Covid vaccination status for CF members

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Congratulations on joining the ranks of the vaccinated!


I get my second shot next week.


I am still taking full precautions although almost two weeks after the first Pfizer shot, and still showing some antibodies from my COVID infection last year.



But I'm feeling more confident. I am slightly less paranoid about hand hygene (but that's also because fomites don't seem to be a significant vector of transmission).


I was with my own father and step mother, who are fully vaccinated. We lived absolutely normally inside their house -- hugs and no social distancing. Outside the house we took normal precautions with masks everywhere except when actually consuming food at a restaurant table.


This is something like the new normal, at least the transition normal. Once enough people are vaccinated and infections die away, I guess we will start skipping the masks.


Meanwhile I'm quite used to wearing masks now and it doesn't really bother me. I will keep wearing them as long as necessary if only just to make other people feel more comfortable.

Same here! It’s great wearing masks. I had to wear them for moderate particulate pollution anyway before the pandemic, plus all the hours wearing them doing the boat work.

The best side befit of being Covid careful is never once having a sniffle, a cough, a headache, stomach ache or sore throat in years now. I don’t know if I can go back to getting sick sometimes.

Congratulations on your second shot coming. I may have been slow to start because it was so hard to find the vaccine, but I’m using the Janssen, so it’s one and done. After a couple weeks waiting period from Thursday, I’ll be fully vaccinated.

I assume at some point this will also help open some doors pertaining to travel eventually, like my yellow fever vaccination did.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The simple correlation doesn't prove that vaccines work, but even without proof I am certain that they work, and I am certain that the level of vaccination we've reached in U.S. and U.K. has definitely knocked the guts out of the pandemic. It should be well and truly over in the U.S. and U.K. by early to mid summer; see here:

https://covid19-projections.com/path-to-herd-immunity/

If anyone gets discouraged about how the pandemic drags on and on, just have a look at this page and cheer yourself up.

According to CDC, fully 75% of everyone in the U.S. over 65 has gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. And it's only 06 April! This is an extraordinary achievement!
Attachment 235993

The daily death rate in the U.S. has fallen from over 10 per million all the way to 2.35. That's still double the death rate in Sweden today, but we are only a few weeks behind the UK, which is now all the way down to 0.52, half of the Swedish rate. Within just a couple of weeks we should be there too, and 0.52 per million is insignificant -- that's already approximately the number of people dying anyway out of mere coincidence.


So from the point of view of COVID deaths we are back to normal life even long before summer, like within a few weeks. Our infection rate is already below 200, down from over 750 some weeks ago.


The light at the end of the tunnel is almost here!!!

Your words in Gods ear.

I am sooo ready to be done with this.

Impossible to plan, and we cant get to our summer residence and boat.

Maybe even Trinidad and Newfoundland will open up!

Trinidad boat yards claim to be on the verge of shutting down permanently.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I apologize for any offense, but I think I will stand by this. I was thinking back on discussions we had on here last spring and summer where any question whether we might want to analyze whether some pandemic measure or another is actually worthwhile, and whether it does some other kind of damage which might not be worth it, was shouted down with incredible viciousness by certain people who insisted that they only consideration in making these policies should be saving lives, or rather, preventing COVID deaths, and that no other factor should be considered. Just forget about unemployment, damage to school children, etc., and it was considered outrageous to even ask these questions. One member even accused me of being "incapable of love" .

What I am saying is that it's easy to say forget about unemployment, hungry children, etc. etc. -- when you are old and afraid of the virus but not afraid of unemployment or of your children going hungry, and that this reflects the narrow point of view of a certain demographic. Yes not 100% white nor 100% male, but we are are on CF probably 90% white AND male so I was talking about us, and our lack of empathy for people who experience the pandemic in an ENTIRELY different way than we do.
).

