized for measles. On Wednesday, the state health department shared in a health alert that the number of confirmed cases had grown to six.

As of Friday afternoon, the outbreak has jumped to 14 confirmed cases and six probable cases among people who are symptomatic and had close contact with infected individuals, Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, told CNN.

Investigations are ongoing, as cases have been identified in parts of the region that are outside the Gaines County lines where the first cases were reported.

All the cases are believed to be among people who are not vaccinated against measles, Holbrooks said, and most of them are in children.

A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October.

  • Rage+1 1
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 3
Posted
41 minutes ago, Captainant said:

Measles outbreak expands in West Texas around county with low vaccination rate.

 

A measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level.

In late January, two children in Gaines County were hospitalized for measles. On Wednesday, the state health department shared in a health alert that the number of confirmed cases had grown to six.

As of Friday afternoon, the outbreak has jumped to 14 confirmed cases and six probable cases among people who are symptomatic and had close contact with infected individuals, Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, told CNN.

Investigations are ongoing, as cases have been identified in parts of the region that are outside the Gaines County lines where the first cases were reported.

All the cases are believed to be among people who are not vaccinated against measles, Holbrooks said, and most of them are in children.

A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October.

Its cool. Just don't publish data anymore. Solved.

  • Rage+1 5
Posted

Last Sunday, I spent the day with my girlfriend. We were in close proximity throughout the day and things happened that contributed to germs being spread. That night she began feeling really ill and went to an urgent care and was diagnosed with the flu.

So I spent the last week isolating myself, keeping my kid at a distance and made it through the week with no flu. Yay!

This morning my daughter had a mild fever and didn't feel well. I'm thinking the flu so I take her to the doctor. They test her and say it's Covid.

 

73e020f56c4a86221823bc32113b4316d2-25-be

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
  • Haha 3
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
On 2/7/2025 at 11:20 AM, Incredulity said:

I had RSV last year and the year before.  For me personally both cases were far, far worse than the times I had Covid.  That shit sucks.

 What’s kind of interesting is years gone by I would have chalked those up to a “cold”.  But, last year I ended up getting tested at urgent care and got an actual diagnosis. Year before my son got tested and diagnosed a day prior to me having the same symptoms he did, so that one isn’t absolutely certain but I’m pretty confident.

My experience was exactly the opposite. Covid hurt the fuck out of me for 6 months - an existential crisis born out of a multi organ injury. I had RSV last spring due to caring for my mom in the hospital. It was 3 weeks of lethargy and constant cold like symptoms, my mom was tested and confirmed. It was not a big deal. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted
On 2/7/2025 at 5:48 PM, atomheartbevo said:

I didn’t say they would be happy, just that they should be.  And my anti-vaccine relative screamed at us and other relatives over the shedding COVID proteins thing when she found out that a bunch of us were vaccinated when they became available (the first of many times she chewed family members out for getting vaccinated), and would not wash her clothes in the same washing machine that vaccinated people used unless she ran an empty load with bleach through it.

Covsher washing machines are a thing now? 

IMG_3276.jpeg.ccf58491dcc401d01abc7e50e7c7bc6a.jpeg

  • Haha 1
Posted
17 hours ago, F250 said:

Last Sunday, I spent the day with my girlfriend. We were in close proximity throughout the day and things happened that contributed to germs being spread. That night she began feeling really ill and went to an urgent care and was diagnosed with the flu.

So I spent the last week isolating myself, keeping my kid at a distance and made it through the week with no flu. Yay!

This morning my daughter had a mild fever and didn't feel well. I'm thinking the flu so I take her to the doctor. They test her and say it's Covid.

 

73e020f56c4a86221823bc32113b4316d2-25-be

Yep, covid is making a run hard through my town. And no one gives a fuck. Cool, ya got covid? Meet me at the bar and lets catch a game. I will get you a hot toddy.

 

  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Posted
On 2/6/2025 at 12:48 PM, bolverk said:

100,000 Eggs Are Stolen in Pennsylvania Amid Shortage
The theft of the eggs, which the authorities said were worth $40,000, comes as grocery shoppers across the country are facing empty shelves and higher prices for eggs.

The Pennsylvania State Police said this week that they were investigating the theft on Saturday of 100,000 organic eggs worth more than $40,000 from a distribution trailer in Greencastle, in south-central Pennsylvania.

The eggs were stolen at around 8:40 p.m. from a facility operated by Pete & Gerry’s Organics, according to a police report.

“The thieves could sell them or even use them for vandalizing purposes,” Trooper Megan Frazer, a State Police spokeswoman, said in an email on Wednesday. “We don’t know what purpose of stealing 100,000 would be for at this time. With the extreme increased price of eggs, someone may have thought they could sell them.”

“The only thing similar I have encountered during my career,” she added, “was a stolen trailer full of ‘tainted chickens.’”

