Fudgie

I'm so sorry, bolt. Where you able to trace the source of the infection? Given how the pandemic is, it may not be possible.

Vaccines have been made available to me, I'm getting one (first of two) within a day or so. I was pretty strategic about it. I would have been waiting a LOT longer (yes, even though I'm in the first group due to my profession and where I work) as the current system is based on a lottery within those who qualify.

I didn't want to wait so I asked politely and now I'm getting it. 

We are up to almost 1k cases a day in my area (city and surrounding area but mostly city). Hospitals are pulling back stuff. Things have been closed for a while now, no indoor dining (like I care, I haven't eaten inside  a restaurant since March) and a lot of businesses have shuttered here again.

We've had some outbreaks at my facility too but I'm doing my best to stay safe. I'll be alone this Christmas too. 

Wasn't that the lesson of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch? Everything was taken away but they still had each other. Holidays are manifested through time with loved ones, not the presents, food, or decorations.

I will be alone this year for Christmas but I can still call/video chat my parents and we can still be together.

So far we've been virtual the entire time -it's hard but the consistency helps!

I imagine. The hybrid learning bit is difficult here, many students in my area, until recently, were doing the hybrid model. Then of courses, cases shot up and a lot of schools doing that closed. Would be better just to have the consistency, I think, for many students. One notable exception being, however, students from cruddy family situations with their basic needs going unmet and possible abuse going on at home. These particular students have suffered the most from schools being shut down.

Our food pantries here are getting really overrun. Lines of people needing food stretching down blocks. We've always had a lot of poverty here but COVID made it worse for so many people and many who weren't impoverished before are now.

I've noticed in my state they start dropping hints of different orders days before enacting them.

I've decided it's the governor's a way of getting us to consider the possibilities instead of the shock and surprise of suddenly being locked down w/o notice.

They imposed stay at home orders for a couple counties and now the daily grumbles of a state wide shut down looming.

My son in a neighboring county already shut down. ( I can literally drive 2 miles to cross counties) He said the hoarding already started last week.

As much as I hate being a shut in, I just can't wrap my head around having to stand in line in the dark to wait to get into a market just to leave empty handed.

I hope it doesn't come to that again.

It's such a helpless, vulnerable feeling.

Honestly, I'm glad for such hints. I couldn't imagine having children and wondering if the schools will shut suddenly within the next few days. I keep a VERY close eye on local news and I am in contact with a few coworkers who have kids. They don't follow local news as closely as I do so when I see the "hints", I tell them so they can be prepared, make childhood arrangements.

In March, I felt it was pretty clear from "hints" that the schools would shutter about 5 days before. It gave some coworkers time to try and line up childcare options.

They told me mine are dense and fibrous.

Yeah my doctor told me not to bother with a self exam. I have so many lumps, I would have NO idea if I got a new one.

I asked my doctor about doing a mammogram but she said it's not done regularly until age 40. I've only had one case of breast cancer in my family (old age, improper use of estrogen, resolved quickly with some radiation) so I'm not too worried but if told to get one now, I would.

I can't do a self breast exam. I'm one of those women that have those tiny little cysts all over on the inside Benign, no increased risk of cancer but yeah, I'm full of "lumps". Give me a yearly or semi yearly mammogram anyday

I'm so glad your cousin is doing OK and on the mend. The one silver lining is that as time has gone on, we know how to treat COVID better. We used to throw more people on ventilators. Now IV steroids (brings down swelling and inflammation FAST) are used and are very helpful in keeping people off breathing machines as well as avoiding permanent lung damage.

Did your cousin get on a ventilator, bolt, or did she do OK with supplemental oxygen only? (through the nose or a face mask)

LOL me too. Please know the side effects don't trouble me or concern me at all . What does concern me are the over the top fear mongerers and spreaders of fake news.

Haha yeah I get that. I know you are not worried about side effects. I hate the fear mongering I see a lot.

The truth is, some vaccines do have side effects. It doesn't mean it's poisoning you, just your body's reaction to it as it has an immune reaction. I never feel good after the flu shot. No, the flu shot does not give me the flu but I usually get a sml fever and some body aches for a couple days. Whatever, it's worth it. I've had the flu and it SUCKS.

What we know about the covid vaccine, Oxford one I'm speaking of but also the others, is that it does come with some mild side effects. Headache, body ache, low grade fever, and general malaise have been reported. Guess what? Better than getting covid.

I swear, some of the adults I've seen locally crying about adverse effects of the pandemic precautions: tHiS MaSk tOO hOT, fLu vACcInE cAuSe OuCHy HeADhUrt

It's f'ing ridiculous.

Maybe I'm just cranky after a night of vodka and video games but Christ, before this pandemic, I never realized how many whiney, childish adults we have in this country. People crying about having to wear a mask to the grocery store and not being able to eat a cooked bird on one day out of the year with 50+ people in 4 different generations. , get over ourselves, I want to tell so many people to "suck it up buttercup".

I'm so desperate to get things back to normal safely. You could tell me that the vaccine was made of clubbed baby seals and misery and I'd still roll my sleeve.

In my facility, if you are COVID+, you CANNOT, I repeat, CANNOT come back until you test negative. This is because we have so many vulnerable people and don't really have the isolation areas needed to keep COVID+ patients in.

If someone is having mild symptoms, I get a COVID+ test done on them, close their door/start precautions, and await results. Positive cases get shipped out IMMEDIATELY. Anyone with moderate/severe symptoms gets sent out immediately because my facility doesn't have the resources to handle that.

I get that the hospitals are crowded but I get angry when the hospital calls me and tries to get me to take them back. Thankfully, with our "no COVID+" rule, I can throw that policy out to them.

