Maybe US culture is different idk. At least in Germany, whenever you hear of a covid death that happens to a family member of a friend, work colleague etc, you ask those two questions kinda immediately just out of curiosity and to gauge how out of the norm or normal the case was. Similar to how you'd ask that when somebody dies of a heart attack or stroke, just medical interest.
Thad just a weird norm. I posted the passing of my friend's death on FB last year. 99% of the posts were the RIP comments or "sorry for the loss" comments. One asked if he was vaccinated. I deleted that comment because like all of xerobull's friends and family, he died of COVID.
I edited my post before you finished your reply, but kinda curious what the difference is: Like in the heart attack thread (or when strokes come up) for example, everyone named the age of the victims they personally know, but with covid it's somehow a total taboo and insensitive. My guess is maybe because covid has become heavily politicized and people immediately think the question is ingenuine or has a hidden motivation?
But what purpose does the answer to those questions serve a total stranger to the poster or to the person that died? If the answers are (for example) 75 and breast cancer, how does that change anything? Or if the answers are 43 and perfect health, how does that change anything? And age and pre existing conditions were definitely politicized. COVID deaths were being minimized by "well, it's mainly old people" and "well, it's mainly obese or unhealthy people". And in the general scheme of things, that didn't matter. The person died earlier than they were expected to due to COVID. And as I wrote earlier, I had over 100 responses on my Facebook post about my friend who died from COVID. Only one was rude enough to (in this case) all about being vaccinated. The other 100+ (in my experiences with death) were the "norm".
They matter because according to the current rules, they determine the eligibility for antiviral treatment. My question has nothing to do with minimizing death. In clinical studies (although with older variants), Paxlovid was like 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and death. It's also free. And yet, many people who would be eligible based on their age and/or pre-existing conditions have not been getting it. I think the access should be improved. That's what my question was about.
You completely misinterpreted my intent. @Xerobull said Every death is a tragedy for the person and those next of kin. I definitely did not mean to minimize or politicize that. It's actually quite insulting to assume and state that. The thing is, it does matter - because your age and whether you have a pre-existing condition determine whether you get access to Paxlovid. But the way the CDC has so far communicated the eligibility criteria is confusing, and most people (including doctors) don't fully understand the eligibility criteria. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html https://www.healthline.com/health-n...-antiviral-drug#Side-effects-and-interactions Right now, the rules say 65 and above, and people with certain pre-existing conditions are the only ones who can get Paxlovid (unless they fall under some of the exclusion criteria due to taking other drugs, etc.). Hence my question to @Xerobull about age or pre-existing conditions, and whether she did get access to antiviral treatment. Knowing @Xerobull's approximate age, I assume she would have been old enough, so she should have gotten access. If she fulfills the eligibility criteria, but she didn't get access, that's wrong. My concern is that many of these people wouldn't need to die if it were easier to understand who gets access, and if the patient journey towards getting the drug were more frictionless. That's what my question was about. My goal is exactly to prevent these preventable deaths. (P.S.: I do have a professional interest in this topic as well.)
Thanks all for the kind words. I meant this thread for sort of a memorial for everyone. @AroundTheWorld - she was… 76? Always had this weird neurotic cough. No serious health issues but she wasn’t healthy, she walked with a cane due to back issues. Didn’t get a lot of exercise but not fat at all. Not sure on the medications. Edit- she did smoke for a couple of decades but quit in her 40s. @bobrek and @ThatBoyNick no offense was taken. I think @AroundTheWorld and I are familiar enough that those sort of questions are valid. Plus, as @Yung-T and @CCorn said, there are some cultural differences. One of my closest friends is German and the blunt **** that comes out of his mouth constantly makes me laugh. Back to your regularly scheduled mourning.
Having spent lots of time in Germany and with Germans, I agree. B-Bob, at a conference in Dresden: "Good morning! How are you today?" German colleague: *long pause and stare* "Why do Americans ask such questions? I do not see the point."
That must have been a very weird colleague, to be fair. It's a pretty standard greeting/opener here too.
ATW couldn't cut it in Germany and was forced to move to a hyper liberal enclave in the US -- ITT he was just being a jackass.
An odd breed of people, to be sure. I kid, I kid. Kind of. My condolences to those with losses in this thread. My only real loss from COVID was my good friend's grandmother, who was like a grandmother to me. Otherwise, it's just been friend of a friend type stuff.
Apparently southerners are just weird in general. Whenever I visit my wife’s family in Maryland people look at me like a serial killer when I strike up random conversations at the grocery store.
Immediately asking anyone, on the internet or otherwise, about pre-existing conditions and about a specific medication, makes you sound like an insurance / medication salesman at best. Instead of an actually genuine and concerned person. Even if y'all were the best of friends, still pretty weird to have that exchange on a public forum. "My loved one died of a heart attack." "Sorry about that. Anyways, did he/she eat lots of fatty foods and did she take her cholesterol medication regularly, or...?" "My loved one died due to an STD which manifested into something systematically worse." "Sorry about that, but did he/she have lots of unprotected sex and did he/she take her antibiotics when he/she needed to, or...?" I'm not here to police or criticize internet etiquette, but that just sounds so weird.
OK. I understand it might have sounded weird to some. I didn't mean it in a bad way. I would apologize to @Xerobull if he were offended, but he already said he is not. I explained why I asked. Did you understand that part?