Eggs have been a prominent feature in the national news cycle. Their rising cost was a talking point in the presidential campaign. Suppliers are warning about the impact of avian influenza on availability and prices. And this week, Waffle House introduced a 50-cent surcharge on every egg it serves. (The chain says it serves more than 272 million eggs a year.)

In Pennsylvania, the trail has gone quiet, at least publicly, since the nighttime raid. But at a time when shoppers across the country are facing empty shelves and higher prices when shopping for eggs, the theft has drawn outsize attention to what would ordinarily be seen as a local event.

“This egg theft incident is definitely unusual and has gained national attention,” Trooper Frazer said.

With no new information to report since the theft, local and national news organizations this week are trying to engage readers with egg puns.

Thieves “poached” the eggs from a truck, leaving Pete & Gerry’s “shell shocked,” The New York Post reported. “Pa. police scramble to crack case,” Cleveland.com said in a headline, adding that the investigation would take some “hard-boiled” detective work.

  Hide contents

The theft also generated buzz on social media and in public forums as commentators speculated about the logistics of a bulk egg theft.

“100k eggs can’t be easy to conceal or ‘move,’” one person wrote in Reddit’s main news forum.

The thieves “need to meet up with the dudes who orchestrated the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist and make breakfast,” another person, apparently an optimist, wrote.

Pete & Gerry’s Organics, an egg producer that works with family farms to distribute eggs to retailers, said on Wednesday that it was increasing security and surveillance to “help prevent this from happening again.”

It was not immediately clear how so many eggs could be removed from the vehicle and what the thieves intended to do with them, but they possibly did not get to all of the cargo. Eggs are generally shuttled around in cases, in cartons or on pallets, said Karyn Rispoli, the egg managing editor at Expana, a firm that tracks commodity prices.

“Generally a full trailer load of large eggs probably is between $150,000 to $200,000,” she said in an interview. “It depends on what’s in there.”

Grocery stores and restaurants are now paying around $7.79 for a dozen Midwest large eggs, the industry standard, up from $3.33 a year ago, according to Expana.

Prices have been spiking partly because of inflation, but also because of avian influenza, or bird flu, which made its way to the United States in 2022 after it was detected in Canada.

The impact is being felt in households and businesses. Waffle House said this week that consumers and restaurants were being forced to make difficult decisions.

Trucking costs are also going up.

“The higher these prices go obviously the truckloads become increasingly expensive,” Ms. Rispoli said.

She said that the theft of $40,000 worth of eggs was being widely reported because of the economics behind it.

“I think it highlights the underlying problem, but I don’t know that it is necessarily very salacious in its scale,” she said. “The idea that eggs have gotten so difficult to find, and so expensive that somebody is actually willing to steal them, is the bigger thing of note.”

 

Anyone seen @CHAD BRISCOE

  • Haha 1
Posted
33 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Yep, covid is making a run hard through my town. And no one gives a fuck. Cool, ya got covid? Meet me at the bar and lets catch a game. I will get you a hot toddy.

 

I keep reminding people of my experience so they know, covid is a FAFO virus and it can hurt you for a long time and for some permanently. It’s is not in the same class as the flu or RSV for healthy people. 

  • Hook 'Em 5
Posted
56 minutes ago, troph said:

My experience was exactly the opposite. Covid hurt the fuck out of me for 6 months - an existential crisis born out of a multi organ injury. I had RSV last spring due to caring for my mom in the hospital. It was 3 weeks of lethargy and constant cold like symptoms, my mom was tested and confirmed. It was not a big deal. 

Turns out people are different.  I wasn’t diminishing Covid to be clear, it has fucked many up royally.  I’m thankful it hasn’t been a problem for my family. 
 

RSV for me was very irritated airway, inability to sleep for more than an hour, massive amounts of snot/mucus, body aches, headache for 4 or 5 days.

I recall your posts about your Covid situation.  Totally sucks.

Posted
5 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Turns out people are different.  I wasn’t diminishing Covid to be clear, it has fucked many up royally.  I’m thankful it hasn’t been a problem for my family. 
 

RSV for me was very irritated airway, inability to sleep for more than an hour, massive amounts of snot/mucus, body aches, headache for 4 or 5 days.

I recall your posts about your Covid situation.  Totally sucks.

Not suggesting otherwise. Plenty are dismissive not saying you were. I’m a repetitive PSA what can I say. I’m pretty much fully recovered just doing what I do speaking with a surly bullhorn. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 1
Posted
15 hours ago, troph said:

Not suggesting otherwise. Plenty are dismissive not saying you were. I’m a repetitive PSA what can I say. I’m pretty much fully recovered just doing what I do speaking with a surly bullhorn. 

If I were you, I wouldn't get the Surly bullhorn anywhere near my mouth.  That's how new diseases get started.

  • Haha 2

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...