The Coronavirus Panic Thread

[Smapti]

As a grocery store worker, I was hoping I'd be further up the list for a vaccine, but this state's plan has us still a few months out. Our phases go like this:

1A: Healthcare workers & people in long-term care (started last month)
1B1: Anyone over 65 and anyone over 50 living in a multigenerational household (where we are now)
1B2: Essential workers over 50 (sometime next month)
1B3: Anyone over 16 with at least two comorbidities (March-ish)
1B4: All other essential workers (April?)
2 and beyond - ???

I might be able to qualify for 1B3 since I have asthma and high blood pressure, but barring an acceleration in vaccine availability I'm gonna be waiting awhile.

Meanwhile, our county is allowing indoor dining and indoor entertainment again next week, which admittedly can't be any riskier than what I've been exposing myself to at The Store every day.

(Oddly, the new rules allow indoor live music, but dancing is prohibited, so I guess we're operating under Footloose rules now.)

[EricKei]

I had to go to the dentist for the first time in a looong time last month; found out that I need to get four wisdom teeth out. Ended up having to spring for the only viable dental insurance I could find, which *should* pay for half of it x.x Gonna be an Owwwie, both to me and to my wallet. On the upside, yeah, they were all properly masked up and careful.

[Dreamstalker]

I had a cleaning earlier this month (w/xrays done) and my mom had a crown placed; no problems. Each of us had a phone screening the day before as well as the standard questions on arrival. Our clinic took longer than some to reopen as the dental treatment rooms have no doors and they had to get approved barriers. The cleaning was hand-tool (picks) only, no ultrasonic or anything that could produce aerosols and I had to rinse with chlorhexadrine when I was in the chair to start.

[Trixie]

My store has a freezer sitting empty waiting for vaccines. No word on when they're coming, even then they're not for the us but for clinics being run. I think. When my informant in the pharmacy starts talking I kinda check out of the conversation because I don't understand much back there. And as of right now, only the pharmacy staff or licensed techs can get the vaccine. I'm still low on the priority list so it may be awhile.

[csquared]

I have been to the dentist twice since the onset. Outside of not being able to understand them, as they had on two masks and a face shield, everything went well.

[Food Lady]

I have a dentist appt. on 2/25 and I wonder how that'll go. I haven't been in 4 years. I need an exam w/x-rays due to my history and need for a crown so I have to do it.

[EricKei]

Around here, they have guaranteed second shots for anyone who's had the first one, but first shot appointments on the DHHS website have been basically "Well, if you login at precisely 7:59:13AM while the moon is in the second house of Aquarius..." as far as doing that is concerned. My primary doc says that his office is scheduled to get doses and authorization in 3 weeks or so, which is when the state should get more in general, so I'll have to try my luck then.

[Jay 2K Winger]

The Client sent around emails that employees could get the vaccine through them-- administered on Client properties, even-- and I admit I hadn't paid too much attention to it. Most of the time, when The Client is talking about "employees" they mean Staffers-- i.e., people directly employed by The Client-- as opposed to Contractors.

I found out today from a coworker that, nope, contractors are allowed to do this as well. But, in his own words, scheduling the appointments for the vaccine "is like trying to buy a PS5 right now."

Sure enough, when I logged into The Client's intranet site for scheduling appointments, it was having problems. I could find open slots for the first appointment (date and time), and the site would auto-populate the second appointment's date, but then wouldn't offer any time-slots for it, and it wouldn't let me submit the form without filling in that second one.

I'm gonna try it again tomorrow.

[Dreamstalker]

My dad made an appointment for his second dose...only to have it cancelled. Apparently teachers aren't the state's top priority (despite 'open schools NAO') and the teacher's union is rightly pissed. He got the first shot from the school he coaches at, and is really confused why they can't handle the second one as they were able to get first-round doses from the state to begin with.

I was able to get on my town's list, and the primary care clinic that both I and my mom use has their own list so we're both on that one too. We're hoping that we can get ours at the same time seeing as I'm an essential food worker and we live together.

[Gravekeeper]

Someone posted a link to this on Twitter and I just sat through all 38 minutes reflecting and posting and reading others' thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWJ...ature=youtu.be

Well, that's depressing.

[Food Lady]

I've had the raw throat thing on and off for 9 months. It's an allergy thing. I'm also chronic migrainer.

Someone posted a link to this on Twitter and I just sat through all 38 minutes reflecting and posting and reading others' thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWJ...ature=youtu.be

[Dreamstalker]

A few weeks back, I felt some common cold symptoms setting in (mostly that back-of-the-throat "raw sinuses" feeling)

I had some 'migraines' over the summer...that have vanished completely once we moved into our new place (a lot of construction dust was getting into our old apartment, and who the hell knows what was in the ancient drywall that was being ripped out). I'll get the occasional back-of-the-throat rawness, but I've pinned that down to having my face covered all day (dry mouth etc). Got myself a bag of manuka honey lozenges which do the trick.

cs--That sounds like how my dad managed to get his vaccine. He had to go to the next county, but the school he coaches fencing at wound up with extra doses that had to be used that day.

[EricKei]

cs - That's fucked up. Can't really comment further, as that would be fratchy

[csquared]

With the third vaccine about to be submitted for approval (with more on the way,) the supply will hopefully start to catch up to the need.

Around here, we have vaccine. They're have problems distributing it. The SCs are also causing problems. They are making multiple reservations (it is managed by the counties, but you don't have to register in your own county) and going to who ever provides the first appointment. One location claimed an 80% no-show. Once the vaccine is thawed, you have eight hours to use it, They were scrambling to find people to vaccinate.

[Monterey Jack]

I'm not normally a hypochondriac, and I don't get sick very often. In fact, since the pandemic, not once. Until last week. Very mildly sick. Low fever, cough, sinus headache, runny nose. Many of the symptoms, but not too bad. If the the world was sane, I wouldn't have thought much of it.

A few weeks back, I felt some common cold symptoms setting in (mostly that back-of-the-throat "raw sinuses" feeling), and attacked it with my usual method of downing a few gallons' worth of chicken noodle soup and Sunny D, and inside of four days, could feel it receding. No loss of smell or taste during that brief period, so I didn't panic.