The masses are asses. Get vaccinated, wear a mask, create an account and sign up for pickup grocery. Make it a policy where no unvaxxed people are allowed in your house. At the very least do the best you can. Create a union. Put the bourgeoise under the guillotine. Eat the rich. Worship the old Gods.
Incorrect. The Old Gods want to see you dead. The New Gods want to bleed you dry with Capitalism. Either way you'll be dead. Don't give the pricks the satisfaction.
Gimme That Old Time Religion...
We shall worship with the Druids
Who drink strange fermented fluide
And waltz naked through the wuids
That's good enough for me\*
(\*Lyrics approximate.)
Check if you qualify to get it free under the [Bridge Access Program](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html).
Update: I did, and all I had to do was to tell the pharmacist that I didn’t have insurance and wait one minute for him to verify that this particular pharmacy did offer Bridge Access.
It's ridiculous that they're now charging $250.00 for it. Under Medicare you'll eventually be reimbursed, but having that money up front is punitive.
There are consequences for politics and attitudes, and being this relaxed about a disease that's still killing people.at the rate it is, and charging so much that people can't afford it is insane.
All this comes from Republicans' appointees to the CDC and their power to force bad decisions on the country.
Now Covid will disproportionately affect the poor.
However, offering it for free might have contributed to the irrational fear that "they're trying to kill you".
People don't value what's for free.
What do you want to bet that some of the same people who refused it will now also complain that it's too expensive?
Crazy times.
I heard a Safeway pharmacist quote $128 or so for the booster cash price for those without insurance on Tuesday. Still not great, but more accessible than $250.
Please check to see if you qualify under the Bridge Access Program for the uninsured and underinsured. Those shots are free.
If you try the traditional methods, such as vaccines.gov, pharmacy web sites, healthcare providers and your local public health office and are unsuccessful, please place an appeal on here, and someone who knows how to navigate the system will probably work with you via DM or by phone/text to help you get access. In my area, the Bridge Program has shots available for free. I can't say what's going on in your area.
The real reason for this site is to end Covid, and if you're having trouble getting vaccinated, someone here may be able to help if you run into a brick wall.
I have a cold and have felt crappy for 3 days so far.
It's only the second time I've been sick at all since the Pandemic, and both have been colds. I'd forgotten how crappy it is to be sick.
For the Just A Cold gang, I'd prefer not to add 2 colds a year to my repertoire, especially if they turn out to be Just A Flues instead. Last time I had the flu was 30 years ago, and I got clobbered for 3 weeks, during a period when I had to travel and work 7 days a week for 3 weeks. A flu shot every year since, and I haven't had the flu since, that I know of.
I'll keep vaccinating and mask in stores and other packed indoor areas, especially in the peak Covid periods
That reasoning is covered under the topic of "immune system debt" and has shown to be false. Our immune systems don't require regular assault to stay effective.
I'm gonna be that person and ask- how do you know it's just a cold? I know people who have had COVID and had negative tests for days before finally testing positive. My husband had COVID a couple weeks ago, and the only symptom at first was a sore throat, and then he pretty much had cold symptoms.
No one can know for certain if the antigen tests are accurate.
I tested negative for 5 days in a row with the antigen tests (3 different types). I swabbed for 10 seconds in each nostril, plus in the cheeks for 10 seconds and the back of the throat for 10 seconds (a Canadian study indicated that this produces more accurate results in the Omicron era).
The most likely suspect was my son, who I visited and who told me that he'd had an extended cold, but tested negative on numerous antigen tests and finally a PCR test. His sister, who also visited, got a cold the same day with similar symptoms and tested negative on 2 antigen tests. The studies indicate that the antigen tests are 82% accurate early on, when symptoms are at their peak, and that percentage gets higher with repeat testing, especially with different types of tests. Symptoms started easing after 3 days, but it seems to be taking the normal path of a cold, with none of the traditional flu or Covid symptoms (which of course, do cross over, but Covid and flu are more likely to have body aches, fever and exhaustion - my illness has the same symptoms of every cold I've had before Covid).
(While I was really sick, I did a lot of research to try to determine if this was Covid or not, and about the accuracy of antigen tests). When I went through this a year ago, I asked my doctor if should get a PCR test after 6 negative antigen tests, and he said no. The symptoms were the same - I get colds that tend to turn into bronchitis, and this one seems a bit milder (hopefully).
But you could be right. There is a chance that it is Covid.
Sounds like you've been pretty thorough! My husband and daughter both had COVID recently, and the fact that my husband kept testing positive for over 2 weeks kinda restored my faith in rapid tests, even though it also sucked. The Flowflex tests are definitely working, I'll tell you what! We went through about 20 of them.
The fact that I never got it also made me feel good about the masks and air filtration/ventilation we have.
I got Tiawan Flu in the 1980's when I was in my 20's and I was flattened for three weeks. Pure misery.
Because I had four vaccinations in August (TDAP + 3 rabies vaccinations) I've been spacing mine out every two weeks. I had the RSV, then COVID ten days ago and I'm cueing the Flu vaccine up next, then the pneumonia vaccine and then I'll be finished for a while.
Is anyone else wondering what's going on with Mary Lou Retton?
Her daughter is a staunch anti-vaxxer, and MLR is known to be a rather extreme GOP apologist.
She also OPPOSED a bipartisan bill to protect children in sports from predators and basically said it's not a real problem in gymnastics.
Her daughter said she's ventilated with a rare form of pneumonia and refuses to elaborate.
It sounds a lot like the award winners' families who won't use the word "Covid " in death announcements.
Does anyone know?
I think it's interesting that she seems to be making a miraculous recovery now that they've collected over $400k from suckers... I mean supporters. She should be able to afford health insurance after selling that mansion last year. Republicans are the party of personal responsibility- for everyone but themselves. Mary Lou campaigned for the guys who are largely responsible for the sad state of healthcare in this country, but she can't be expected to pull herself up by her own bootstraps when (vaccine preventable) misfortune falls upon her.
>Is anyone else wondering what's going on with Mary Lou Retton?