I was too busy sailing last summer so am not on the internet much during that time of year so must have missed those posts and i certainly wasn’t among those being critical because i appreciate that its a difficult decision that had to be made based on uncertain and ever changing “facts.” Its pretty natural for every individual to see an issue from their own unique perspective, according to what they perceive the greatest threat to themself is. For older people or those with existing health issues, they naturally see the covid virus itself as the biggest threat. But thats not unique to whites or males. Older or ill blacks, whites (male and female, rich and poor and middle class) hispanics, etc. all understandably share that perspective and therefore would have made similar decisions. And of course young, healthy people with strong immune systems are less fearful of a virus and are more concerned about losing their job or losing their social life. As you mentioned, some people were able to work from home or continue working at their normal job but that wasn’t unique to white males either.
You raise a valid point that in retrospect perhaps we should have shut down less than we did, but since those faced with making those decisions rightly felt the pressure that any life or death decision deserves, and with conflicting advice from so called experts, they did what they perceived to be the conservative choice. The fear was that the spread of the virus would be nearly logarithmic so if they took a chance by not closing down, and with a built in lag time before increased number of infections became apparent, by then it might be too late to prevent a real disaster that they would feel responsible for. Then, the shutdown decision became a political weapon, but that certainly wasn’t exclusively by white males either.
You seem bitter at rich old white males for the suffering caused by widespread shutdowns but as i pointed out above, a poor, old, black woman who similarly feared for her life would have made the same decision, because in that moment, the common concern about their mortality becomes the overriding priority and crosses all demographic lines. Also, take the Governors of Florida and Michigan, with the white male keeping his state as open as possible but the female governor of Michigan enforcing strict lockdowns. So, for all these reasons your singling out middle class white males or rich old white males was both inaccurate and inappropriate. Though your original post didn’t make it clear you were just talking about white male CF members, now you say thats who you were referring to, but its still just as wrong to stereotype a large group because many members within that group don’t fit that stereotype. For example, both you and i (and many other white, male CF regulars) though we both are white males and haven’t been much more than inconvenienced by this pandemic, and our 401K’s and other investments are worth more than ever, DO have genuine empathy for those whose lives have been completely turned upside down or who have lost loved ones or lost their jobs. Yes, there seem to be a relative few posters on here who seem to be trying to project a macho image and have a rather selfish outlook, caring only for what they perceive the threat to themself is rather than accepting we ALL need to do whatever it takes to protect the weakest amongst us so we can finally return life to normal and all the residual effects of this pandemic can finally end. So, i suggest that you direct your anger or frustration or whatever motivated you to start pointing the finger of blame at middle class white males or rich old white males to the particular posters who seem to lack empathy for others during this pandemic rather than stereotyping a whole large group of people, most of whom don’t deserve it.


BTW, your previous “feeling guilty” comment that you apparently forgot may be found on post #583 on 3/30.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

Though your original post didn’t make it clear you were just talking about white male CF members, now you say thats who you were referring to, but its still just as wrong to stereotype a large group because many members within that group don’t fit that stereotype. For example, both you and i (and many other white, male CF regulars) though we both are white males and haven’t been much more than inconvenienced by this pandemic, and our 401K’s and other investments are worth more than ever, DO have genuine empathy for those whose lives have been completely turned upside down or who have lost loved ones or lost their jobs.

That's all true, but there's no getting around the fact that the majority of CF members, and especially those in these 'battleground' threads, are predominantly older, white, male, and well-off. And that opinions here tend to reflect roughly the same distribution that is revealed by polling that group. Including those who seem to be downplaying the impact of lockdowns on people. I believe that was always DH's point (it was clear to me, anyway) - that by that yardstick, the majority of us here have not been seriously impacted by COVID or by the restrictions, therefore we may not have the best handle on what minorities, the "essential" workers, the less well-off have had to endure.

And this cuts both ways; we also may not have the best idea of how other people have hung on despite more adversity, what keeps them going in the face of all that, and what we should now be doing as a society to help them get back on their feet again.

Of course, the blame-game is more fun...

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by UFO

Hope you guys are avoiding the AZ Jab, unless you are a gambler that is...



https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-...cine/100047490


https://www.afr.com/policy/health-an...0210406-p57guv

Nope.. that's my preference should I decide to take one..
The clotting incidences seem to be in the groups much younger than me.. and even then it's not an established fact.
Also it's not exclusive to the AZ jab.. the AZ gets mentioned most due to the EU's politicizing it.

