COVID-19 treatment and vaccine update thread

[Rumpy]

I wonder, between the push to consider it a three shot vaccine (rather than 2 shots and a booster), and the data on Omicron, if they'll consider shortening the time to get boosters like a few countries have (eg, 3 months in the UK, Turkey and a few others).

Here in Canada, Ontario has just dropped the interval between the 2nd and 3rd shots to 3 months. I don't know if that applies across the board for the whole country yet, though. For the time being, though, it just increases the log jam at the vaccination clinics because it increases the number of people who all become eligible for a 3rd shot at the same time when current the capacity to actually put jabs in arms is already maxed out.

Yep, I can attest to that. Finding available clinics has become more difficult. It doesn't help the fact that the day they announced all this, their website wasn't updated to reflect the changes. We haven't been able to find one yet, but we'll try on Monday. We're hoping we can find one where our whole family can go at once.

[Max Peck]

There seem to be some communities that have openings, but here in Ottawa there is nothing unless you happen to be sitting in the booking portal when they drop in a new batch of appointments. The only pharmacies that are accepting bookings have nothing before February (and I have zero confidence that they actually have a confirmed supply that far out), although I've seen some reports of people lucking into finding locations that can accommodate a few walk-ins. Aside from one physician who has been staging her own "Jabapalooza" events, I don't know anything about family doctors offering vaccinations aside from the fact that my doctor's clinic isn't able to do so.

In some ways it feels like OPH (Ottawa Public Health) has been caught flat-footed with all of this. For example, they've announced that they're adding a new vaccination site to increase capacity, but on their website they are listing one fewer sites than were operating last week, and they've removed all information about the neighbourhood vaccination hubs that had been operating for a few hours a day, 2 days a week until now. Given that it's this jammed up now, and that there will be another 600k+ eligible local people come Monday, I'm not expecting to be getting a 3rd dose for at least 2 or 3 months unless the situation on the ground changes dramatically somehow. Luckily, I'm in a good position to just hunker down and continue waiting it out.

[Max Peck]

I'm not expecting to be getting a 3rd dose for at least 2 or 3 months unless the situation on the ground changes dramatically somehow.

Welp, shows what I know. I woke up at 0500 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I wandered over to the computer, checked the booking portal and lucked into a shiny fresh drop of appointments for the coming week. I'm booked first thing Monday morning.

Sleep dysfunction FTW!

[LawBeefaroni]

Sleep dysfunction FTW!

Hear, hear!

[Unagi]

I'm not expecting to be getting a 3rd dose for at least 2 or 3 months unless the situation on the ground changes dramatically somehow.

Welp, shows what I know. I woke up at 0500 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I wandered over to the computer, checked the booking portal and lucked into a shiny fresh drop of appointments for the coming week. I'm booked first thing Monday morning.

Sleep dysfunction FTW!

I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Those who rise before the rooster, are first in line to get their booster.”

[Max Peck]

There may be something to that. I tipped off a friend and he was able to book himself and his wife for tomorrow morning as well.

[Skinypupy]

I’ve ended up with quite the rash from my booster last week. Got the shot on Thursday, arm is still red and a little sore, and a red rash has spread from my shoulder where I got the shot across my chest. No other symptoms and it’s not uncomfortable or itchy (didn’t even notice it until I got out of the shower this morning), but definitely there.

Which is weird, as I had no reaction (other than the usual cruddy feeling the next day) to the first two shots. Seems to be spreading more today, so I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Edit: got the booster last Thursday, not Tuesday

[Jaymon]

A rash seems unusual. Thats what came out of my facehole, but then I checked the CDC, and is a known potential reaction.

So thats what I learned today. Thank you skinnypuppy for teaching me that lesson, and I am sorry you had to learn it the hard way.

[Skinypupy]

Yeah, my first check was the CDC site as well. They say that it’s not uncommon and not concerning unless the symptoms are severe, which they’re currently not.

It does seem to be spreading quite a bit this morning though, so I’ll definitely have to keep an eye on it.

[Jeff V]

I came down with a shitty cold. I knew it was just a cold because...many times experience. Wife bought me a home Covid test...which of course was negative because it really is just a shitty cold like I said all along...

[AWS260]

Omicron seeming to be tearing through my area. Several co-workers or their family members testing positive, huge lines for tests. Thankfully vaccination rates are pretty high, so hopefully folks won't get too sick.

I'm supposed to fly to Chicago on Christmas to see my mom. Starting to get a little nervous about that, but I really don't want her to have to spend another Christmas alone.

[FishPants]

Holy hell my arm hurt from the booster - it hurt from the first two shots, but not like this last one - to the point my pinky finger was tingly from the jabbing pain (pins and needles). Took a theragun to the injection site which helped quite a bit, and changed my workout to be an arm day - had to modify a few movements (power cleans were a no go), but that really helped get rid of the pain in the arm.

