Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #107

[WichitaFalls]

The urgent care center I went to this morning has you call from your car in the parking lot. They check you in over the phone and take your info. You email them a copy of your insurance card later. Then they call you to come in when your room is ready. You must wear a mask. All for show though. Doctor clearly knew I was there with Covid and her blue surgical mask was sitting under her nose the whole time she was with me. What? The nurse and x-ray tech were wearing homemade cloth masks. Another doctor I know there was sitting behind the hallway desk with NO mask, along with 2 other employees. SMDH.

This is so disconcerting. There is such a huge disconnect between the advice we hear night and day and actual practice.

 

[155etta]

That is berserk!

There are very few places in NYC that have a parking lot, the way strip malls do. My sister in the New Jersey suburbs does what you do, waits in the car until it's her turn, but we don't often have that option. I found a parking spot by the doctor today, but as anyone else here from NYC can tell you, that requires circling around forever until someone pulls out. Also that alternate-side parking rules are done for the day.

For the personnel in your urgent care center to be so blasé about obeying rules that keep them safe, and of course the patients safe as well, is just sickening. I had that problem with an urgent care here, and in NYC we have very strict mandates about indoor mask-wearing. Often ignored, though, and it's particularly egregious when it's a health care facility.

I have called the city hotline to lodge complaints, but nothing changes. I don't know if you'd want to, but maybe in your city there's a place to lodge a formal complaint, as well. And hopefully another urgent care that you can visit instead.

Yes, a new facility is on my radar. As far as lodging a complaint, I won't waste my time. Our town has made the news a few times during the pandemic for various reasons. Protesters shouting outside of a city council meeting about mask mandates was one of them. Council backed down and there has never been a mask mandate here. Being the hot spot in the nation for Covid was another. Surprise, surprise.

 

[Cool Cats]

'Just wear a mask and don't tell anyone': Workplaces are filling up with sick employees

Maria Bernal, an employee at a Jack in the Box in Folsom, Calif., couldn’t read the orders popping up on her screen. Her vision was blurry, her hands shook from chills and her head felt heavy.

A pharmacist told her she probably had COVID-19. When she told her boss, the manager told Bernal to keep working.

“Don’t worry, everyone has it, you can still work. Just wear a mask and don’t tell anyone,” the manager said, according to a Jan. 14 complaint Bernal filed with Sacramento County’s public health department.

Two-thirds of service workers surveyed in the months leading up to the Omicron surge said they did not stay home when they were feeling sick and went to work ill.

A child-care provider at a facility in Las Vegas was told to come to work even after reporting to her boss she had been exposed to the virus and wasn't feeling well, according to screenshots of text messages reviewed by The Times. The facility was short-staffed, and its director believed the worker, who is vaccinated, was well-protected.

The worker got a PCR test and went to work. After her shift, she was able to find a rapid test. The result was positive.

When she returned to work a few days later, the message from management was to not talk about what happened. “They said, ‘We didn’t let anyone know about your situation. You’re fine now, you can just work.'"

In California, officials took a further step to battle shortages of healthcare workers as intensive care units filled up with COVID-19 patients. A policy change allows healthcare workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus but don't have any symptoms to return to work immediately. And at facilities with the most severe staffing shortages, symptomatic staff are allowed to work with COVID patients.

 

[WichitaFalls]

'Just wear a mask and don't tell anyone': Workplaces are filling up with sick employees

Maria Bernal, an employee at a Jack in the Box in Folsom, Calif., couldn’t read the orders popping up on her screen. Her vision was blurry, her hands shook from chills and her head felt heavy.

A pharmacist told her she probably had COVID-19. When she told her boss, the manager told Bernal to keep working.

“Don’t worry, everyone has it, you can still work. Just wear a mask and don’t tell anyone,” the manager said, according to a Jan. 14 complaint Bernal filed with Sacramento County’s public health department.

Two-thirds of service workers surveyed in the months leading up to the Omicron surge said they did not stay home when they were feeling sick and went to work ill.

A child-care provider at a facility in Las Vegas was told to come to work even after reporting to her boss she had been exposed to the virus and wasn't feeling well, according to screenshots of text messages reviewed by The Times. The facility was short-staffed, and its director believed the worker, who is vaccinated, was well-protected.

