Bummer. Thanks for the info - looks like we will just have to be proactively booking testing a week out for now.
Yea, I have done that too and I hate it. Just a note on what I read - rapid antigen test is great at indicating the infectious state. A positive there means you are likely infectious. PCR not so much - PCR was meant to look for any trace of the virus, even "dead" parts of one. You can get a positive on PCR but aren't infectious. This is why some remain positive for weeks. With PCR, if it's early on after exposure or while symptomatic - think infectious. If not, it might not be.
I'm sure she'd love nothing more than to have another lockdown.....but I really don't think people will accept another lockdown for the sniffles, even if a lot of people have it.
A thirty-something neighbor died of COVID. Wasn’t vaccinated. Wasn’t political. I think it was like I’ve been with the regular flu shot for years - just didn’t seem necessary.
We just had a 49 year old cousin get airlifted from a small hospital to a regional hospital with COVID. She has no underlying conditions. Not vaccinated. The Doctors say she is very close to needing a ventilator. They told the family if she goes on a ventilator, she only has about a 10-20% chance of recovering. Started as sniffles...became bronchitis...moved into her lungs. Most of her family IS vaccinated...her husband had to have one for work. They all had it and recovered a couple of weeks ago. Hers just got worse and worse.
I don't understand the obsession with testing. Do people typically get tested to find out what specific virus they have every time they get sick? What possible benefit would there be in a test telling you exactly what specific virus gave you the sniffles? Does it truly matter if it was coronavirus or rhinovirus? Don't you react basically the same to either, staying home and taking OTC meds to treat the symptoms....
Testing young, healthy people is probably a waste of time as long as they ACTUALLY stay away from other people. Testing older people, and people with underlying conditions makes sense so they can receive the emerging treatment options very quickly.
I agree with that. The problem is it's the young and healthy who are gobbling up all the tests. The good news is that it's not anywhere near as much of a problem as it was a few years ago. The initial COVID strains had a case fatality rate of over 1%, now that the strains are weaker and effective treatments have been discovered (and are no longer being rejected) the case fatality rate has fallen to somewhere around 0.2% and will likely fall even further with strains like omicron becoming the most prevalent. The elderly and those with extremely serious health problems will still be at risk....but those people are always going to be at risk no matter what. Before long, this should all be in the rear view mirror. That's not to say COVID is going away, it's not going to.....it just won't be a dangerous novel virus anymore. Hopefully it'll be a long time before the next dangerous virus leaks from that lab.
Test to slow spread. Basic concept for contagious virus that is still killing thousands per day and gobbling up our health care systems.
Inform individuals and businesses to make their own decision. Some businesses tie levels of restrictions based on the local covid-19 threat level. From the local gov side, they might open up additional testing sites, work more closely with local hospitals and schools to support this wave, and ask for additional resources from the fed gov. No lockdown from gov side.
The only thing I could go on would be anecdotal, the young and healthy people I know end up having to test dozens and dozens of times for work or for travel. I can't even tell you how many tests I've had to take over the past 2 years. On top of that, you have the hoarders. It's basically the toilet paper situation all over again. A laughably ridiculous panic causes irrational purchasing behavior which has negative consequences for everyone.
To be fair, PCR testing was fixed. Yes, there is now a shortfall but it is understandable with Omicron. While the official number is 1.5m cases yesterday, Omicron cases are probably 2-5x that. There was no "planning" that could cover that level of cases from the PCR front. But, there could have been planning to cover that from the at-home quick test side. The admin finally got a plan for free regular at-home testing (8 tests per person per month starting next week but availability will be tight) - it's too late for this wave but it should still be done for the next waves.
Unfortunately, if Omicron, the already limited stockpile of 1st gen monoclonal antibody treatments in the US is not effective. There are effective post-infection early treatments (2nd gen monoclonal antibody, antiviral pills), but they are recent and not generally available yet.
Just heard from my Uncle. My cousin is still not on a ventilator, but is struggling and gasping for every breath. Her blood/oxygen is still decent, however. She's scared to fall asleep because the thinks she'll die if she's not awake to force herself to breathe. They've thrown every available treatment at her, whether its proven to work or not. They started her on the a course of the Pfizer pill today to see if it does anything even though she's weeks past the time to take it.
Apparently, there is a real run on the Pfizer booster. When I was booking an appointment, one was at least two weeks out for Pfizer. Then, I selected Moderna and it is next day. And, I believe the Moderna booster was shown to be slightly better than Pfizer.