My wife was pretty nauseous and felt like crap about 24 hours after the shot - she rarely complained even when going through chemo, so I took her word for it when she just wanted to put her feet up and relax (she's earned it regardless!).

I think Omicron might be a blessing in disguise.. Denmark has 23k active omicron cases, with 35 people in hospital and under 5 in ICU - that's a very very good initial read on it. With Omicron absolutely tearing through Ontario currently, and our ICU numbers remaining pretty flat (165 in ICU today, vs 890 last year with the same case load and no vaccinations) it looks promising. Not sure what the unvaccinated impact is with Omicron though, that's the big question - does it hit Delta hard, or headcold hard.

[jztemple2]

This popped up on my local news channel this morning: Moderna says COVID-19 booster increases protection against omicron variant

Pharmaceutical company Moderna said Monday preliminary data shows that its COVID-19 booster amplifies protection against the omicron variant. Lab results show the 50-microgram booster increased antibodies by 37-fold against the omicron variant compared to the primary two doses, and a 100-microgram booster dose created an 83-fold increase in antibodies.

"The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant is concerning to all. However, these data showing that the currently authorized Moderna COVID-19 booster can boost neutralizing antibody levels 37-fold higher than pre-boost levels are reassuring," said Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna.

Both of the doses had side effects that are similar to those reported with the two-dose vaccine regimen, but adverse reactions were stronger with a dose of 50 micrograms or higher. However, the 100-microgram dose was slightly more effective, according to Moderna. Moderna announced the preliminary laboratory data in a press release and it hasn’t yet undergone scientific review. But testing by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, announced last week by the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, found a similar jump.

Pfizer’s testing likewise found its COVID-19 vaccine triggered a similarly big jump in omicron-fighting antibodies. The vaccines made by Pfizer and by Moderna, both made with mRNA technology, are used by many countries around the world to fight the coronavirus. Moderna said it will still continue to work on a specific booster for the omicron variant with the hopes of clinical trials to start in 2022. The preliminary data has not been peer reviewed, and Moderna said it plans to share its results with government health officials. The FDA approved Moderna's 50-microgram booster in October. The FDA endorsed the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 boosters for all adults in mid-November.

[LawBeefaroni]

"Protection" meaning what, protection from infection or protection from serious illness from infection?

[Zaxxon]

As per usual, the culture wars aren't even properly aligned.

[LawBeefaroni]

As per usual, the culture wars aren't even properly aligned.

Trump frequently goes off script. You can do that when you're a very stable genius and, many people say, one of the best actors ever..

[Zaxxon]

"This plan may sound appealing to people who know a little about the immune system, but the drawbacks are clear to people who know a lot about the immune system and also to people who don't know anything about it."

[Daehawk]

I didn't have my vax card when I got my 3rd Pfizer so went by today with it. Didn't hassle me and marked it down for me. Nioce.

[Max Peck]

My trek to the vaccination clinic this morning went smoothly. Unlike my first two shots, where the clinics were running below 50% capacity, this time it was running flat out at 100%. I hope, though, that we're not creating a wave of "breakthrough" infections with the big vaccination push right now, just before the holidays, assuming that it still takes 2 weeks after the shot before it has time to fully take effect. My fear is that there are tens of thousands of people running around acting like they're fully immune for Christmas and New Year's when they're anything but. I guess we'll see.

So far my arm is a bit sore, but not as much as with the previous Pfizer and Moderna injections back in the spring. We'll see if that holds up over the next day or so.

Today was my big torture test for the GVS SPR644 respirator as well. I kept it on from when I headed until I got home, and it maintained a tight seal and was comfortable for the entire 4-hour adventure, including a 45-minute walk home when I missed my bus on the last leg and didn't feel like waiting a half hour for the next bus.

I wore a cloth mask over the respirator (it fit it almost perfectly) to protect the plastic filter assembly from the cold (-15C when I set out at zero dark hundred) and to avoid having to explain to anyone that no, the respirator does not have an exhalation valve (even though it looks like it does). This may have led to an unforeseen consequence, though. When I got home and removed the face mask, a significant amount of condensed moisture had pooled in the chin cup. I didn't measure it, but I'd guess I poured out about a quarter cup of water. The filters didn't seem to be wet, so I think they're still OK. I'm not sure whether the condensation is simply due to wearing it for an extended period in cold weather or if the cloth cover contributed by preventing some of the exhaled water vapour from dissipating. More experimentation may be called for...

[disarm]

My wife finally got her booster this morning, but it was only possible because she opted for a 4am appointment at a 24-hour CVS. Opportunities to get a shot outside of usual business hours are very difficult in CT right now due to demand. Fortunately, she felt it was important enough to wake up stupid early, drive to CVS, then come back home for a quickly nap before going back out for work.