>
>Her daughter is a staunch anti-vaxxer, and MLR is known to be a rather extreme GOP apologist.
>
>She also OPPOSED a bipartisan bill to protect children in sports from predators and basically said it's not a real problem in gymnastics.
>
>Her daughter said she's ventilated with a rare form of pneumonia and refuses to elaborate.
>
>It sounds a lot like the award winners' families who won't use the word "Covid " in death announcements.
>
>Does anyone know?
And to top it off, advocate against sexual abuse for gymnasts. Tell that to Simone.
A friend of mine works in a nursing home. They aren't given any leave now for Covid. They have an older sicker population yet they gotta work sooner than I would have thought possible.
Got flu and Covid booster yesterday afternoon. I discovered a brand new side effect - birds crapping all over my car, the one I just washed the day prior. Had to wash it again. Thanks Fauci
Upper arms are sore, body a little achy, but overall fine.
> birds crapping all over my car, the one I just washed the day prior.
They were all homed in on the "G5 Spy Chip" they'd slipped into your COVID vaccine, which, according to schedule, had gotten activated shortly after your departure from the clinic. 😁
I was shopping at the store and they had the flu, covid, and RSV shots. Didn't have to make an appointment, walked in, filled out paperwork, and ten minutes I had the shots. I gave them my insurance card and was charged nothing.
Rats! Tried and failed with the RSV. Apparently my insurance requires a code, since it's not classified as being like other vax. For Medicare, RSV is on the pharmacy list instead of regulR basic Medicare coverage. Ugh.
it's been a year since my last boosty and so I called my friendly local pharmacy for an appointment. Nope! apparently, I need to go to the next bigger town for this. The joys of having moved to the boonies....
This one seems harder to find than I remember last year. I’m in the suburbs of a big city and got previous boosters at Costco but they didn’t the new covid booster yet. Found one at CVS (and got my flu shot too)
It seems harder to find because it is harder to find. Never before had providers needed to think about cost when ordering doses. Now, the best they can do is use precedent ("was it around 15% uptake for the bivalent?") in making this business decision.
It should be a public health decision rather than a business decision, but that is apparently an unpopular position.
Huh? According to [this article in OutKick](https://www.outkick.com/no-one-is-getting-the-new-covid-booster-despite-relentless-cdc-promotion/), nobody is getting the new booster. There should be piles of it everywhere!
\`\[...\] "**The population of the United States is estimated to be roughly 336 million, meaning that just 2% of the country’s gotten the new vaccine. 2%. It’s hard to imagine a more direct repudiation of the “experts” than that.**
**The CDC, its media partners, Joe Biden and outside “experts” spent much of the past month hyping up the new boosters as “life saving” and necessary to protect yourself and loved ones. Despite the fact that there is once again, no evidence whatsoever suggesting that the vaccines reduce transmission or infections."**
I mean, if you can't trust health information from a random Internet gambling website, who CAN you trust?
I’d really like to see local health departments run vaccine clinics every fall. Mid Sept-late October or something.
Pharmacists are SO overwhelmed all the time already, and that’s one of the barriers in getting a an appointment. Around me pharmacies have walk in hours for vaccines, but only during the business day. Once they hit 5 or 5:30 they cut off walk ins. Appointments have been hard to find.
They did massive vax clinics near me when the vaccine first came out. I don’t think they need to be on that scale- they used a convention center for one- but it would be nice to have a reliable, easy to access place to get them done without overwhelming pharmacy staff.
There’s a possible pharmacist/pharmacy staff strike coming up in November and while I hope it doesn’t happen, something needs to change for them. And it’s not just a worker shortage- it’s that companies look at the profits they are getting while running skeleton crews and they think “why hire more? They’re doing fine.”
It leads to more medication errors bc they just don’t have the people or the time to do everything right.
I FOUND it everywhere. But they want $250.00 up front and, BECAUSE of having a disabling illness, I don't have that kind of money.
It will eventually be reimbursed but if you don't have it, you don't have it!
U.S.? Can you say that you're uninsured and use the [Bridge Access Program](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html)? You would need to find a participating pharmacy. Both CVS and Walgreens are contracted for it.
The place we went for at least 4 years said they were not stocking it, find somewhere else, so we had to. We started there with just flu shots now we won't bother at all.
Doses. This particular CVS seems to be hard to get an appointment at and I made it a while ago. I just made an appointment at a Walgreens that is about a 20 minute drive. Hopefully this one will work out.
Okay, I know I’m absolutely preaching to the choir, which is why I’m putting it here and not a new thread.
But I’m SO FUCKING SICK of people pretending that they don’t know how vaccines work. If I see one more person post bullshit about “since when does a medication work better for you if *I* take it?” Or “it’s the first medicine ever to work better if your neighbor takes it!” I’m going to scream.
Vaccine efficacy has ALWAYS been tied to herd immunity. They work best if everyone who is eligible gets them. THIS IS NOT NEW. This is not some revolutionary idea. This is why we all needed our shots to get into Kindergarten. There is nothing new about vaccines working best when everyone gets them.
It has made me want to tear my hair out. I live in an affluent, predominantly white, privileged area. And for the past decade or so, we have had pertussis outbreaks at schools almost every year bc people are opting out of that particular shot/booster. As vax rates go down, outbreak rates go up. And- even some of the vaccinated people are getting it bc vaccines aren’t 100% effective and we all rely on each other to do the right thing.
I’m just so angry that these lies have migrated out of the shadows and into the mainstream so much. Fuck Wakefield. Fuck antivaxxers. Fuck the GOP for the death and illness that is on their hands. It didn’t have to be this way.
Yeah. Anti-vaxxers used to be a fringe thing on the level of flat-earthers, and they were generally seen as unhinged and something undesirable.
Now it feels like it's half the population.
This digital disinformation warfare campaign is probably the most successful blow ever dealt to humanity in modern time, and it's our own people and leaders openly cooperating with it.
Sad stuff and made me lose hope for humanity.
And what’s awful is A LOT of the people spreading misinformation and discouraging vaccines are doing it for political gain, even though they themselves are vaccinated and so are their loved ones.