The worker got a PCR test and went to work. After her shift, she was able to find a rapid test. The result was positive.

When she returned to work a few days later, the message from management was to not talk about what happened. “They said, ‘We didn’t let anyone know about your situation. You’re fine now, you can just work.'"

In California, officials took a further step to battle shortages of healthcare workers as intensive care units filled up with COVID-19 patients. A policy change allows healthcare workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus but don't have any symptoms to return to work immediately. And at facilities with the most severe staffing shortages, symptomatic staff are allowed to work with COVID patients.

My great niece works in a local chain restaurant and had the same experience. She was sick with COVID (tested positive) and told she still had to do her shift. You could not pay me to dine in a restaurant now. If they don't do contactless delivery I can live without it. So many examples of irresponsible behavior doesn't lend to much optimism on my part. MOO.

 

[Lilibet]

@Arkay is the Pulmonary place too far for an Uber to be affordable? We had to take it several times when we flew to CA for a medical appointment (no public transportation nearby). The drivers have to wear masks (in CA) and have to refuse riders without masks. But if you have to make frequent trips it might not be a good option. Did you complain to the doctor about the poor mask wearing of his employees? I’m not one to rock the boat, but I’m getting pretty assertive about this.

 

[cujenn81]

Day 7 since my positive home test. Ventured out to an Urgent Care facility because cough is not getting better, keeping me up at night, and I've coughed up a small amount of blood the last two mornings. Fever was also up a bit this morning. I'm also coughing up greenish/yellow sticky stuff and blowing it out my nose. Sorry if TMI. Chest X-ray confirmed clear lungs, so that's good. Dr. said I probably have a secondary sinus infection. I was given a steriod shot in the hip, amoxicillin, and a prescription for benzonatate- small, clear capsules for cough. I told her my husband, positive home test 18 days ago, was still coughing as well. She said it really hangs on for some people. I guess we're some people. Sigh. When I mentioned the extremely itchy eyes, she said that was probably allergies. Wonderful. So Covid, sinus infection, AND allergies. I'd hate to see how it would have been if we hadn't been double vaxxed and boosted.

I really hate that you’re still feeling crummy. Those benzonatate capsules work WONDERS for me, so I hope they do the same for you!

 

[jakat]

I tested positive for covid today. I've had it for 9 days. After the first two days I felt horrible. Because I couldn't find a test anywhere, I went to the local Walgreens and had a pcr test done. I'm still waiting for the rapid tests to come in the mail.

What's strange is my son was with me last week. He had covid two days after Christmas and so did my daughter-in-law. They finally tested negative, however, after being with me for a week, my son started to feel sick all over again with covid symptoms.

We're fully vaccinated with boosters. Moderna.

 

[WichitaFalls]

I tested positive for covid today. I've had it for 9 days. After the first two days I felt horrible. Because I couldn't find a test anywhere, I went to the local Walgreens and had a pcr test done. I'm still waiting for the rapid tests to come in the mail.

What's strange is my son was with me last week. He had covid two days after Christmas and so did my daughter-in-law. They finally tested negative, however, after being with me for a week, my son started to feel sick all over again with covid symptoms.

We're fully vaccinated with boosters. Moderna.

Oh dear. I hope you're getting treatment.

I've heard that if a person has had Omicron, they can still immediately afterwards get the new version of Omicron. I wonder if this is happening with your son?

 

[Arkay]

@Arkay is the Pulmonary place too far for an Uber to be affordable? We had to take it several times when we flew to CA for a medical appointment (no public transportation nearby). The drivers have to wear masks (in CA) and have to refuse riders without masks. But if you have to make frequent trips it might not be a good option. Did you complain to the doctor about the poor mask wearing of his employees? I’m not one to rock the boat, but I’m getting pretty assertive about this.

Thank you, @Lilibet, it's a good suggestion but with Uber it's $50 each way and I don't yet know how frequently I'd have to go. The subway is $2.75 each way but I absolutely do not want to get on a train yet.

