Corona Chat Showing 1,201-1,250 of 1,790

[Jenn]

We were having the meetups in parks last year, until it got too cold. I think it is still technically against our rules here, but I think for outside meets it was about the only possibility as it is still pretty chilly and you kinda have to keep moving . . . And, the only other in person option would have been to all go grocery shopping at the same time lol

[Margo]

Rusalka wrote: "Lies! I got sunburnt in Ireland.

...

Much to Lexx's hilarity."

Ya, we just pretend it's misty to keep the tourists away ;-p

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "Ya, we just pretend it's misty to keep the tourists away ;-p"

I get that. If we thought the weather is nice you'd be invaded by all your family from over here.

How's your uncle doing?

[Margo]

He's hanging in there but still very low. I'm knee deep in paperwork for the nursing home. It's insane that expect seriously ill people to fill th8s stuff in!

[Margo]

Margo wrote: "He's hanging in there but still very low. I'm knee deep in paperwork for the nursing home. It's insane that expect seriously ill people to fill th8s stuff in!"

My dyslexia doesn't make it any easier either :-O

[Saar The Book owl]

Are you having any help with the paperwork, Margo?

[Sarah]

Sorry to hear about your Uncle, Margo.

[Margo]

Thanks Sarah

Saar, non! I'm struggling to get of the District Nurses who's very nice but just doesn't have the time. I was just saying to Pete that there should be a help line for this. Like all such forms I've come across it is poorly worded and confusing.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "He's hanging in there but still very low. I'm knee deep in paperwork for the nursing home. It's insane that expect seriously ill people to fill th8s stuff in!"

Would telling him he has a fan club of 50+ people on the internet hoping he feels better help?

I remember the paperwork being insane, and I know how much more Covid has added to buying catering at work, let alone hospice stuff. I agree with both you, it is insane what we ask families to do at the time of crisis without help. We may not be able to help with paperwork but we got your back!

[Margo]

I will tell him he has a fan club of the most awesome, supportive group of people on the internet <3

[Jayme, Moderator]

Henry got his second shot yesterday and just called from work. He's on his way home. Says he feels like he got hit by a truck. Asked if I would make beef stew. He knows we are trying to go plant-based LOL
Off to the store to get the ingredients. He needs comfort food.
I get my second shot next week. Crossing fingers that I'll fair better than him.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Aw... comfort food needed. lol I hope your second shot goes well, Jayme. I had no side effects with mine.

[Sandra, Moderator]

The side effects seems to be very personal. Not everyone reacts in the same way. I hope he feels better soon, Jayme.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I agree, Sandra. I think there is the expectation of worse side effects for the second dose because that has been presented as possible, but I know quite a few people who had less side effects or no side effects, so it is different for everyone. Just wanted to put it out there that there is a good chance she will be just fine.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Yes, most people I know didn't have side effects, and a few did have some discomfort but nothing bad. I only know about one person, a teacher at my kids school, who stayed at home for three days feeling like dying after the second dose.

[Jayme, Moderator]

I only know two other people besides Henry who had side effects. Henry says he feels like he has the flu without the flu. Low-grade fever, chills (It's 80 here and he's under blankets), and every joint aches. I keep reminding him that his immune system is doing its job.
I also just made him call work and tell them he won't be in tomorrow. Call or no beef stew for you.

I'm not worried about side effects - if they happen they happen. I just made sure that I didn't plan anything for the couple of days after.
A friend of ours who is a doctor in the field of immunology says that they are beginning to think that people who have side effects from the shot may have been exposed to COVID at sometime and were asymptomatic. Who knows. All I care about is that in 3 weeks I get to hug my mom :)

[Cherie]

I finally got scheduled for my first shot. We are still trying to find a clinic with appointment times for my granddaughter that lives with me. My company is sponsoring a clinic with Safeway for "essential workers". I got the message this morning. There were three dates given. By the time I read the email and got onto the site to sign up, the first two dates were all filled up. I got the first time slot on the third date.

[Sarah]

I have my second dose today.

I'm surprised you can do away with social distancing once you've had the jab in the US. We are being told to maintain as you can still contract and pass on the virus.

[Jayme, Moderator]

@ Cherie - Glad you were able to get it scheduled.

@ Sarah - Anything done indoors you still need to wear a mask in the U.S. even if you are vaccinated. Outdoor activities you don't have to wear a mask.

Henry is doing great. He went into work around noon yesterday. He said he couldn't believe the difference in how he felt. He feels better than before he got the second shot. I didn't realize how stressed I was that he wasn't completely vaccinated and had to interact with people. Even though he still has 2 weeks to build up the 94% immunity -tears of relief.

[Sarah]

@Jayme - but you mentioned being able to hug someone?! We're still not allowed to do that, have to maintain the 2m (or 1m plus) rule.

[Jayme, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "@Jayme - but you mentioned being able to hug someone?! We're still not allowed to do that, have to maintain the 2m (or 1m plus) rule."