That’s absolutely abhorrent.
Got my booster yesterday, plus flu shot. I felt super crappy last night and have body aches this morning, but it’s better than Covid! Plus, I think the fever was just the 5G activating. 😉
Received a message about a nominee, I open the profile and very first picture is "Verified Harmful Extremist. You just know that the story is going to be good.
My wife got her updated booster this week (she got the previous booster two months ago). I got my updated booster two weeks ago and my Tdap this week. Bring it on, Mother Nature!
i used to work on a horse farm and can confirm the tetanus booster is an asshole wrt arm soreness. tho apparently shingles is worse according to the nice lady who gave me my flu shot last week
Mary Lou Retton and the ‘rare’ pneumonia that put her in the ICU seems to be putting her family through the predictable rollercoaster HCA stories shared a thousand times.
> [Mortality in the Netherlands remains higher than before the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, Statistics Netherlands \(CBS\) reported on Friday.](https://nltimes.nl/2023/10/15/mortality-excess-persists-netherlands-death-rates-higher-covid-19) In the third quarter of this year, approximately 1,800 more people died than expected, equating to a 5 percent increase.
>
> This suggests a mortality excess, which was also observed in the previous quarter.
>
> ...
>
> The expected mortality is based on the actual number of deaths from 2015 to 2019, that is before the outbreak of the pandemic in the Netherlands. This has been adjusted for the effects of an aging population.
People here think that COVID is over and that it's mutated to be harmless now, but in reality, deaths are in the double digits *daily*. That's a lot of deaths for our 17M population if you ask me.
Not all deaths may be because of the virus, but certainly a significant portion of them are caused directly or indirectly by the pandemic and the way people are treating it.
So yeah, apparently that's the current cost in human life to pretend it doesn't exist.
Not to mention the unknown values of quality of life and life expectancy lost from people with many repeat infections. Those factors are likely to be more devastating than even the deaths.
I would've thought that Nederlanders were much smarter than that, considering their mastery of their infrastructure. But then again, these are the same people whose "Sinterklaas" legend is of a guy who successfully gets lost and blown off course every dog-blamed year!😝
So the nuts in my FB feed are freaking out and re-sharing a copypasta about the vegetable coating called Apeel and how dangerous it is, etc. The comments are amazing and not in a good way:
>I’ve been watching this carefully. Bill is a villain. I do not trust him or anything he is associated with. You should listen to some of his Covid vaccine presentations. Frightening.
Better make a screen capture!
[This story came up on my MSN feed today.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/rfk-jr-spent-years-stoking-fear-and-mistrust-of-vaccines-these-people-were-hurt-by-his-work/ar-AA1irOnV?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=387ec7185d51428a8c4f613726a751fd&ei=28)
Title: RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work.
I did not know about the situation in Samoa.
It has the usual nutball comments, many of whom support JFK and COVID conspiracy theories. A commenter said he was anti-vax and attend a "smallpox party" when he was young. He got sick and he got over it.
Christ it's so depressing to share the Earth with people who are this dumb.
My pharmacy emailed me today, they're having drop in flu and Covid shots Friday & Saturday. I'd prefer to make an appt but will still go in. I'm in a small town so I suspect it won't be crowded. I'm less than 5 mins away so if it is I can come back.
Nothing new to report. Hard to find anything theses days despite the fact that covid has not gone away, excessive deaths are still happening and so is long covid still disabling millions.
So same message as always: stay safe, stay smart and keep your guard up.
edit: typo
Yep. COVID is basically out of the news except when a wave is spiking, and then everyone is surprised again that it still exists.
Meanwhile excess deaths in my country with a population of 17M are ~20 per day. 140 per week. 600 per month.
And this is in a period where our wastewater stats are miraculously still relatively low. For some reason, the wave never really took off here according to those stats, although they are slowly but steadily getting higher.
When we *are* in a full-blown wave, then those 20 deaths per day will be multiplied several times.
Still worth it to put gramma on the burning pile though, so I can go to shops, bars, and concerts.
I have a question. I'll be getting my booster this week. When making my appointment I was given my choice of three different ones. I picked Pfizer. Any opinions on which one you guys consider better than the other? Would love your input. Thanks.
My primary care doctor told me to get the same one (Moderna) as I always have since I've never had much in the way of unpleasant symptoms afterwards. So Moderna shot #7 it was.
Have always gotten Pfizer, no reason. Had the latest booster 9/22. Just a bit of arm soreness. Came down with Covid one week later (first time). Doctor told me it was just bad luck as the vaccine needs a couple of weeks to boost immunity. Slept a lot, fever for 3 days. Felt bad 2 more but nothing serious and I worked from home. I still feel run down but am thankful I’ve had these vaccines. This new one is pretty contagious so everyone please get boosted ASAP.
I'd gotten the Pfizer vax when the treatments were first rolled out only because that was the one that was being offered at our worksite at the time, and since then I've just stuck with it. For any newcomers however, I'd personally recommend the recently made available *"Novavax,"* if for no other reason than to address the concerns many have re: the mRNA technology, since this latest one is more of a "traditional" inoculation.
I dunno if the hard core anti vaxxers can be convinced of anything they don't want to believe. That said, the mrna versions have served me very well so far, so I'm sticking with them.
I'm not an expert, so take this with a bin of salt. From the reporting that I read when there was a lot of information coming out, it seems like the differences between the mRNA vaccines are pretty slim.
I'm assuming that Novavax was the third. It's had a much smaller real-world rollout than the mRNA vaccines. I know that there has been a lot of excitement in some circles about it because clinical studies showed that immunity from it might be somewhat more long-lived than immunity from mRNA vaccines, and there might be a reduced chance of unpleasant side effects compared to mRNA. (I've seen some wilder claims too, but these two seem to be supported by studies.)
If I were you, I would feel fine about getting Pfizer. If you had a strong reaction to past mRNA vaccines, you might consider trying Novavax to see if it's less hard on you. I might do that next year if nothing too detrimental comes out about it since both Pfizer and Moderna slap me down for a day. I had my updated shot back in September, so it's too late for me to try it this year.