I'm like you, I don't like to rock the boat either, but after two years of this I find I'm complaining out loud a lot more. My doctor, a good guy with a sterling reputation whom I've always liked, actually got very testy with me because I did complain to him. I mentioned, somewhat meekly, that I was concerned because I didn't see everyone in a mask, and particularly that the respiratory therapist who would conduct my pulmonary function test was only chin-masked. That caused my usually even-keeled Doctor to scold me that he is a pulmonary specialist, that his office is in order, that as a pulmonologist he's seen a million cases of Covid, and that his office is not a Covid hotbed.

I'm still so aggravated from all this. That was also when he told me I didn't need to do the pulmonary function test, for the first time ever, and also directed me to get my CT scan at his hospital program for pulmonary studies instead of my local radiology center.

That's why I am seriously considering if it's time to look elsewhere.

My eldest granddaughter who is 17 is on the subway a lot, and I often pay for an Uber for her. She does wear her mask, or at least she tells me she does, and when I'm with her I make her wear her mask even though I took her for all three Moderna shots. I trust her, mostly, but I do not trust whomever else is on the subway or has ridden in the Uber before her.

I took a book to read while at the doctor's office, and I actually wiped it down with Lysol wipes when I got home. That's how much I feel that his office may be teeming with Covid.

ETA: unfortunately, so many of my fellow posters have Covid now or have family with Covid. I don't remember everyone's names at the moment, but my sincere wishes for a speedy recovery for all my peeps here! I'm sort of expecting to get it eventually; it seems inevitable if we are the only ones in our environments who are following the rules.

 

[Sundog]

When I ordered my free covid tests at the government website, I also logged on and ordered some for an elderly friend of ours. Today he received his tests in the mail, they are Abbott BinaxNOW self-test kits, 2 boxes with 2 tests per kit. The expiration date is November 21, 2022.

We live 10 miles away, but haven't received ours yet. He lives in a small town with a post office that knows everyone on their route and in the post office when you go inside. So I am wondering if some of the post offices are able to get the tests out faster, and if others have piles of the tests sitting in the building somewhere, waiting to be processed for delivery. This must be a lot of extra work for the mail delivery folks.

Edited to correct that I meant to say self test kits, not masks. Sorry.

 

[Sundog]

I tested positive for covid today. I've had it for 9 days. After the first two days I felt horrible. Because I couldn't find a test anywhere, I went to the local Walgreens and had a pcr test done. I'm still waiting for the rapid tests to come in the mail.

What's strange is my son was with me last week. He had covid two days after Christmas and so did my daughter-in-law. They finally tested negative, however, after being with me for a week, my son started to feel sick all over again with covid symptoms.

We're fully vaccinated with boosters. Moderna.

At Christmas-time, the delta variant was still circulating, so maybe he had the delta variant then, and now has the omicron variant. I hope you are feeling better soon, and that your son has only mild symptoms and recovers quickly.

 

[Simply Southern]

When I ordered my free masks at the government website, I also logged on and ordered masks for an elderly friend of ours. Today he received his masks in the mail, they are Abbott BinaxNOW self-test kits, 2 boxes with 2 tests per kit. The expiration date is November 21, 2022.

We live 10 miles away, but haven't received ours yet. He lives in a small town with a post office that knows everyone on their route and in the post office when you go inside. So I am wondering if some of the post offices are able to get the masks out faster, and if others have piles of the masks sitting in the building somewhere, waiting to be processed for delivery. This must be a lot of extra work for the mail delivery folks.

Can you share the website for mask? I'm trying to round up free ones for some former patients.

Our HD has no information on the free mask. Walgreens and CVD managers and pharmacist are friends, neither have heard one word on free mask. Spoke to the federally funded community clinic and they were NOT on the first list sent out to receive mask.

Still no test kits or emails they were shipped.
Moo

 

[WichitaFalls]

Can you share the website for mask? I'm trying to round up free ones for some former patients.

Our HD has no information on the free mask. Walgreens and CVD managers and pharmacist are friends, neither have heard one word on free mask. Spoke to the federally funded community clinic and they were NOT on the first list sent out to receive mask.