I didn't know that. Even if you are both vaccinated?

[Sandra, Moderator]

Jayme, yes. Being vaccinated will help not getting sick or at least not badly sick, but you can still transmit it to other people. I was actually thinking the other day that be ause of the vaccine we will probably have more asymptomatic cases, so that people won't know they are passing it. Of course when everyone is vaccinated this won't be an issue.

[Sarah]

Yes, that's the case here in the UK anyway with regards to vaccination and contact.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Jayme, my mom is coming for a visit soon. We are both fully vaccinated and I intent to hug her too.

[Janice, Moderator]

My massage therapist was diagnosed with Covid the day after I had my stroke. She recovered and went back to work on Apr 19th. I had a massage on Tuesday, and we hugged each other goodbye. Sometimes, physical touch is important and we've both been through tough times.

One of the things she said about having Covid was the deep feeling of shame that she felt. My sister-in-law has been hired to do contact tracing and she says that it's a common reaction people have. People don't want to talk about having it or don't want to tell people they had it for that very reason.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Yes, hugs are important. Whenever I can see my mom I'm sure I will hug her. I will make it as safe as possible (vaccine, negative test, etc), but I haven't see her in 14 months (and I know it will take probably another 6 to 12 more months to see her) and I won't hold a hug. I'm just passing the information they are giving here to people when they get vaccinated.

[Sarah]

I've had a few hugs this last few weeks as things have been hard for me what with everything thqt has been going on in my life. They were from someone in my bubble and we're both vaccinated. I saw my parents at the weekend, we had both had the first jab and i'd tested negative on my rapid flow test but I still didn't hug them. My bubble has had to change a bit recently though as I had to stay a few days with my cousin (again no hugs, she isn''t vaccinated) and I'm now back with my original bubble. Pretty sure I broke some of the rules about bubbles but I had no option, so was trying to reduce risk wherever I could.

[Roz]

What a world we live in. To hug or not to hug, touching, all of it. We used to take those things for granted. Now we have to think, "is he/she vaccinated? will I catch something?" We visited my son and family in Austin a couple of weeks ago. I'm fully vaccinated but the rest of them aren't. When we left, I hugged my kid, daughter-in-law and grandson. It had been so long, and felt so good.
I'm glad to hear that so many of you have been or are getting vaccinated. Sure there can be reactions, but it's better than getting the virus. Janice, I'm so sorry to hear that people feel ashamed of getting the virus, as though they did something wrong. Sometimes no matter how safe we try to be, crap happens.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I can completely understand feeling shame. I think it's due to the way people respond when they find out someone has or has had covid.

I think people just need to consider the risks of behaviors, such as hugging, and decide whether they think the risk is worth it. I do think we should try to be as safe as possible, but sometimes some risk is necessary for our mental health, especially once you've already been vaccinated.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Sandra, I wasn't trying to contradict what you were saying. We still have guidelines for people who have been vaccinated here as well.

I think the problem we will run into is that not everyone wants to get vaccinated. Although the majority of people will choose to get vaccinated, we still seem to have a lot of anti-vaxers here. Once the vaccines have been available to anyone who wants them for a while, people who have been vaccinated are going to get very frustrated (quickly) with still having a lot of restrictions due to people who choose not to get vaccinated.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Kristie, I understood you perfectly. I just want to clarify in general that I'm not being judgemental of people who decides to hug a parent or a child.

I think most of the people who doesn't want to get vaccinated is worried about the vaccine being so new. It is my hope that they get more confident now that months have passed and many millions of people have gotten it. There is always an anti everything group, but I guess they are the minority.

[Jayme, Moderator]

Sending a big virtual hug to everyone. Take care of yourself and do whatever you need to for your self-care and mental health and what makes you feel comfortable and safe.
And I am so glad everyone is getting vaccinated .

[Travis]

So idk maybe stores and eateries and stuff aren't open a lot of places. But if they are then do you open the door for people or if someone holds a door for you do you take it or you don't because you basically end up a couple feet from the person doing so. I hold the door open even if the person is a non masker. On the flip side of that I've had people about jump over into the next aisle from walking too close to them. That's not common really most people aren't bothered if your closer than the recommended distance. It's tricky to always provide that space

[Janice, Moderator]

I think people need to decide for themselves what risks they are willing to take and I hope nobody thought my post was judgmental. My massage therapist is also a good friend and is in my bubble. She periodically comes over for supper and backgammon. She's one of the most conscientious people I know regarding the virus, and yet she still got it. She is unable to trace how she got it. She cleans and disinfects for about 1/2 hour between clients and none of her clients has reported symptoms. We all have to sign a form before we even get a massage.

For me, the stroke was extremely rare and I'm still trying to rap my head around why it happened. My logic may be completely flawed, but I now think that there are no guarantees in life. All the precautions in the world can't guarantee that you'll be safe. I take reasonable precautions to avoid the virus and hugging my friend was one of them. She's no longer contagious, I've had my first shot and waiting on my second, and we were both wearing masks.