[Daehawk]

Today was my big torture test for the GVS SPR644 respirator as well. I kept it on from when I headed until I got home, and it maintained a tight seal and was comfortable for the entire 4-hour adventure, including a 45-minute walk home when I missed my bus on the last leg and didn't feel like waiting a half hour for the next bus.

I wore a cloth mask over the respirator (it fit it almost perfectly) to protect the plastic filter assembly from the cold (-15C when I set out at zero dark hundred) and to avoid having to explain to anyone that no, the respirator does not have an exhalation valve (even though it looks like it does). This may have led to an unforeseen consequence, though. When I got home and removed the face mask, a significant amount of condensed moisture had pooled in the chin cup. I didn't measure it, but I'd guess I poured out about a quarter cup of water. The filters didn't seem to be wet, so I think they're still OK. I'm not sure whether the condensation is simply due to wearing it for an extended period in cold weather or if the cloth cover contributed by preventing some of the exhaled water vapour from dissipating. More experimentation may be called for...

[Max Peck]

The way things are going, the bubble boys will inherit the Earth.

[FishPants]

My trek to the vaccination clinic this morning went smoothly. Unlike my first two shots, where the clinics were running below 50% capacity, this time it was running flat out at 100%. I hope, though, that we're not creating a wave of "breakthrough" infections with the big vaccination push right now, just before the holidays, assuming that it still takes 2 weeks after the shot before it has time to fully take effect. My fear is that there are tens of thousands of people running around acting like they're fully immune for Christmas and New Year's when they're anything but. I guess we'll see.

My sister got her booster today (she's been eligible for weeks........... yes she's in that age category that doesn't do shit when it's just their age, but when all of a sudden the bar drops to the next gate she's out there trying to get her shot.....) and waited for 3-4 hours outside in the cold, and another hour inside to get it. With Omicron these big masses gathering for hours to get a booster can't be good - especially since for this wave it seems the pharmacies are taking this on the chin; the mass vaccine clinics aren't nearly like they were in the summer. My wife and I are feeling very fortunate for being able to walk in Friday morning and get a jab, the lines are crazy now - grocery store pharmacies with lines around the whole inside of the store and wrapping around outside multiple times. Hopefully our 85-90% vax rate will continue and keep this shit out of our hair, another lock down is going to murder the small business economy.

[Daehawk]

The way things are going, the bubble boys will inherit the Earth.

Hey you got that reference. I wasn't sure anyone would since it was the suit and not his living area. But it did show his face. Im old.

[Max Peck]

My sister got her booster today (she's been eligible for weeks........... yes she's in that age category that doesn't do shit when it's just their age, but when all of a sudden the bar drops to the next gate she's out there trying to get her shot.....) and waited for 3-4 hours outside in the cold, and another hour inside to get it. With Omicron these big masses gathering for hours to get a booster can't be good - especially since for this wave it seems the pharmacies are taking this on the chin; the mass vaccine clinics aren't nearly like they were in the summer. My wife and I are feeling very fortunate for being able to walk in Friday morning and get a jab, the lines are crazy now - grocery store pharmacies with lines around the whole inside of the store and wrapping around outside multiple times. Hopefully our 85-90% vax rate will continue and keep this shit out of our hair, another lock down is going to murder the small business economy.

The clinic I attended was a bit better organized than that one sounds. They were admitting people into the building based on appoinment time and the ability to maintain distancing in the indoor queue of people waiting to be processed. When I went through, I was allowed into the building at my scheduled appointment time and it took about 40 minutes to go through the admin stuff, get the shot and wait 15 minutes to see if I had any immediate adverse reaction. I headed out at exactly the time that my friends' appointment was scheduled, and I exchanged (well distanced) pleasantries with them while they were queued up in the lobby, so the clinic was maintaining the scheduled pace for at least the first couple of hours after starting the day. Barring an incident that shut them down for a significant amount of time, the only way anyone would be waiting outside for hours would be if they arrived hours before their appointment time.

Everything about the clinic's physical set-up was based on the OG principle of 2m physical separation. The entry lobby wasn't all that spacious, but the hall where the clinic proper was located was a big open space, so the air circulation was probably good. All of the medical staff and most of the volunteers had medical masks, although a couple of security types only had cloth masks. A random few also had face shields. As for the jabees, there was a mix of cloth masks and disposable masks, with a smattering of N95s of various styles. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the building with an elastomeric respirator, but it's possible that I had some unseen competition for the Taking This Shit Seriously award. So, yeah, if someone attended with an Omicron infection, there would be a non-zero probability of a spreading event, but nothing about the set-up felt inherently unsafe at the time. In an ideal world there would be better decentralization of vaccination capacity, where it was much more common for family doctors to administer shots to their patients and availability at pharmacies was less spotty, for example, but as things stand the mass clinics seem to be doing the heavy lifting.

