I've had Covid twice, and both times it happened after a plane ride. I was masked in the airports and on the planes, but it happened anyway. I will continue to mask on planes, and on public transportation. I saw that the NY Governor wants to ban all masks on the subway, after there was a pro-Palestinian protest involving masked protestors. I hope that it doesn't happen.

I’m vaxxed and boosted. I limit going into stores and wear a mask when I do, and at medical appointments when my mouth/face doesn’t need to be examined. I look at the local wastewater COVID values every few weeks. I don’t want to get COVID and don’t want to bring it home to my husband, who gets weeks of bronchitis any time he gets the common cold. Neither of us has had a cold or flu for over 4 years. It’s been great.

My father caught COVID at his nursing home in January. His lungs never recovered and he died in March.

Nope, never think about it and never vaccinated or masked. Got covid in Sept 2020 and haven't had it since-same with my DH and our son. We all got it at the same time.

I take the same precautions I always have before and after Covid. Wash my hands, try to keep my distance from obviously sick people, stay home if I am sick, and avoid crowded places and buffets during flu season. Never had a flu shot of any kind including the Covid one. NOT an anti vaxxer. Have my pneumonia shots and my Tdap is up to date. My natural immunity is working well. I haven't had any of the upper respiratory illnesses of this past winter and I have been around many people that did. Just an observation but it sure seems my vaccinated friends and family are getting every bug that comes along. Colds, coughs, and even an uptake in pneumonia. Strange.

I’ve stopped masking in general, and was just vaxxed (#6? 7?) last week. I’m 73, no serious health issues. I’m flying to Vegas for some concerts at the Sphere next week, and although I plan to mask at the airport and crowded areas, I might be mask-off during the music if I find the mask distracting…it’s risky, I realize. I got Covid about a year ago after a road trip with friends. I was in close quarters with four friends throughout our three day adventure (sharing a car with four others, and hotel room with one) and hung out with several others, and thankfully no one else got it. I had a fever, felt disoriented, achy and just terrible, took Paxlovid and that helped with the worst symptoms. I was extremely fatigued at the beginning, and that lasted at least a week. My sense of smell and taste was affected and I lost 10 pounds (my favorite part of the experience). I recovered fully. A close friend of mine, in his late 60s and in excellent health, got Covid on a European trip last year, and nearly died. Covid triggered an autoimmune hemolytic anemia, he was hospitalized for five weeks in Italy for diagnosis and treatment, received eight transfusions during the first few weeks, and has been told it could recur if he gets Covid again. Just sayin’ you never know; Covid can be mild, and it can be life-changing.

First off, for the two here who currently have it, I wish you speedy recoveries with no lingering effects.

I think the range of posters here saying they’re gong about their lives normally is a testament to the fact that we’re solidly in the ”new normal.” This past winter I saw enough people masking to where it didn’t stand out. Now it does, as there are very few. As always, I go under the assumption that they’re particularly vulnerable and respect their space.

As for me, I think I got my last vaccine with my flu shot, and I’ll do it again if offered. Sometimes I feel undet the weather a bit for a day or two, sometimes not. Never worse than when I’ve had covid, so if I get some limited protection that works for me. When I do get sick with c-like symptoms I test, and would take above average measures to avoid passing it on if positive. Though as I’ve explained on previous threads, I suspect that it’s usually too late by that point.

No more mask wearing here with the one exception of a doctors waiting room. Even if covid no longer existed we'll still be wearing a mask while waiting in a doctor's office. Thankfully we don't need to go to see a doc but once or twice a year.

For those of you who are so cavalier about it, I hope this doesn't happen to you. My experience with vaccinations, boosters and Covid has been a mixed bag. I've done it all. Last September I got sick with the virus for the 3rd time, and I was sick for several weeks with lingering fatigue for a long time. But the worst thing that happened was I lost my sense of taste. For a long time, everything I ate tasted like cardboard.

Here I am, nine months later, and my sense of taste is still really screwed up. I can't tell if there is saffron in a paella, if my iced tea or ice cream has mint in it, if I eat anything with citrus or vinegar that's the only thing I taste. So, chicken piccata or a salad with balsamic vinaigrette is really unpleasant. I can't trust myself to season things I'm cooking and have to ask DH to decide.

I veer into depression about it. It's not a "no big deal" virus.

I am so sorry to learn about the suffering of my internet friends and wish you all well.