11/02/2021 · As of Jan. 29, 11,249 adverse events had been reported to OpenVAERS related to the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The reports included 501 deaths, 1066 hospitalizations, 2443 urgent care visits, 1447 office visits and 147 cases of anaphylaxis. What is concerning is that these reports are just the tip of the iceberg.

https://principia-scientific.com/are...heart-attacks/

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

I was too busy sailing last summer so am not on the internet much during that time of year so must have missed those posts and i certainly wasn’t among those being critical because i appreciate that its a difficult decision that had to be made based on uncertain and ever changing “facts.” Its pretty natural for every individual to see an issue from their own unique perspective, according to what they perceive the greatest threat to themself is. For older people or those with existing health issues, they naturally see the covid virus itself as the biggest threat. But thats not unique to whites or males. Older or ill blacks, whites (male and female, rich and poor and middle class) hispanics, etc. all understandably share that perspective and therefore would have made similar decisions. And of course young, healthy people with strong immune systems are less fearful of a virus and are more concerned about losing their job or losing their social life. As you mentioned, some people were able to work from home or continue working at their normal job but that wasn’t unique to white males either.
You raise a valid point that in retrospect perhaps we should have shut down less than we did, but since those faced with making those decisions rightly felt the pressure that any life or death decision deserves, and with conflicting advice from so called experts, they did what they perceived to be the conservative choice. The fear was that the spread of the virus would be nearly logarithmic so if they took a chance by not closing down, and with a built in lag time before increased number of infections became apparent, by then it might be too late to prevent a real disaster that they would feel responsible for. Then, the shutdown decision became a political weapon, but that certainly wasn’t exclusively by white males either.

I certainly agree with all of this.

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

You seem bitter at rich old white males for the suffering caused by widespread shutdowns but as i pointed out above, a poor, old, black woman who similarly feared for her life would have made the same decision, because in that moment, the common concern about their mortality becomes the overriding priority and crosses all demographic lines. Also, take the Governors of Florida and Michigan, with the white male keeping his state as open as possible but the female governor of Michigan enforcing strict lockdowns. So, for all these reasons your singling out middle class white males or rich old white males was both inaccurate and inappropriate. Though your original post didn’t make it clear you were just talking about white male CF members, now you say thats who you were referring to, but its still just as wrong to stereotype a large group because many members within that group don’t fit that stereotype.

I'm not bitter. I was just trying to get people to snap out of their narrow, and I submit, selfish point of view, and think for a moment about the very different point of view of other demographics.

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

For example, both you and i (and many other white, male CF regulars) though we both are white males and haven’t been much more than inconvenienced by this pandemic, and our 401K’s and other investments are worth more than ever, DO have genuine empathy for those whose lives have been completely turned upside down or who have lost loved ones or lost their jobs. Yes, there seem to be a relative few posters on here who seem to be trying to project a macho image and have a rather selfish outlook, caring only for what they perceive the threat to themself is rather than accepting we ALL need to do whatever it takes to protect the weakest amongst us so we can finally return life to normal and all the residual effects of this pandemic can finally end. So, i suggest that you direct your anger or frustration or whatever motivated you to start pointing the finger of blame at middle class white males or rich old white males to the particular posters who seem to lack empathy for others during this pandemic rather than stereotyping a whole large group of people, most of whom don’t deserve it.

Again, it was not really anger or frustration -- just trying to provoke thought. My thoughts were aimed at opening eyes of people who were angrily denouncing any thought of anything except preventing COVID deaths, who specifically demanded that we ignore those other considerations.

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

BTW, your previous “feeling guilty” comment that you apparently forgot may be found on post #583 on 3/30.

OK, well I retract it now! These days I feel nothing but joy at being vaccinated!

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

That's all true, but there's no getting around the fact that the majority of CF members, and especially those in these 'battleground' threads, are predominantly older, white, male, and well-off. And that opinions here tend to reflect roughly the same distribution that is revealed by polling that group. Including those who seem to be downplaying the impact of lockdowns on people. I believe that was always DH's point (it was clear to me, anyway) - that by that yardstick, the majority of us here have not been seriously impacted by COVID or by the restrictions, therefore we may not have the best handle on what minorities, the "essential" workers, the less well-off have had to endure.

And this cuts both ways; we also may not have the best idea of how other people have hung on despite more adversity, what keeps them going in the face of all that, and what we should now be doing as a society to help them get back on their feet again.

Of course, the blame-game is more fun...

Exactly.


I think we are all in substantial agreement.