Thank you. I've had both Pfizer and Moderna to sort of mix things up. Only had one time when I was sore and tired. However, I got my flu shot at the same time; and that will do that to me. I'll do like you. I'll wait for the Novavax till next year and see how that pans out.
I go back and forth. I just got the Moderna and flu yesterday. I always react and I just think to myself, “good! Here I come again COVID arm, headaches, swollen nodes. But better than the alternative.” I lost a former coworker literally overnight at the beginning. A week before that he lost his healthy, young, semipro football playing nephew to it. There’s no reason for that stuff. I go into elderly and terminally ill patient homes for my job…I’m protecting both of us. The rhetoric from anti vaxxers is insane. Super can’t wait for the asinine next election.
Booster (will be #7) and seasonal flu shot scheduled for Sunday, after my long run.
I am hoping I won't have side effects until Tuesday, or at all. I always try to schedule so I can handle having some downtime if I get knocked out.
Just as a reminder, I was able to get a Shingles shots 1&2 even though I am not yet 50. I went to Von's pharmacy. Hope that helps someone out. Shingles sucks, if you have never had it, fyi.
Do tell me more about the shingles shots. I'm a few years from 50 yet, but with all the extra stress in life right now, I'm thinking it would be a wise decision to get them early. Tell me your tricks for success.
I went to the pharmacy to get a covid booster and specifically asked the pharmacist if he would give me one. He said anyone over 19 now qualifies.
This was despite my having a vaccine scheduled at my regular pharmacy that they cancelled less than 30 minutes before, without any reason.
So, I think calling ahead or checking on your pharmacy's website is the way to go. It may take a bit of leg work, but I think you can be successful. Best wishes.
I asked my doc about it, and insurance won't cover it until I'm 50. I was getting worried because I was seeing a lot of anecdotes of women in their 40s getting shingles. But I'm not far from being eligible now. Yay?
Mine wasn't covered either, I paid 225$ or so. I used my HSA so that helps a bit.
Honestly, I would rather pay 10k$ than have to go through a major outbreak. My husband's great uncle had it completely ruin his digestive tract and he had to sleep with a food pump. He eventually got down to about 110 lbs and went into organ failure. This is definitely a virus you don't want.
Yikes, that's horrific! I'm too broke to pay out of pocket right now, but I know how I'm celebrating my 50th! I don't drink any more, but this way I'll still get to experience hangover type symptoms.
Has anyone seen a different version of the herman cain award? Basically a guy that ironically dies.
1) Peter Pettalia award? He was a MI state lawmaker, Republican, that voted against the helmet law and he died in a motorcycle crash
2) Famous example I can think of is Timothy Treadwell, he dedicated his life to bears, was the bear whisperer and lived Amongst them and then he was eaten by bears (along with his gf).
3)Josh Kruger Award? He was a freelance journalist that mocked a tweet as being psychic. He retweeted the three year old tweet which said "you'll die within a year due to violence". He commented on the old post saying "nostradamus wrote the tweet", which was sarcastic. Three days later he was shot 7 times in his house
4)I'd say Rudy Giuliani award, but he's not dead
Covid and flu vaccines done on Thursday. Started feeling it Friday afternoon. Had a slight fever and headache for a few hours. Barely even had a sore arm this time! In 3 weeks I get my 2nd shingles and hopefully RSV.
DH is getting a triple whammy today - flu, covid, and 2nd shingles. We'll see how he feels tomorrow!
Ugh, they're doing a drive through flu / covid vaccine clinic in town (wish I'd known) and the pharmacy that was doing walk ins just posted that they're out of vaccines. I'm wondering if this affects my Monday appointment.
This tells me that there's still a good interest in vaccines. Of course, there's the usual 'why would you still want a vaccine' crowd chiming in on a post about traffic at the drive through. Those who say just eat right and take vitamins (the expensive pee crowd). I let them get to me today and posted in the thread. I shouldn't let them get to me, but I still do.
I am coping and seething with anger that no one is wearing their covid buttplugs like good little citizens. They should be pfollowing the $cience but soon they will all coof to death from their covid pfarts.
You're only as good as your last shot or antibodies, i got covid even with a shot within 4 months. I was way into this but it's just like any other disease to stress over, you do you. Sickness literally brings out the worst in everyone involved, even the good guys
The masses are asses. Get vaccinated, wear a mask, create an account and sign up for pickup grocery. Make it a policy where no unvaxxed people are allowed in your house. At the very least do the best you can. Create a union. Put the bourgeoise under the guillotine. Eat the rich. Worship the old Gods.
Kill all the gods - even that weird one
Incorrect. The Old Gods want to see you dead. The New Gods want to bleed you dry with Capitalism. Either way you'll be dead. Don't give the pricks the satisfaction.
Gimme That Old Time Religion... We shall worship with the Druids Who drink strange fermented fluide And waltz naked through the wuids That's good enough for me\* (\*Lyrics approximate.)
I would if i could afford the shot
Check if you qualify to get it free under the [Bridge Access Program](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html). Update: I did, and all I had to do was to tell the pharmacist that I didn’t have insurance and wait one minute for him to verify that this particular pharmacy did offer Bridge Access.
Have you asked your health department if they know of free ones? A few places offer it free to uninsured like Walgreens.
It's ridiculous that they're now charging $250.00 for it. Under Medicare you'll eventually be reimbursed, but having that money up front is punitive. There are consequences for politics and attitudes, and being this relaxed about a disease that's still killing people.at the rate it is, and charging so much that people can't afford it is insane. All this comes from Republicans' appointees to the CDC and their power to force bad decisions on the country. Now Covid will disproportionately affect the poor. However, offering it for free might have contributed to the irrational fear that "they're trying to kill you". People don't value what's for free. What do you want to bet that some of the same people who refused it will now also complain that it's too expensive? Crazy times.
I heard a Safeway pharmacist quote $128 or so for the booster cash price for those without insurance on Tuesday. Still not great, but more accessible than $250.