[Travis]

You want to know what's crazy when you think about it. Social distancing really takes away basic courtesy and the masks cover up our face so you can't smile at some one. Both things that greatly affect mental health. So to the crazy part. The simple act of holding a door for someone into a store in most cases will actually light up the face of the person. Even something as simple as that had kind of been cut out of life and something that once was taken for granted you just hold a door for someone got lost and you can tell this very basic gesture creates a positive impact for the person you do it for. And if a person isn't comfortable they'll usually just say something like oh nevermind the door you just go ahead and you go about your day and respect that

[Sandra, Moderator]

Travis wrote: "You want to know what's crazy when you think about it. Social distancing really takes away basic courtesy and the masks cover up our face so you can't smile at some one. Both things that greatly af..."

Yes, it definitely has an impact not being able to get close and do not see faces...

[Sandra, Moderator]

Janice wrote: "I think people need to decide for themselves what risks they are willing to take and I hope nobody thought my post was judgmental. My massage therapist is also a good friend and is in my bubble. Sh..."

I agree, Janice, specially considering how long this is taking. You can live in isolation for some time if necessary, but at some point it starts to affect other areas of your health. I think it is not possible to do normal life yet, but there's a lot we can do being careful and respecting basic measures. Still we can't control everything. We do our best.

[Margo]

I'm happy that you are getting your shots. Here we are way behind. My 82 year mother has had one shot 6 weeks ago and is waiting for the second. The rest of of us are a long way off.

I am horrified on a daily basis by what is happening in India. People dying in the street because theres no oxygen in the country and the world watches.

[Esther]

We are still on lockdown with a 8pm curfew. While I get it and I am not complaining, it is getting old. Last time a saw friends was last summer. Living alone, I am isolated. It does start to affect me. Just little things but it is there. . I am about to ready to go hug random people on the street. At least spring is here (I hope, it snowed Monday) and I have my yard back,

The good news is vaccination opened for my age group. First dose on May 17th.

[Esther]

Margo wrote: "I'm happy that you are getting your shots. Here we are way behind. My 82 year mother has had one shot 6 weeks ago and is waiting for the second. The rest of of us are a long way off.

I am horrifie..."

Part of my team at work are in India. All are working from home and some do not even dare go out of the house. Fresh air = balcony.

[Margo]

Esther wrote: "We are still on lockdown with a 8pm curfew. While I get it and I am not complaining, it is getting old. Last time a saw friends was last summer. Living alone, I am isolated. It does start to affect..."

Esther, all who live alone have my sympathy in these times. Will you be allowed to meet friends once you, and they, have been vaccinated? That is the plan here. I know how stir crazy I'm getting seeing only the people I live but I can't imagine what you're going through.

[Jenn]

We have now been designated a “Hot Zone” so more restrictions and likely a curfew coming our way. Stay safe everybody ❤️

[Esther]

Margo wrote: "Esther wrote: "We are still on lockdown with a 8pm curfew. While I get it and I am not complaining, it is getting old. Last time a saw friends was last summer. Living alone, I am isolated. It does ..."

Numbers are going down so I guess things will loosen up a bit. I expect the restrictions to ease up with summer. With more people vaccinated, numbers should go down. And honestly, there is no way people will abide by the rules during summer if they are still as strict as now.

I hope we will be able to distance-meet in parks soon.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Hang in there, Esther!

[Cherie]

Margo wrote: "I'm happy that you are getting your shots. Here we are way behind. My 82 year mother has had one shot 6 weeks ago and is waiting for the second. The rest of of us are a long way off.

I am horrifie..."


I also work closely with folks in India. They are all working from home and terrified to go outside.

[Janice, Moderator]

Jenn wrote: "We have now been designated a “Hot Zone” so more restrictions and likely a curfew coming our way. Stay safe everybody ❤️"

My city was as well. Did you get the emergency alert on your phone? I just about jumped out of my skin!

[Jenn]

I did Janice, I had my work phone on one side of me, and my personal on the other. They both went off and I couldn’t figure out which one to grab for second lol 😳

[Janice, Moderator]

LOL! That must have been a racket. The alert is so loud.

[Sarah]

I know what you mean Esther about feeling the need to hug random strangers. With my breakup, it means I've had no physical contact. It really is amazing how much we need hugs, I definitely took them for granted. I hope you can see your friends soon, especially with your upcoming jab.

Yesterday, my arm was pretty achy and I felt very tired and a little nauseous after my second jab. I''m fine today. Much better than aftet the first one. So.in 2 weeks, I should have up to 95% immunity.

I saw that they've been trialing an asthma drug to treat covid. Early results sshow reduced hospital admission, increased recovery, and reduced viral replication. Turns out, I already take it for my asthma, so that's quite reassuring too.

[Kristie, Moderator]

That's great news, Sarah. I'd feel pretty reassured by that too.