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The Coronavirus Panic Thread

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  • It's been ages since I posted in this thread, partly because I got so frustrated over the way things went I didn't even want to look at it. I'm sure everyone knows that towards the end of summer, the cases started creeping up again and then skyrocketed. We were so close, and then we got the rug pulled out from under us.

    So far, there's no talk of any lockdowns or mask mandates, other than masks being required in schools. Some businesses have started requiring them again, some simply "recommend" them, and some are staying with the policy of not requiring them if you're vaccinated. And some places don't have any signs mentioning masks at all. Surprisingly, the place where I get my hair cut doesn't require them or even mention them. I would have thought that practically being face to face with your customers would be an issue, but apparently not. Some restaurants are requiring them again, but so far it's just a few of the fast food places. I've been going back out to karaoke shows, and no bar I've been to has brought back mask requirements, not even the one I went to that strictly enforced the rule that basically said if your ass wasn't in a seat, you had to have a mask on. I actually saw them call people out over it, and almost kicked someone out the one time.

    The pet store where my wife and I volunteer with the cats is one of those places where masks are "recommended", but employees are required to wear them. While we don't actually work for the store, when we're there volunteering, we technically fall under that category.

    My wife's job ended up extending remote work indefinitely, at least until the start of the new year. Apparently they actually give a shit about their employees. I wonder what that's like sometimes. Mine, on the other hand, decided that we're coming back to the office come hell or high water, and worse yet, they brought back masking requirements. It's not quite as strict as it was before -- you don't have to have it on if you're sitting alone at your desk, but I still hate it. Apparently things are so dangerous that we have to mask up, but somehow not too dangerous for us to come back into the building. And in another shit-for-brains move from upper management, they're reopening the onsite daycare center the beginning of next month.

    We were also notified the other day that everyone has to be vaccinated by December, unless they have a medical or religious reason why they can't. I've been fully vaccinated since mid-March, so that one doesn't bother me. They should have done that before they started making us come back in, but that would have been the smart thing to do, and therefore not allowed. They're also holding onsite vaccination clinics for anyone who needs it, which would have been nice back when the shot was hard to get. Now you can pretty much just walk into any pharmacy and get it.

    And now for the sad part of my post. I recently got back in touch with a friend who I had kind of drifted apart from, and we started hanging out again last month. A few weeks ago, I was on Facebook and she announced that she had COVID. Naturally, I was concerned, but I know several people who had it, and while it was rough for them, they all recovered. I texted her a few days later to see how she was holding up, and I didn't get a reply back. I figured she was recovering at home and feeling too wiped out to reply back. A week ago Sunday, someone messaged me on Facebook to let me know she was in rough shape. Apparently the day after she posted about having it, she had to be rushed to the hospital. At this point, she was on a respirator and in a medically-induced coma. I held onto the hope that by some miracle she'd recover, but I was worried sick and did not sleep well for the next few nights. And every time someone messaged me on Facebook, I tensed up, thinking the worst. Then this past Thursday, I was looking on Facebook and a mutual friend had posted that she had passed. I still can't wrap my head around it. She was as tough as they come, and she got taken out by something one billionth her size. She was my age -- she would have turned 52 in December. I ended up going to karaoke that night, figuring that it wasn't going to do me any good to sit at home and be sad, but I was a wreck. I didn't even try to go into work the next day. Luckily, my immediate supervisor is understanding (most of them are, it's just the upper management that sucks), and told me that taking a day off was not a problem. So keep your loved ones close, and don't let any kind of petty bullshit estrange you from each other. You never know how much time you have left with someone.

    Rest in peace, my friend. Until my time comes and we meet again.
    Sometimes life is altered.
    Break from the ropes your hands are tied.
    Uneasy with confrontation.
    Won't turn out right. Can't turn out right

    Comment


    • One of my CWs has been out with COVID-19 for a week now. She was at the end of a week's vacation when her fiancĂ© tested positive, so it's unlikely she passed it to the rest of us. She got a rapid test that day, and it came back positive. We expected her to come back today, but she's still sick. I'll avoid fratching territory, but she is the only employee who's been vocal in her refusal to get vaccinated. I hope she gets better soon.
      "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
      -Mira Furlan

      Comment


      • Quoth Ghel View Post
        I hope she gets better soon.
        Hopefully gets healthier and learns from this experience.
        If you wish to find meaning, listen to the music not the song

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        • My whole household had a virus of some kind in the last 2 weeks and it went into Mom's lungs but she's OK now. I think my brother is still getting over it 3 weeks after he got it. He picked it up at the fire station or from a patient, I'm sure. (All the staff were out sick at intervals before he got sick.) I can't help but wonder if it was a breakthrough case of Covid with mild symptoms for me. I got over it the quickest as per usual. I've got the strongest immune system in the family. I was whining that it took 7 days when it should've been 4. Anyway, we have no idea because while Brother gets tested every week or so at work, if his viral load was low enough by the time they tested him, it would show up negative. I don't like having to wonder about it whenever I get a virus or have allergies.
          I went back and read the first few pages of this thread--surreal.
          "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

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          • Wanna know what's really smart?

            Visiting your daughter and her fiancee--who tested positive for COVID.

            The damage so far:
            • said person caught COVID and ended up in the ICU because of it
            • said person is a supervisor and pretty much all of our management and other critical people were close contacts, so they have largely been absent for two weeks, working from home, awaiting test results, or isolating due to a positive COVID test
            • various people on all 3 shifts either catching COVID or having symptoms and waiting for test results. Fortunately I have not been among them.
            Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

            "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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            • .... And people wonder why I'm counting down the days until I can get my booster.