I don't see Ford doing more than increasing capacity limits, as was announced a couple of days ago. He has an election to win in 2022, and actual closures would be not go over well with his populist base. The only way I see him going so far as actual lockdowns is if the situation escalates wildly out of control, the healthcare system collapses and the bodies start piling up. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Biden administration announced that they are making available 500 million free rapid Covid tests. It sounds like they'll have a website where you can request one, but I think it would be nice if they just sent everyone one. Better than nothing, at least.

[Smoove_B]

Of note:

The 500 million new tests will be made available next month

Made available vs received. It's an important step and it's long overdue. I hope there are plans in place to ramp up production and keep them coming, that's for sure.

[Zaxxon]

Definitely not as awesome as 'everyone getting them automatically,' but it's a big step from where we were checks notes earlier this month, when Psaki was mocking reporters for asking the question, and the 'solution' was to let folks go find them on their own and then ask the insurance which they may or may not have to reimburse them.

[Smoove_B]

It's almost like President Biden spent some time talking to Candidate Biden over the last 48 hours.

[LawBeefaroni]

Biden administration announced that they are making available 500 million free rapid Covid tests. It sounds like they'll have a website where you can request one, but I think it would be nice if they just sent everyone one. Better than nothing, at least.

Just in time for when everyone has already made all their holiday travels. Ticks the box but does nothing.

[Jaymon]

Even though NIOSH N95 are plenty available now, we are still getting KN95, because they come in more colors. I can tell I am getting a good fit, because I don't fog my glasses, ya know. Just ordered another pile, should be enough to last us through spring. We don't go out enough to really burn through the stock, nobody in my house is a one-mask-per-day sort of person. 8 hours of mask time is 2-3 weeks.


But I got a dentist appointment coming up in february, so thats sounding more and more terrifying. and I am not talking about my near crippling fear of the dentist.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I got my first pack on N95's a month or two back but have been only using them in extra crowded situations (e.g., when I went to a UNC basketball game). Are they meant to be single use? Or, if you keep relatively good care of them, can they be used multiple times?

[Smoove_B]

I got my first pack on N95's a month or two back but have been only using them in extra crowded situations (e.g., when I went to a UNC basketball game). Are they meant to be single use? Or, if you keep relatively good care of them, can they be used multiple times?

Most of the N95s I've seen are typically recommended for a ~40 hour use cycle and that's how I've been handling mine. I've seen some people saying they are wearing them indefinitely because they're only putting them on for short periods of time (~30 to 60 minutes while shopping, for example) and they're letting them dry out between use.

I'd say that works but if you have enough and can treat them as disposable it's likely better.

[Defiant]

I got my first pack on N95's a month or two back but have been only using them in extra crowded situations (e.g., when I went to a UNC basketball game). Are they meant to be single use? Or, if you keep relatively good care of them, can they be used multiple times?

My understanding is that N95's are inherently designed to be disposable. There was a study I saw (from maybe a year and a half ago, back when there was a shortage of PPE for healthcare workers, so maybe other studies have been done since then) that said that after two usages, their failure rate goes up significantly - though that was probably after two eight-hour (or twelve hour?) shifts or something.

Some things to consider:
1. Make sure it fits well each time you use it (I know someone who uses duckbill n95s, and he says once he takes it off, he can't get a good fit again, so he uses them once each time).
2. Part of why n95s work well is the electrostatic charge they have. So don't do anything that could affect that (eg, don't wash it between uses or use it in the rain, for example).

[Rumpy]

Well, managed to get an appointment for 2 days from now. I guess that makes it a nice Christmas present in a way.

[Lassr]

Got my Moderna Booster this morning to go with my Pfizer vaccinations. So far I feel fine. About 50% of the people I know said they had aches or just felt crappy after their booster.

[Max Peck]

I got my Moderna booster yesterday morning, and the side effects kicked in for a few hours this morning (fever, chills, body aches). Most of that seems to have passed now, and I'm back to having a slightly sore arm.

[Smoove_B]

I still think it's 7-10 days until your immunity is fully boosted, so remain vigilant! Mask up and stay safe. Happy to hear you were jabbed, at least.

[Daehawk]

My pharmacy said that there was an uptick in people getting flu shots this year. Thats good to hear. I got mine in Oct as usual.

[Kraken]

But I got a dentist appointment coming up in february, so thats sounding more and more terrifying. and I am not talking about my near crippling fear of the dentist.

My first cleaning in over two years is scheduled for Jan. 10, and I'm thinking about canceling if the graph lines are still trending straight up on Jan. 2.

Wife just got word that her office will be going fully remote through January. She was supposed to be going in twice a week, although in practice she only went once every two weeks, so this makes very little difference.