And I believe those are facepalm emojis.

(Quick side note for Chinacat - you will be blown away by the show. I went last week. It was the most amazing concert experience of my life. I hope you have an equally awesome time. )

Sorry for the minor diversion folks. Carry on. 😊

Very sorry about your experiences, seagrass. I don't get as annoyed as I used to about blatantly ignorant people. They get what they deserve one way or the other in the long run, it's the suffering of others as a consequence that still angers me.

A symbol used for a face palm about the former First Lady/Sec of State is something I would find agreement with.

Nope! Worked through the whole "pandemic". In Loan Servicing for a bank (SBA Loans - "essential", you know 😉) Never been jabbed, never masked, never got Covid, despite working in a contained space with 40 others. Appreciated no traffic on the way to work and on the way home. Appreciated the lower gas prices. Appreciated the stimulus checks. Could have another one as far as I am concerned!

Side note to @seagrass_gw Cape Cod - I lost my sense of taste and smell in Feb 2021 and got depressed over it as well. If it gives you any hope, it’s been a slow but continued recovery on that front, still a work in progress over three years later. "They" say exercising your nose helps, and I did practice sniffing my spices for a while, in addition to recommended essential oils of lemon, eucalyptus, clove, and rose. I have no "contol" to know how well it worked, but the incremental improvement was noticable and encouraging. I could go on about recent additions to my sense of smell as well as some thst are still missing or off, but I'll spare the other readers as most involve bodily functions. I hope you find your senses coming back more in time, also.

@Ally De- YES!! I’m going to two shows, and I am so excited!

@Seagrass, after a month or so of diminished smell and taste, I read that sniffing essential oils like peppermint and lavender might help. I think it worked, and pretty quickly, too!

Sephia, I hope you feel better much better very soon, and have a complete recovery.

^^ thank you, chinacatpeekin. Appreciate it 😊

Since Covid, I've been much more mindful of germs. I make sure I stay a distance between people, never getting up close to people like I might have before. I am very careful not to put my hands near my face. I always cover my mouth if I feel a sneeze coming on, never go in public without a large handkerchief in my pocket so I can cover my mouth with it! I carry alcohol in a small bottle in my purse so as soon as I leave the store, I put that on my hands. I wash my hands very thoroughly as soon as I'm home then again after I unload stuff.

I think that I had covid once but didn't have a test done but had all the symptoms with having no strength to do anything and was a challenge just to shower! I think that I had let down my guard is why I got it and had gotten lax about the alcohol after I leave the store. Also had gotten lax about wiping the shopping cart before I use it, I do that every time I go to a store.

I'm so sorry for all of you who are suffering from the disease now and it's ill effects. I hope you get well soon! My GF who had covid early on did lose her sense of taste and smell and did use sniffing of essential oils to help restore it which it did. Of course, no idea if she'd gotten better regardless.

Just to add to my (only wear masks in the doctors office) comment above we will resume wearing masks and get the latest vaccine shots if covid mutates and hits the country/world hard again in the future. Losing ones sense of smell and taste is bad enough but our primary concern are the cases of long term covid where constant head fog, fatigue, and other maladies can last for years. There is no point in taking that chance, esp at our age.

Forgot to mention I wear a hat out in public now too - a hat brim makes a good sneezeguard 😄

" Unfortunately with Fauci being on the hot seat "

He's on no hot seat and never has been. Attacking someone for telling the truth is never successful.

Boy, this thread has really made me think. I was careful about Covid for a long time, until this year. I haven't been in crowds--just the supermarkets and the library for the most part, but I haven't been masked. I've been planning to gather on Saturday at the home of a dear cousin who died last week. It will be very well attended, in close quarters, with lots of hugs. I've been obsessing over the drive, which is longer than my scoliosis will be comfortable with, and if I can keep up the energy needed to get through the day, but I hadn't given a thought to Covid until I opened this thread.

I can't ignore the fact that I have risk factors. I'm 81, with a serious breathing problem (possibly due to the severe scoliosis, but they're trying to figure that out) and serious debilitating fatigue. Recent blood work shows that I'm not getting enough oxygen, and also that I very likely have an autoimmune condition. I would say putting myself at risk for Covid would be a very bad idea.

This makes me sad, because staying home would mean giving up my only opportunity to see a couple of younger cousins I love dearly, along with their children. They, and others, will be arriving from all over (another reason to stay home, I guess).