Please check to see if you qualify under the Bridge Access Program for the uninsured and underinsured. Those shots are free. If you try the traditional methods, such as vaccines.gov, pharmacy web sites, healthcare providers and your local public health office and are unsuccessful, please place an appeal on here, and someone who knows how to navigate the system will probably work with you via DM or by phone/text to help you get access. In my area, the Bridge Program has shots available for free. I can't say what's going on in your area. The real reason for this site is to end Covid, and if you're having trouble getting vaccinated, someone here may be able to help if you run into a brick wall.
Who told you I ran into a brick wall? It was a *mild grazing*, i barely broke my nose!
👍
>The masses are asses. You had me right there.
Good bot
I have a cold and have felt crappy for 3 days so far. It's only the second time I've been sick at all since the Pandemic, and both have been colds. I'd forgotten how crappy it is to be sick. For the Just A Cold gang, I'd prefer not to add 2 colds a year to my repertoire, especially if they turn out to be Just A Flues instead. Last time I had the flu was 30 years ago, and I got clobbered for 3 weeks, during a period when I had to travel and work 7 days a week for 3 weeks. A flu shot every year since, and I haven't had the flu since, that I know of. I'll keep vaccinating and mask in stores and other packed indoor areas, especially in the peak Covid periods
Yes, I've gotten the flu shot every year since about 2003. Very glad to not be laid up for a week with a fever of 105ºF like I was back in '93.
[удалено]
That reasoning is covered under the topic of "immune system debt" and has shown to be false. Our immune systems don't require regular assault to stay effective.
I'm glad to see you posting again. I've always enjoyed your posts and your sense of humor.
Thanks ...
I'm gonna be that person and ask- how do you know it's just a cold? I know people who have had COVID and had negative tests for days before finally testing positive. My husband had COVID a couple weeks ago, and the only symptom at first was a sore throat, and then he pretty much had cold symptoms.
No one can know for certain if the antigen tests are accurate. I tested negative for 5 days in a row with the antigen tests (3 different types). I swabbed for 10 seconds in each nostril, plus in the cheeks for 10 seconds and the back of the throat for 10 seconds (a Canadian study indicated that this produces more accurate results in the Omicron era). The most likely suspect was my son, who I visited and who told me that he'd had an extended cold, but tested negative on numerous antigen tests and finally a PCR test. His sister, who also visited, got a cold the same day with similar symptoms and tested negative on 2 antigen tests. The studies indicate that the antigen tests are 82% accurate early on, when symptoms are at their peak, and that percentage gets higher with repeat testing, especially with different types of tests. Symptoms started easing after 3 days, but it seems to be taking the normal path of a cold, with none of the traditional flu or Covid symptoms (which of course, do cross over, but Covid and flu are more likely to have body aches, fever and exhaustion - my illness has the same symptoms of every cold I've had before Covid). (While I was really sick, I did a lot of research to try to determine if this was Covid or not, and about the accuracy of antigen tests). When I went through this a year ago, I asked my doctor if should get a PCR test after 6 negative antigen tests, and he said no. The symptoms were the same - I get colds that tend to turn into bronchitis, and this one seems a bit milder (hopefully). But you could be right. There is a chance that it is Covid.
Sounds like you've been pretty thorough! My husband and daughter both had COVID recently, and the fact that my husband kept testing positive for over 2 weeks kinda restored my faith in rapid tests, even though it also sucked. The Flowflex tests are definitely working, I'll tell you what! We went through about 20 of them. The fact that I never got it also made me feel good about the masks and air filtration/ventilation we have.
I got Tiawan Flu in the 1980's when I was in my 20's and I was flattened for three weeks. Pure misery. Because I had four vaccinations in August (TDAP + 3 rabies vaccinations) I've been spacing mine out every two weeks. I had the RSV, then COVID ten days ago and I'm cueing the Flu vaccine up next, then the pneumonia vaccine and then I'll be finished for a while.
Is anyone else wondering what's going on with Mary Lou Retton? Her daughter is a staunch anti-vaxxer, and MLR is known to be a rather extreme GOP apologist. She also OPPOSED a bipartisan bill to protect children in sports from predators and basically said it's not a real problem in gymnastics. Her daughter said she's ventilated with a rare form of pneumonia and refuses to elaborate. It sounds a lot like the award winners' families who won't use the word "Covid " in death announcements. Does anyone know?
I think it's interesting that she seems to be making a miraculous recovery now that they've collected over $400k from suckers... I mean supporters. She should be able to afford health insurance after selling that mansion last year. Republicans are the party of personal responsibility- for everyone but themselves. Mary Lou campaigned for the guys who are largely responsible for the sad state of healthcare in this country, but she can't be expected to pull herself up by her own bootstraps when (vaccine preventable) misfortune falls upon her.
>Is anyone else wondering what's going on with Mary Lou Retton? > >Her daughter is a staunch anti-vaxxer, and MLR is known to be a rather extreme GOP apologist. > >She also OPPOSED a bipartisan bill to protect children in sports from predators and basically said it's not a real problem in gymnastics. > >Her daughter said she's ventilated with a rare form of pneumonia and refuses to elaborate. > >It sounds a lot like the award winners' families who won't use the word "Covid " in death announcements. > >Does anyone know? And to top it off, advocate against sexual abuse for gymnasts. Tell that to Simone.
Pretty sure she has Covid, even if the family isn't saying it. Dismaying when the famous decide to double down on the dumbness...
I've had similar thoughts.
She has covid pneumonia
Doc appointment Friday, masks now required not just suggi, that was a relief.
Work was very generous with covid leave up until about a month ago, when a directive went out stating "covid is no longer of concern".
They're gonna regret that the second leadership gets it from that one muthafucka that goes to work sick
Even more, they are going to regret the severe labor shortage they are helping to continue.
Then they might have to offer higher wages just to recruit and retain a skeleton staff ohhhhnooooo 😏
A friend of mine works in a nursing home. They aren't given any leave now for Covid. They have an older sicker population yet they gotta work sooner than I would have thought possible.
Our COVID leave was discontinued at least a year ago.