[Montanan]

California plans to lift most coronavirus restrictions on businesses and workplaces June 15, with officials saying enough people should be vaccinated by then to allow for life to almost get back to a pre-pandemic normal.

The mask mandate in the nation's most populated state will stay in effect, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday, and he cautioned that California will reopen more widely in mid-June only if vaccine supply is sufficient and hospitalization rates stay stable and low.

Still, the Democratic governor, who has overseen some of the most restrictive pandemic rules in the country, said it was time to forge ahead, with 20 million vaccines administered in California to date. The announcement signals an end date to more than a year of isolation after California resisted reopening too quickly even while other states pushed ahead.

[Lake-Effect]

...aaand the captain and crew of the good ship Lake-Effect have now received their first shots. No lollipop afterwards, tho'. So I'm havin' a beer.

[Montanan]

Natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 protects against reinfection in most people — but this protection is significantly weaker in those aged 65 years or older. Researchers analysed millions of coronavirus test results in Denmark and found that, at about 6 months after initial infection, protection against repeat infection was approximately 80%, with no significant difference in reinfection rates between men and women. But this protection was reduced to 47% for those aged 65 years or older.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...575-4/fulltext

[Montanan]

A study of more than 9,500 people in Wuhan, China — once the epicentre of COVID-19 — found that only 7% of the population had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, of whom more than 80% had had no symptoms. Around 40% of the infected people produced neutralizing antibodies that could be detected for the entire 9-month study period. The researchers conclude that most people in Wuhan are still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that a mass-vaccination campaign is needed to achieve herd immunity.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...238-5/fulltext

[RGN]

I have received my two injections of the Moderna vaccine pus 10 days of the afterwards waiting period. I am feeling optimistic!

I had a very slight soreness at the injection site and that arm was a bit warm in the injection area, for perhaps 48 hours. No other reactions





Now, if I can just get to Maine this summer and then Bahamas next winter, I will be overjoyed.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Montanan

California plans to lift most coronavirus restrictions on businesses and workplaces June 15, with officials saying enough people should be vaccinated by then to allow for life to almost get back to a pre-pandemic normal.

The mask mandate in the nation's most populated state will stay in effect, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday, and he cautioned that California will reopen more widely in mid-June only if vaccine supply is sufficient and hospitalization rates stay stable and low.

Still, the Democratic governor, who has overseen some of the most restrictive pandemic rules in the country, said it was time to forge ahead, with 20 million vaccines administered in California to date. The announcement signals an end date to more than a year of isolation after California resisted reopening too quickly even while other states pushed ahead.

"Resisted reopening too quickly" but with similar outcome to states like Texas which did the opposite -- as commented on even in the New York Times.

Cumulative deaths per million in California 1,513, somewhat less than the U.S. average of 1,722, but comparing unfavorably to even the harder hit European countries, much less to much-maligned Sweden at 1,334.

Not saying there is causation in this correlation or that different places can be directly compared -- it's a very complex phenomenon and we should resist drawing facile conclusions of any kind, but certainly there is no evidence that extremely strict measures like in California have produced better outcomes than less strict measures in other states and countries, contrary to the "open up too early and everyone will die" trope. The four hardest hit U.S. states are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, all with some of the tightest and longest lasting lockdowns on the planet. All over 2,000, all but Rhode Island over 2,500. New Jersey may reach 3,000 before it's all over, something not seen anywhere in the world AFAIK.

Texas with a clownish governor and no rhyme or reason in the restrictions has done hardly worse than California at 1,688, or Florida (ditto) at 1,574.

Source for all data: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

P.S. I have been in the U.S. for a couple of weeks, and contrary to what seemed to be reported in the press, I've noticed everywhere very high compliance with pandemic measures, much higher than anywhere in Europe I've been. Everyone wearing masks, very good social distancing, calm and disciplined atmosphere. Quite different from what I expected.

[Montanan]

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is calling states to move up the deadline to make all American adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by almost two weeks. Every adult in America will now be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19th. A few weeks ago, Biden called on states, tribes and territories to make all U.S. adults eligible for vaccination no later than May 1st.

Every state has now given at least one dose to 25% or more of its population with 19 percent of Americans fully vaccinated.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

...aaand the captain and crew of the good ship Lake-Effect have now received their first shots. No lollipop afterwards, tho'. So I'm havin' a beer.

Congratulations!!