Still no test kits or emails they were shipped.
Moo

Free N95 masks are arriving at pharmacies and grocery stores. Here's how to get yours

Free N95 masks are arriving at pharmacies and grocery stores. Here's how to get yours

 

[Cool Cats]

An unvaccinated Sarah Palin being allowed to dine indoors is part of cultural phenomenon

On Monday, the manager of Elio's, an Italian restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side, confirmed that former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin ate indoors there Saturday night — two days before she tested positive for Covid-19.

The restaurant allowed Palin, who is unvaccinated, to dine in violation of New York City's regulation requiring anyone who eats indoors to show proof of vaccination.

It's not clear whether Palin knew she was infected. But even if she didn't, it's especially egregious that, after choosing not to get vaccinated, she chose to go maskless in an indoor venue.

In a statement, manager Luca Guaitolini, who said he was not working Saturday night, said the restaurant believes in and enforces the vaccine mandate. He described the event in a statement as an "isolated incident — and unfortunate oversight."

He told The New York Times that Palin was dining with a regular patron and that although the restaurant checks first-time customers, it doesn't check its regulars. He also told the Times that the restaurant was "trying to get to the bottom" of what happened.

But Elio's should nevertheless be fined by the city for not enforcing the regulation and allowing the unvaccinated Palin to dine indoors. Doing so would send an important signal that no one is exempt from the rules — even if they are celebrities and have lots of Twitter followers. It's a message many people in our society need to hear right now.

 

[Sundog]

Can you share the website for mask? I'm trying to round up free ones for some former patients.

Our HD has no information on the free mask. Walgreens and CVD managers and pharmacist are friends, neither have heard one word on free mask. Spoke to the federally funded community clinic and they were NOT on the first list sent out to receive mask.

Still no test kits or emails they were shipped.
Moo

I just edited my earlier post about our elderly friend receiving his Abbott test kits from the government. I meant to say tests, but I wrote "masks." Sorry about that. I have corrected the earlier post. There aren't websites that I know of where you can order masks.

When I went to get groceries yesterday at Krogers, I saw that there was no line at the pharmacy, so I went over and asked them if they had any government masks for distribution, the N95s. They said no, they haven't received them yet, as far as they knew, only Meijer's in our community has received them. They said they had no idea when or if they would receive them.

The Meijer's store in our area has a lot of college students who shop there, and most of them don't wear masks, talk and laugh loudly in groups when shopping, and many are asymptomatic when they get covid, so they don't know, but they can still spread it. So I don't shop there since covid, so won't be going there to get 3 free N95 masks that they are distributing.

I might call our pharmacist at Walgreen's tomorrow and ask her if she has received any and is distributing them at her pharmacy. She would give them to customers at the pharmacy drive-through if she had them. Safer for her, and for the customer.

 

[LaborDayRN]

@Arkay is the Pulmonary place too far for an Uber to be affordable? We had to take it several times when we flew to CA for a medical appointment (no public transportation nearby). The drivers have to wear masks (in CA) and have to refuse riders without masks. But if you have to make frequent trips it might not be a good option. Did you complain to the doctor about the poor mask wearing of his employees? I’m not one to rock the boat, but I’m getting pretty assertive about this.

Uber or Lyft is a great idea if it's feasible.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Our care provider called our home this afternoon and spoke with my husband. They discussed a monoclonal antibody infusion with him. He's agreed to it but we haven't gotten the appointment time yet.

 

[musicaljoke]

New Research Hints at 4 Factors That May Increase Chances of Long Covid

DEFINE_ME

One of the four factors researchers identified is the level of coronavirus RNA in the blood early in the infection, an indicator of viral load. Another is the presence of certain autoantibodies — antibodies that mistakenly attack tissues in the body as they do in conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. A third factor is the reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus, a virus that infects most people, often when they are young, and then usually becomes dormant.

The final factor is having Type 2 diabetes, although the researchers and other experts said that in studies involving larger numbers of patients, it might turn out that diabetes is only one of several medical conditions that increase the risk of long Covid.

 

[CrimeAway]

Is there a main mod for this thread? I have a question. Thanks

 

[jjenny]

Our care provider called our home this afternoon and spoke with my husband. They discussed a monoclonal antibody infusion with him. He's agreed to it but we haven't gotten the appointment time yet.

That's great. Try to do it as soon as possible, as those treatments work best early on in the course of the disease.