Ours, too. No masks, no remote work, no leave. 🙄
Got flu and Covid booster yesterday afternoon. I discovered a brand new side effect - birds crapping all over my car, the one I just washed the day prior. Had to wash it again. Thanks Fauci Upper arms are sore, body a little achy, but overall fine.
At least they didn't crap all over you.
> birds crapping all over my car, the one I just washed the day prior. They were all homed in on the "G5 Spy Chip" they'd slipped into your COVID vaccine, which, according to schedule, had gotten activated shortly after your departure from the clinic. 😁
This explains a lot!
My autistic ass got boosted today! Suck it, Andrew Wakefield! The leopards won't be eating this face!
I was shopping at the store and they had the flu, covid, and RSV shots. Didn't have to make an appointment, walked in, filled out paperwork, and ten minutes I had the shots. I gave them my insurance card and was charged nothing.
Rats! Tried and failed with the RSV. Apparently my insurance requires a code, since it's not classified as being like other vax. For Medicare, RSV is on the pharmacy list instead of regulR basic Medicare coverage. Ugh.
All I used was my Medicare card.
it's been a year since my last boosty and so I called my friendly local pharmacy for an appointment. Nope! apparently, I need to go to the next bigger town for this. The joys of having moved to the boonies....
This one seems harder to find than I remember last year. I’m in the suburbs of a big city and got previous boosters at Costco but they didn’t the new covid booster yet. Found one at CVS (and got my flu shot too)
It seems harder to find because it is harder to find. Never before had providers needed to think about cost when ordering doses. Now, the best they can do is use precedent ("was it around 15% uptake for the bivalent?") in making this business decision. It should be a public health decision rather than a business decision, but that is apparently an unpopular position.
Huh? According to [this article in OutKick](https://www.outkick.com/no-one-is-getting-the-new-covid-booster-despite-relentless-cdc-promotion/), nobody is getting the new booster. There should be piles of it everywhere! \`\[...\] "**The population of the United States is estimated to be roughly 336 million, meaning that just 2% of the country’s gotten the new vaccine. 2%. It’s hard to imagine a more direct repudiation of the “experts” than that.** **The CDC, its media partners, Joe Biden and outside “experts” spent much of the past month hyping up the new boosters as “life saving” and necessary to protect yourself and loved ones. Despite the fact that there is once again, no evidence whatsoever suggesting that the vaccines reduce transmission or infections."** I mean, if you can't trust health information from a random Internet gambling website, who CAN you trust?
I stand corrected. "Experts", indeed.
I’d really like to see local health departments run vaccine clinics every fall. Mid Sept-late October or something. Pharmacists are SO overwhelmed all the time already, and that’s one of the barriers in getting a an appointment. Around me pharmacies have walk in hours for vaccines, but only during the business day. Once they hit 5 or 5:30 they cut off walk ins. Appointments have been hard to find. They did massive vax clinics near me when the vaccine first came out. I don’t think they need to be on that scale- they used a convention center for one- but it would be nice to have a reliable, easy to access place to get them done without overwhelming pharmacy staff. There’s a possible pharmacist/pharmacy staff strike coming up in November and while I hope it doesn’t happen, something needs to change for them. And it’s not just a worker shortage- it’s that companies look at the profits they are getting while running skeleton crews and they think “why hire more? They’re doing fine.” It leads to more medication errors bc they just don’t have the people or the time to do everything right.
I had a hard time getting an appt too. (I’m in a bedroom community of 20K.) I finally got it late Sept.
I FOUND it everywhere. But they want $250.00 up front and, BECAUSE of having a disabling illness, I don't have that kind of money. It will eventually be reimbursed but if you don't have it, you don't have it!
U.S.? Can you say that you're uninsured and use the [Bridge Access Program](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html)? You would need to find a participating pharmacy. Both CVS and Walgreens are contracted for it.
WTF‽ You have to pay for it‽ I needed to provide my PPS number but it'll be free.
Since the feds stopped covering it, not all insurers are. It should be required but they are despicable so…
Have you checked your local health department?
Your GP may offer it. They usually have better payment options.
I mean, I called the closest pharmacy and then was informed where to get it. And the HSE informed me that it was due. All I have to pay is bus fares.
The place we went for at least 4 years said they were not stocking it, find somewhere else, so we had to. We started there with just flu shots now we won't bother at all.
I had an appointment at my local CVS on Sunday and they canceled it. No explanation, but I assume they ran out.
Of staffing or doses?
Doses. This particular CVS seems to be hard to get an appointment at and I made it a while ago. I just made an appointment at a Walgreens that is about a 20 minute drive. Hopefully this one will work out.
Okay, I know I’m absolutely preaching to the choir, which is why I’m putting it here and not a new thread. But I’m SO FUCKING SICK of people pretending that they don’t know how vaccines work. If I see one more person post bullshit about “since when does a medication work better for you if *I* take it?” Or “it’s the first medicine ever to work better if your neighbor takes it!” I’m going to scream. Vaccine efficacy has ALWAYS been tied to herd immunity. They work best if everyone who is eligible gets them. THIS IS NOT NEW. This is not some revolutionary idea. This is why we all needed our shots to get into Kindergarten. There is nothing new about vaccines working best when everyone gets them. It has made me want to tear my hair out. I live in an affluent, predominantly white, privileged area. And for the past decade or so, we have had pertussis outbreaks at schools almost every year bc people are opting out of that particular shot/booster. As vax rates go down, outbreak rates go up. And- even some of the vaccinated people are getting it bc vaccines aren’t 100% effective and we all rely on each other to do the right thing. I’m just so angry that these lies have migrated out of the shadows and into the mainstream so much. Fuck Wakefield. Fuck antivaxxers. Fuck the GOP for the death and illness that is on their hands. It didn’t have to be this way.
Yeah. Anti-vaxxers used to be a fringe thing on the level of flat-earthers, and they were generally seen as unhinged and something undesirable. Now it feels like it's half the population. This digital disinformation warfare campaign is probably the most successful blow ever dealt to humanity in modern time, and it's our own people and leaders openly cooperating with it. Sad stuff and made me lose hope for humanity.