Many of the care homes in my area have suffered outbreaks. The facility I work in (sort of half care home, half something else) hasn't had patient deaths but we've had cases, both patients and employees. In the US alone, over 100k COVID deaths have been patients in long term care/nursing home facilities. It's really heart-breaking.

Stuff like that makes me feel so thankful that my grandparents (I was close with them) are not alive today to see this mess. I miss them but wow, I'm glad they missed out. My grandmother in particular would have been so upset. Her family and friends were her life and she would have fallen into depression (she had it, plus anxiety, badly).

I don't get it either, pippy. I get "covid fatigue" but this virus isn't going away yet. It doesn't take breaks so why should we until it's under control?

I agree, eye protection is so important. This virus is so contagious. However, it's so hard to get proper eye protection for many. I have a shield that I use at work and wipe down but I'm going to start wearing it to the grocery store if I have to.

At this point in the pandemic, in many communities, contact tracing is useless. The virus is spreading at such a rate that tracing is largely useless. It's so widespread, it's hard to know WHERE it came from.

I really hope your family is going to be okay, Sher.

I am so, so sorry Sherry. :(

oh Fudgie ... As I said the Oxford vaccine is about ready to come out and is available to the world not just the UK ..don't know if you get that on your news . Lets face it , do we ever get the full news !! Hang on in there .

I have heard, yes, but I have so much doubt re: distribution capabilities. I am a healthcare worker in a high risk area so I, in theory, will get jabbed first. But I just don't know.

I fear getting sick or spreading it to my patients before a vaccine.

Not good where I am. We have been placed under more restrictions, hospitals are full at this time, very few ICU beds. Funny you don't hear the media talking too much about it but that's what is going on and I only know that as someone "on the inside".

I have been exposed at work due to an employee that tested positive. I didn't find out until after a week. Yes, that's right, our tests don't come back until 5+ days now. Functionally useless. One of my patients got very sick, we aren't sure if she had it. Her test will be delayed as well, already talked to the lab. It's no use.

The cases just keep going up. This vaccine can't come quickly enough. I don't feel that I can go to the grocery store at this time either. I may spend Christmas alone and I'm dreading it.

Nearing 5% where I am, if not over. There are so many cases and our hospitals are filled up. It's really scary. Hoping I won't get pulled back into ICU.

I'm not going to be able to celebrate the holidays with my family in a typical sense. Imagine a fire outside in a pit, me in my down-filled winter jacket, shoveling turkey into my face from a paper plate. I have no idea what Christmas will look like but I doubt I will see my family.

My friends are mostly out partying/dating. I haven't seen anyone or gone anywhere that wasn't work or something like that since March so I am still very isolated.

Seeing a vaccine on the horizon is the one thing that is keeping me going. I know we are in the home stretch of sorts. I just need to hang on for a bit longer.

We had an outbreak within the facility I work in. Now I wear double masks and face shield all the time at work. This blows. Worried.

Exactly. My best friend’s daughter is getting married mid November because they had to cancel their wedding because of Covid. But they are going to be the only two at the officiant’s house. They are saving their reception for post Covid times. The bride is also pregnant so she wants to be married before her baby comes in March.

Yeah that makes total sense. Save the party for a later date when it's safe but you can definitely get legally married safely in a lot of areas.

That is my biggest fear; picking it up at work (because I have no choice but to go into the office every day) and bringing it home to my brother and nephew. And my cat.

I don't know what you do, bolt, but is remote work not an option?

This crap drives me nuts . I know somebody who has parties every single Saturday night and there are actually snitch lines to report on your neighbours . I would love to report her ass. The only thing I do that’s kind of remotely dangerous is of course run my daycare. Other than that pretty much the only place I go is the grocery store.

You're right - daycare is risky, sure. But it's necessary, you are providing for your family and enabling other people to provide for theirs. If you didn't care for their kids, then those parents couldn't put food on the table. You're essential. You do what you can to stay safe but yes, there is still a risk, but I suppose there's risk for everything now (other kinds of work, going to the grocery store, etc.)

But no one needs to party. No one. It's completely non-essential. And that's what bothers me - risking people's life for parties. And let's be honest, the part of the wedding that is causing the illness is the reception/PARTY part, not the ceremony. If people in a hot spot had a burning desire to get legally married, they could do so safely. In my state, you can get married with a justice of the peace over Zoom now, and yes, it's a legal marriage! But nope, gotta have that party too and apparently it just can't be postponed OR done in a way that doesn't involve mask-less people breathing on each other!

Good God, I need a drink. I just want to THROTTLE some of my friends.

My friend's daughter got covid from her college roommate. The roommate invited her to a crowded bbq. Daughter said no thanks. Roommate went, brought home covid. As daughter said "I got it from a party I didn't even go to!!"

Prime example of how other people's choices affect others, not just themselves, in this pandemic. It's not like a lone adult who goes off and uses drugs/alcohol/parties/eats fast food all the time but can say "Hey, MY BODY MY CHOICE" and that's fine - adults are free to make their own bad choices when they are the only ones to bear the consequences. Not so with COVID-19. Now you can get your roommates, coworkers, family, or friends very sick without them making the same choices. It's scary.

Batya, did you hear about the Maine wedding? It was a few months ago, during the summer, but it is now connected with 7 deaths. This was discovered via contact tracing. None of those dead were attendees at the wedding. So someone's p__spoor choice to go to an indoor wedding without precautions during a freaking pandemic led the deaths to 7 innocent people who didn't do such a stupid thing.

It drives me crazy! (Can you guys tell I'm struggling with anxiety? I'm in my anger phase right now)

Ugh Fudgie, how stressful having to work with people who are out to lunch!

I know, right! I want to shake them and say "WE ARE STILL IN A PANDEMIC". I get wanting things to go "back to normal" but they clearly can't get. France and Germany just instituted new lockdown measures because they are having spiking cases.