Coronavirus Outbreak

[Josh]

There is no widespread movement of people doing this, however. Most people get tested for infectious disease under controlled conditions from a medical provider. And the norm is to diagnose based on symptoms anyway.

I understand what you are saying, but most times I go to a DR, they run tests to verify if one is available. Tests are good tools, but should not be solely depended on. Symptoms are good guides to help diagnose an issue, whether human, animal, or vehicle. Tests can also be good tools. Neither is 100% effective, but both can help understand a condition.

I see no problem with people using tests. If someone is saying any test is the ultimate decision maker, I would disagree with that. Tests are knowledge. Wisdom is often needed for a good diagnosis.

My main objection is just how unreliable the tests are, particularly PCR tests and rapid antigen tests. An obvious example of this is “persistent positives”.

[nett]

Every single person who believes they have had covid twice also did not have it confirmed by lab testing. I certainly have heard enough people believe they got covid prior to it being in the USA to be a little skeptical. My point of asking is more about proof of increased risk to unvaccinated prior infection for repeat infections which is incredibly rare from my research while reinfection with the vaccine is quite common...

I agree, although I wonder if Omicron is going to change this. There seems to be some evidence that natural reinfection is much more likely, but I don't know if it's trustworthy data or not.

[Soloist]

Every single person who believes they have had covid twice also did not have it confirmed by lab testing. I certainly have heard enough people believe they got covid prior to it being in the USA to be a little skeptical. My point of asking is more about proof of increased risk to unvaccinated prior infection for repeat infections which is incredibly rare from my research while reinfection with the vaccine is quite common...

I agree, although I wonder if Omicron is going to change this. There seems to be some evidence that natural reinfection is much more likely, but I don't know if it's trustworthy data or not.

I would love to know how we tell covid apart from a normal corona virus cold...

[temporal1]

“A ‘very strange’ omicron variant symptom has emerged”
Expert identifies a new but strange omicron variant symptom
https://www.deseret.com/coronavirus/202 ... ght-sweats

i’m not sure night sweats are “very strange,” but they might be an indicator.

[Ernie]

Covid Mitigation Measures Recommended by MN members

In October, someone asked what mitigation measures I would suggest.
Below is what I recommended in October during Delta. With Omicron, most of my recommendations no longer help much from what I am reading. Outdoor activities and limited interaction with people who are also limiting their interactions are about the only physical mitigation efforts that will help at this point.

Here is what I recommend for mitigating the spread of Covid whenever there are outbreaks in ones' community or region or if an outbreak is expected to be imminent.
1. When possible, talk to others from a distance of 6-10 feet away or wear a mask.
2. If you are inclined to shake hands with people or believe that Christians should practice the Holy Kiss during a pandemic of this nature, do so and then back away.
3. Use sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and warm water after touching things others have recently touched.
4. Cough into your elbow rather than into your hand.
5. Meet outdoors when possible. When meeting indoors, have airflow through the building if possible.
6. Meet in smaller groups rather than larger groups.
7. Wear a mask when riding in a vehicle with non-family members.
8. Sing in open areas with some physical distance between one's self and non-family members.
In addition,
If you or a family member have been exposed to someone with Covid, self-quarantine or take additional measures to help protect others from getting your virus.

Robert’s list below is good anytime and especially when sicknesses are spreading.

1. Eat low sugar balanced meals. Protein and vegetables are good for you. Carbs convert to sugar. You body needs them, but excess is not good for your immune system since they convert to sugar in your system.
2. Take multivitamins. They are cheap and do not hurt. It just makes sure you have a balanced amount of vitamins your body needs to run on.
3. Get outside and get some exercise. Walk and enjoy the world.
4. Don't trust all the propaganda from the governments of this world. Some is good and some is distorted for political purposes.

Some doctors are recommending Quercetin, NAC protocol, and Zinc.

Anything else someone has to suggest?

[Dan Z]

I don’t know about the rest of you, but looking at the current COVID numbers out east, our household is going to hunker down and try to limit mixing outside of our bubble any more than necessary for a few weeks til this wave moves through.

[RZehr]

Unless I start seeing people I know winding up in the hospital at a higher rate than I saw with Delta, I don’t plan on taking any precautions beyond the bare requirements.

[Ernie]

Maryland Governor Hogan's comments:

Noting the rise in cases attributed to the Omicron variant, the Republican governor said his state was trying a wide range of strategies to ensure there were enough health care workers to deal with the expected rise in hospitalizations in coming weeks.

“We put $100 million of emergency funding into our hospitals and our nursing homes,“ Hogan said. “We waived requirements for out-of-state nurses and doctors and health care workers. We have sped up the graduation of our nursing students, so they can get out early and get out to help. We have called up the Maryland National Guard. And we're continuing to take actions every day, nearly every — everything that anyone can think of to help us get through this.

“Look, we believe that the next four to six weeks are really going to be a terrible point in this crisis. And it's potentially going to be the worst part of the whole two-year fight.“

Hogan touted his state’s vaccination rate (92 percent). “Eight percent of the population who has not been vaccinated is responsible for 75 percent of all the people that are filling up our Covid beds in the hospital.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/0 ... and-526361

[Robert]

Hogan touted his state’s vaccination rate (92 percent). “Eight percent of the population who has not been vaccinated is responsible for 75 percent of all the people that are filling up our Covid beds in the hospital.”

I am not sure the data proves this. If it is consistant with other places, vaccinated will be making up at least 50% of those numbers if not higher.

[Dan Z]

I don’t know about the rest of you, but looking at the current COVID numbers out east, our household is going to hunker down and try to limit mixing outside of our bubble any more than necessary for a few weeks til this wave moves through.

Just to add, aside from not wanting to get sick, our local hospital system is severely overtaxed and under staffed (has received military medical assistance) - mostly because of COVID. We’d rather not contribute to the crisis if we can help it on the outside chance that one of the eight of us (or someone we might infect) might need advanced medical care.