              I'm glad to hear you have managed to avoid getting it from them. Hopefully they were able to quarantine everyone that got it before they were able to spread it to more people.

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              • I'm gradually seeing more unmasked SCs in the store, despite the town mandate (which as expected, manglement is not actually enforcing...). I just try to avoid them and ignore the sideways looks they're giving me. I'm getting my booster on Monday after work...and have a lunch meeting on Tuesday. Here's hoping the booster doesn't knock me on my ass like the second shot did.
                "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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                • Let's all brace ourselves for a new round of freakouts and panic shopping. New variant Omicron is supposedly going to be more contagious than Delta, with some possibility of evading vaccines/antibodies from other variants. According to the article below, New York state has already declared a state of emergency in response.

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS-C...micron_variant
                  Last edited by Seanette; 11-27-2021, 09:49 AM.
                  "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

                  "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

                  Comment


                  • I got boosted a month ago. My second Moderna jab kicked my butt, the Moderna booster was a non-event. Our housekeeper got J&J for her first jab and Moderna for a booster. She said she felt punky the next day but was still functional.

                    I had to go into town yesterday (Black Friday) and made a point to drive by both malls. Traffic was light and the parking lots weren't even half full, I think a lot of people have fully embraced on-line shopping nowadays.

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                    • I tried to schedule my booster this morning on CVS' mobile website. Since I use them for my pharmacy, I thought it would be easy. But NO. It made me go through entering all my information, including things that they already have, like my prescription insurance, before scheduling. Including taking pictures of both sides of my insurance card. And then at the end it says something like "this service is not available at this time." Gee, thanks. I'm trying to get this done in a hurry before I go to work, and now I'm going to have to wait until after work when I have time to go through all these screens again. It's so frustrating. I want to get the jab, but they're making it difficult!
                      "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
                      -Mira Furlan

                      Comment


                      • I hear you, Ghel. I tried to do an online sign up and gave up after the 4th page. Fortunately I was able to get walk-up shots for my wife and I at the same place I was trying to get the appointment.
                        "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

                        Comment


                        • Quoth Ghel View Post
                          I tried to schedule my booster this morning on CVS' mobile website. Since I use them for my pharmacy, I thought it would be easy. But NO.
                          I tried to do the same thing. It showed dates available, but as soon as I'd click on one, it would say there were no appointments available for that date. I'm guessing the appointments were filling up faster than I could bring them up, which is kind of a good thing if it means people want the boosters. I tried calling the one closest to me, but it sent me to an outsourced call center, and they wanted my insurance info, which I didn't have with me. Then I remembered my job was doing a vaccine clinic, but I couldn't remember the date, and wasn't sure if it had passed already. Turned out there were two of them -- which makes sense considering some of the vaccines are two doses. The first had already passed, but the second one was today. No appointment needed, and employees and their immediate family members were eligible. So my wife and I went in and got our boosters. It was pretty quick and easy, despite my company not giving a lot of info on how to get to where they were having it. They told us what room it was in, but didn't say anything about opening up any direct entrances from the outside, so I figured I had to bring her in through the visitor entrance. Turned out they temporarily opened a set of doors that are normally kept locked, and marked "emergency exit only" and "do not enter." Would have been nice if they had put some kind of sign up indicating that was the way in, but that would actually make sense, and the powers-that-be hate that shit.

                          Sometimes life is altered.
                          Break from the ropes your hands are tied.
                          Uneasy with confrontation.
                          Won't turn out right. Can't turn out right

                          Comment


                          • I'm still not having luck finding a flu shot. Booster was a non-event, except that my arm was hurting like crazy until last night. Luckily yesterday's orders weren't too bad; all light items. The idjit that ordered 80 pounds (yes, I said 80) of cat litter today...we don't even sell 40 pound boxes so how in the hell were you even able to order that size? Four 20-pound boxes were slightly easier to handle, but...ugh.

                            A friend is losing her shit about Omicron; she has anxiety even without a pandemic so...yah. Talking with her these days is fun; every possible topic of conversation comes back to antimaskers, antivaxxers, mutations, etc. I keep telling her get boosted (she did), keep all the other precautions we have and FFS stop worrying about what we have no control over. Yes, it's sad that [favorite local restaurant or store] closed down for good during this, but you can find another local biz that desperately needs support. It's pointless to speculate on reasons for the closures; the food biz is super-tough even in "normal" times.
                            "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                            "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

                            Comment


                            • As far as flu shots, DH got his at Costco and I know the Walmart I got my Covid booster from also had flu shots. Both were accepting walk-ins.
                              "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

                              "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

                              Comment


                              • I managed to get my booster scheduled on the second try. Got the poke yesterday. My only side-effect is a slightly sore arm.

                                Somewhere in the many paragraphs of disclosures, warnings, etc. I scrolled past when I made my appointment, it said to bring in my vaccine card. Well, I didn't get one when I got my COVID vaccine. I didn't even think about it at the time. Luckily, I had pulled the info from the state database into my clinic account, so I pulled it up on the clinic's website on my phone to show the pharmacist. They were fine with that.
                                "I look at the stars. It's a clear night and the Milky Way seems so near. That's where I'll be going soon. "We are all star stuff." I suddenly remember Delenn's line from Joe's script. Not a bad prospect. I am not afraid. In the meantime, let me close my eyes and sense the beauty around me. And take that breath under the dark sky full of stars. Breathe in. Breathe out. That's all."
                                -Mira Furlan

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