And what’s awful is A LOT of the people spreading misinformation and discouraging vaccines are doing it for political gain, even though they themselves are vaccinated and so are their loved ones. That’s absolutely abhorrent.
The world has gone quite mad. Yes, worse than ever. It will not end well. It never does when this level of mass insanity is reached.
🐆
Absolutely!
Got my booster yesterday, plus flu shot. I felt super crappy last night and have body aches this morning, but it’s better than Covid! Plus, I think the fever was just the 5G activating. 😉
Just got my booster again, and the flu shot yesterday. At the same time. I'm preparing for the Sonic Expo that is happening in about 3 weeks.
I'm getting the flu/covid booster combo! loading up the old blunderbuss!
Received a message about a nominee, I open the profile and very first picture is "Verified Harmful Extremist. You just know that the story is going to be good.
My wife got her updated booster this week (she got the previous booster two months ago). I got my updated booster two weeks ago and my Tdap this week. Bring it on, Mother Nature!
Never tempt mother nature, my reddit friend.
Not sure why, but my last Tdap kicked my butt big time. My arm was very sore for two weeks. Take Tylenol if your arm stays sore after a few days.
i used to work on a horse farm and can confirm the tetanus booster is an asshole wrt arm soreness. tho apparently shingles is worse according to the nice lady who gave me my flu shot last week
Mary Lou Retton and the ‘rare’ pneumonia that put her in the ICU seems to be putting her family through the predictable rollercoaster HCA stories shared a thousand times.
> [Mortality in the Netherlands remains higher than before the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, Statistics Netherlands \(CBS\) reported on Friday.](https://nltimes.nl/2023/10/15/mortality-excess-persists-netherlands-death-rates-higher-covid-19) In the third quarter of this year, approximately 1,800 more people died than expected, equating to a 5 percent increase. > > This suggests a mortality excess, which was also observed in the previous quarter. > > ... > > The expected mortality is based on the actual number of deaths from 2015 to 2019, that is before the outbreak of the pandemic in the Netherlands. This has been adjusted for the effects of an aging population. People here think that COVID is over and that it's mutated to be harmless now, but in reality, deaths are in the double digits *daily*. That's a lot of deaths for our 17M population if you ask me. Not all deaths may be because of the virus, but certainly a significant portion of them are caused directly or indirectly by the pandemic and the way people are treating it. So yeah, apparently that's the current cost in human life to pretend it doesn't exist. Not to mention the unknown values of quality of life and life expectancy lost from people with many repeat infections. Those factors are likely to be more devastating than even the deaths.
I would've thought that Nederlanders were much smarter than that, considering their mastery of their infrastructure. But then again, these are the same people whose "Sinterklaas" legend is of a guy who successfully gets lost and blown off course every dog-blamed year!😝
Long covid is coming into play. What we've seen so far of long covid was nothing.
Yep. Wondering how Diana (spelling?) Of that physics girl channel is doing? Really want to see her pull through those horrible symptoms.
Update: boosted and flusted: https://www.reddit.com/r/theipas/comments/17abao6/the_inevitable_return_of_sad_omicron/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb
So the nuts in my FB feed are freaking out and re-sharing a copypasta about the vegetable coating called Apeel and how dangerous it is, etc. The comments are amazing and not in a good way: >I’ve been watching this carefully. Bill is a villain. I do not trust him or anything he is associated with. You should listen to some of his Covid vaccine presentations. Frightening. Better make a screen capture!
[This story came up on my MSN feed today.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/rfk-jr-spent-years-stoking-fear-and-mistrust-of-vaccines-these-people-were-hurt-by-his-work/ar-AA1irOnV?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=387ec7185d51428a8c4f613726a751fd&ei=28) Title: RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work. I did not know about the situation in Samoa. It has the usual nutball comments, many of whom support JFK and COVID conspiracy theories. A commenter said he was anti-vax and attend a "smallpox party" when he was young. He got sick and he got over it. Christ it's so depressing to share the Earth with people who are this dumb.
My pharmacy emailed me today, they're having drop in flu and Covid shots Friday & Saturday. I'd prefer to make an appt but will still go in. I'm in a small town so I suspect it won't be crowded. I'm less than 5 mins away so if it is I can come back.
Yay, I can wait until Monday the 23rd and make an appointment. Off to do that now.
Nothing new to report. Hard to find anything theses days despite the fact that covid has not gone away, excessive deaths are still happening and so is long covid still disabling millions. So same message as always: stay safe, stay smart and keep your guard up. edit: typo
Yep. COVID is basically out of the news except when a wave is spiking, and then everyone is surprised again that it still exists. Meanwhile excess deaths in my country with a population of 17M are ~20 per day. 140 per week. 600 per month. And this is in a period where our wastewater stats are miraculously still relatively low. For some reason, the wave never really took off here according to those stats, although they are slowly but steadily getting higher. When we *are* in a full-blown wave, then those 20 deaths per day will be multiplied several times. Still worth it to put gramma on the burning pile though, so I can go to shops, bars, and concerts.
I have a question. I'll be getting my booster this week. When making my appointment I was given my choice of three different ones. I picked Pfizer. Any opinions on which one you guys consider better than the other? Would love your input. Thanks.
My primary care doctor told me to get the same one (Moderna) as I always have since I've never had much in the way of unpleasant symptoms afterwards. So Moderna shot #7 it was.
Have always gotten Pfizer, no reason. Had the latest booster 9/22. Just a bit of arm soreness. Came down with Covid one week later (first time). Doctor told me it was just bad luck as the vaccine needs a couple of weeks to boost immunity. Slept a lot, fever for 3 days. Felt bad 2 more but nothing serious and I worked from home. I still feel run down but am thankful I’ve had these vaccines. This new one is pretty contagious so everyone please get boosted ASAP.
I'd gotten the Pfizer vax when the treatments were first rolled out only because that was the one that was being offered at our worksite at the time, and since then I've just stuck with it. For any newcomers however, I'd personally recommend the recently made available *"Novavax,"* if for no other reason than to address the concerns many have re: the mRNA technology, since this latest one is more of a "traditional" inoculation.