I suppose I could wear a mask, but that makes it even harder to breathe. Damn . . .

"Unfortunately with Fauci being on the hot seat we are learning more and more about all the miss information surrounding COVID"...

I wouldn't describe recent interviews with Fauci placing him on the hot seat. He has written a memoir and is promoting it. While he's at it, he surely is teaching us about all of the misinformation/manipulation of information surrounding COVID.

Here's a free link for anyone interested in what his book is about https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/books/review/on-call-anthony-fauci.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k0.cdfy.8PTT1ng-_UM3&smid=url-share

Nice to see this is back - that didn't take long!

Interesting to see that it looks like my comments referring to public sentiments in the USA is gone, tho...

...and now the followup thread is gone?

And my comment to angelaid about her wish for another pandemic because it benefited her so much is gone too. I guess the truth hurts.

Dr. Paul Offit wrote an excellent book on Covid too!

Dr. Paul Offit wrote an excellent book about Covid also.

I still double mask just because I feel more comfortable doing it . And, on a humorous note, it hides my chin hairs when I forget to shave LOL gotta love menopause!

You and me both, dj - and I haven't bought any makeup in a looong time 😀

I mask at work and in stores etc. Pretty much everywhere except my own home and outside. I haven't had covid so it seems to be working.

I'm surprised to see this thread back, and note it has been "sanitized"! How ironic!

I did want to post this picture. (Yes, I'm aware bacteria are larger than viruses.)

Yeah I guess I have to eat crow and admit there's at least minimal moderation here. First clesr sign I've seen of it in a very long time.

Well someone is making changes to the place...they've been taking away functionality, like having links be a different color so we know they're links...or like having the 'like' button change color so we can tell we already 'liked' something the first time...

Right there with you FOAS. This is the first thread I've seen returned after it was disappeared in I don't know how long...

Annie - I always assumed those were glitches, rather than evidence of actual human intervention. LOL!

Ally De, no I think those were actual changes as they changed the font at the same time, IIRC.

I'm guessing, as so often happens, that updates to the site wind up altering some code - sort of collateral damage. I can't imagine there was a design decision to alter hyperlinks like that - it's not very functional.

they changed the font at the same time, IIRC.

Microsoft changed its default font from Calibri to Aptos, which is what we're now seeing.

Ugh - just saw this...

"...Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that COVID test positivity rates and emergency room visits are steadily rising, especially along both coasts.

The culprit: the FLiRT variants. This family of variants, which evolved from omicron, took off in the spring. Now, they account for over 50% of infections. ..."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/covid-summer-2024-surge-symptoms_l_6679820de4b0d2f6354efe63

I am very concerned about the rising rates. I went to visit a Personal Care facility for someone today and all I could think was "super spreader." I was masked.

The data don't show rising death rates and they are far below where they were in the early stages of the pandemic.

My inoffensive post about personal experience has also been axed.

The linked article does state that most cases are not as severe as in the past, it's the rates that are rising - and older, immune compromised folks are the ones who face the highest risk of severity.

I am at two and a half years of long covid and I don't think death rates should determine the severity of rising cases when deciding to mask or not. Death is not the only problem that affects those who risk catching the virus.

Susan Marken, you have my sympathy.

Susan--I am so sorry. People I love have long covid which is why I'm so paranoid: a friend now has a liver problem (Covid twice) a neighbor with a blood clot behind his eye (Covid twice), and a cousin has a heart that is only pumpin g 60% (Covid once). It's real and it's scary and I will say a prayer for you.

My daughter who had a bad case three weeks ago, which was her first, can't say at this time she has long-term COVID-19 but she has lingering problems she never had before and is running a triathlon over the weekend. I tried to talk her out of it although she is only doing the one part, the 13 miler.

I have mentioned before that my diagnosis of diabetes came after my first serious Covid infection. That if course is not proof that Covid was the culprit, except that now as more information comes out that has happened to a number of other people. That is one of the reasons I take Covid seriously; merely because as Annie pointed out death rates are not increasing does not mean getting a mild case of Covid is not without the possibility of serious adverse consequences. Lily I am hoping the best for your daughter.

Yes, IIRC, rather early on, it was suspected the many problems in various organs that arose after contracting the virus stemmed from it being carried in the blood and circulating throughout the body.