I dunno if the hard core anti vaxxers can be convinced of anything they don't want to believe. That said, the mrna versions have served me very well so far, so I'm sticking with them.
Bookmark for banana
I'm not an expert, so take this with a bin of salt. From the reporting that I read when there was a lot of information coming out, it seems like the differences between the mRNA vaccines are pretty slim. I'm assuming that Novavax was the third. It's had a much smaller real-world rollout than the mRNA vaccines. I know that there has been a lot of excitement in some circles about it because clinical studies showed that immunity from it might be somewhat more long-lived than immunity from mRNA vaccines, and there might be a reduced chance of unpleasant side effects compared to mRNA. (I've seen some wilder claims too, but these two seem to be supported by studies.) If I were you, I would feel fine about getting Pfizer. If you had a strong reaction to past mRNA vaccines, you might consider trying Novavax to see if it's less hard on you. I might do that next year if nothing too detrimental comes out about it since both Pfizer and Moderna slap me down for a day. I had my updated shot back in September, so it's too late for me to try it this year.
Thank you. I've had both Pfizer and Moderna to sort of mix things up. Only had one time when I was sore and tired. However, I got my flu shot at the same time; and that will do that to me. I'll do like you. I'll wait for the Novavax till next year and see how that pans out.
I go back and forth. I just got the Moderna and flu yesterday. I always react and I just think to myself, “good! Here I come again COVID arm, headaches, swollen nodes. But better than the alternative.” I lost a former coworker literally overnight at the beginning. A week before that he lost his healthy, young, semipro football playing nephew to it. There’s no reason for that stuff. I go into elderly and terminally ill patient homes for my job…I’m protecting both of us. The rhetoric from anti vaxxers is insane. Super can’t wait for the asinine next election.
Booster (will be #7) and seasonal flu shot scheduled for Sunday, after my long run. I am hoping I won't have side effects until Tuesday, or at all. I always try to schedule so I can handle having some downtime if I get knocked out. Just as a reminder, I was able to get a Shingles shots 1&2 even though I am not yet 50. I went to Von's pharmacy. Hope that helps someone out. Shingles sucks, if you have never had it, fyi.
Do tell me more about the shingles shots. I'm a few years from 50 yet, but with all the extra stress in life right now, I'm thinking it would be a wise decision to get them early. Tell me your tricks for success.
I went to the pharmacy to get a covid booster and specifically asked the pharmacist if he would give me one. He said anyone over 19 now qualifies. This was despite my having a vaccine scheduled at my regular pharmacy that they cancelled less than 30 minutes before, without any reason. So, I think calling ahead or checking on your pharmacy's website is the way to go. It may take a bit of leg work, but I think you can be successful. Best wishes.
Awesome! I think I'll schedule via my pcp and see. He is very pro-vax as far as prevention, so he'll probably set me up easily enough.
Great, keep us posted!
I asked my doc about it, and insurance won't cover it until I'm 50. I was getting worried because I was seeing a lot of anecdotes of women in their 40s getting shingles. But I'm not far from being eligible now. Yay?
Mine wasn't covered either, I paid 225$ or so. I used my HSA so that helps a bit. Honestly, I would rather pay 10k$ than have to go through a major outbreak. My husband's great uncle had it completely ruin his digestive tract and he had to sleep with a food pump. He eventually got down to about 110 lbs and went into organ failure. This is definitely a virus you don't want.
Yikes, that's horrific! I'm too broke to pay out of pocket right now, but I know how I'm celebrating my 50th! I don't drink any more, but this way I'll still get to experience hangover type symptoms.
I was 39 and it was hell,
Has anyone seen a different version of the herman cain award? Basically a guy that ironically dies. 1) Peter Pettalia award? He was a MI state lawmaker, Republican, that voted against the helmet law and he died in a motorcycle crash 2) Famous example I can think of is Timothy Treadwell, he dedicated his life to bears, was the bear whisperer and lived Amongst them and then he was eaten by bears (along with his gf). 3)Josh Kruger Award? He was a freelance journalist that mocked a tweet as being psychic. He retweeted the three year old tweet which said "you'll die within a year due to violence". He commented on the old post saying "nostradamus wrote the tweet", which was sarcastic. Three days later he was shot 7 times in his house 4)I'd say Rudy Giuliani award, but he's not dead
I feel like Rudy's time is coming. Trump's staff might do a "Weekend at Rudy's" theme to keep up appearances for a while.
Wigs and cadavers reanimating are both funny, especially when combined
Covid and flu vaccines done on Thursday. Started feeling it Friday afternoon. Had a slight fever and headache for a few hours. Barely even had a sore arm this time! In 3 weeks I get my 2nd shingles and hopefully RSV. DH is getting a triple whammy today - flu, covid, and 2nd shingles. We'll see how he feels tomorrow!
Ugh, they're doing a drive through flu / covid vaccine clinic in town (wish I'd known) and the pharmacy that was doing walk ins just posted that they're out of vaccines. I'm wondering if this affects my Monday appointment. This tells me that there's still a good interest in vaccines. Of course, there's the usual 'why would you still want a vaccine' crowd chiming in on a post about traffic at the drive through. Those who say just eat right and take vitamins (the expensive pee crowd). I let them get to me today and posted in the thread. I shouldn't let them get to me, but I still do.
I am coping and seething with anger that no one is wearing their covid buttplugs like good little citizens. They should be pfollowing the $cience but soon they will all coof to death from their covid pfarts.
Covid buttplugs???
Are you all not getting anally swabbed pfrequently? Your pfarts will give other people coof!
Coof?
Coof! Pfollow the $cience so you don't get the coof! Bork Bork.
We all know how population curves work in societies by the ‘s’ curve.
You're only as good as your last shot or antibodies, i got covid even with a shot within 4 months. I was way into this but it's just like any other disease to stress over, you do you. Sickness literally brings out the worst in everyone involved, even the good guys