How has the Pandemic affected you as a cancer patient/survivor
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My family and I are homebodies and never socialized much so social distancing is our preferred practice. We hardly ate out before because my husband is a good cook. We eat well at home. Occasionally we get takeout.
Before getting vaccinated, I only went to my medical appointments by car. Now that > 75% of our total population is fully vaccinated, we're back to using public transit (always masked).
I don't know when I'll eat in public indoors or see a movie in a theatre again. It's never been a high priority. I have gone into small shops recently, and everyone wears a mask without any complaints. Last time I walked home from the train station, I removed my outer mask but kept one mask on because it was more comfortable with the cold air. 👍
Buffets: Yuck!
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And now, for bit of ironic humor:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1452656420269268998
I love how she keeps repeating that this is America! Yes, it is but that doesn’t mean you have the freedom to do whatever the heck you want!
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My doctor continues to drive home the point that the most dangerous activities during Covid are indoor dining, movie theaters, indoor churches and other indoor activities. There is still a risk even when vaccinated. If you work in an office, don't eat in the lunchroom or break room. Airplanes are relatively safe, but airports are not. Where people let their guard down is when they remove a mask to eat or drink. My husband and I ate out (outdoor dining only) a few times during the summer, after vaccination and before the Delta variant hit. We are no longer doing that.
Covid is an airborne virus. It's always good to wash your hands, but masks and vaccines will get us out of this pandemic.
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Here's a terrible pick up strategy during COVID times:
Last night my younger daughter was waiting for a bus after class and visiting her older sister. A guy appears wanting to talk. She removes her earbud. He asks her to take off her mask so he can see her face. She gives him her death glare and puts her earbud back.
I asked to be sure she didn't turn her back on him. Don't know why I worried. She has a black belt in jiu jitsu. She had sized him up and was sure she could take him down if necessary. My baby's all growed up!
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SerenitySTAT, you've got a great daughter!
I get nagged by my PCP and now my insurance company to get my eyes checked because it's been over two years. I also haven't seen my dermatologist in ages and probably should. But those are the two doctors who get right up in my face with theirs, and I'm just not comfortable with that.
Hubby and I have been out to eat a handful of times. We only go places that have always had good distance between tables, and keep our masks on except when ordering. If the server comes to our table once we're eating, I hold my mask over my face while they're there. We took a short vacation earlier this month (for my husband's sanity) and had to eat out then, but we picked times when the restaurants weren't busy. It was during the week, so easy to avoid any crowds, and our lodging was a log cabin in a state park, so no lobbies to go through or anyone very close at any time. We ate at their lodge a few times, but always a little early or late from regular meal times, when we could get an out-of-the-way table. What used to be so easy now takes military-style planning, damn it.
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I learned more from the article linked below than from all the talking heads on media. (And coming from Spain and not the USA, it doesn't reek of politics.) It has great illustrations that show why indoors is risky, especially indoors where people go without masks. The problem is that tiny aerosols of virus accumulate in the air, hanging around and drifting, remaining even when people have left the room. Distance may protect you from large droplets when someone coughs, laughs, etc. but it doesn't protect you from the aerosols. Going into that room even when others have left it is a risk. Outdoors the particles disperse. This is why ventilation is important.
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serenitystat, maybe I don’t understand the encounter your daughter had with the guy but it strikes me as totally douchey. Maybe he had some clever pick up line planned but yuk. Good thing she’s got skills and good sense.
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My DD got us tickets to see the Bond movie "Never say Die" before its official release for a 10:45 PM showing at the IMAX. There was virtually 20 people in this huge theater and all were masked. We made sure we sat in the last row (it was an upper one so viewing was great) and there was no onw tihin 12 feet of us in any direction. Few were eating or drinking so that was a boon. The movie was great and at least for a 2 hour window, we almost felt human again with an outing. We have not eaten in a restaurant since March of 2020 (that was in Greece pre-pandemic shutdown) and do not attend large gatherings. So far our pod is just family.
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Alice - I have 2 great daughters! Rather than the death stare, the older one has a devastating eye roll. 😁
ShetlandPony - Ventilation is a critical NPI especially in schools. I wish our province would make schools safer. On the train I try to sit near the doors. At the hospital I have waited outside to minimize my indoor time. My MO has been great at seeing me soon after my blood draw.
illimae - I don't think the guy understood how douchey he was. My kids unfortunately have too much experience getting catcalled pre-pandemic. Their creep radar is always on.
Betrayal - I think our movie theatres would have more people than yours did. I only went maybe once a year before, so no big loss.
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Wrenn- At least the plumbers were vaccinated and masked. How uncomfortable for you to feel unsafe in your own home. I hope they got everything they needed to get done today.
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SerenitySTAT: I think because it is an IMAX and therefore more costly than a regular movie theater plus it was a 10:45 PM show that the attendance was so low. This was a day before the movie was officially released so most would rather wait. I am glad that we got to see it on the larger screen and it was action packed. Nice reprieve from Netflix only for the past year.
I applaud your daughter's actions and it did provide with a laugh accompanied by an "atta girl". Love that each daughter has developed her own special decimation look.
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Alice-I ask if the dentist, optometrist, dermatologist etc has been vaxxed. If they refuse to have someone call to let me know or when the answer is No, I left them know I'm changing Drs. I don't want a Dr who picks & chooses what science to believe.
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Betrayal - You chose a good movie to watch on IMAX. My daughter is quick on her feet. 👍
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Nopink, I'll definitely ask, but with Delta, even vaxxed doesn't mean safe.
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Someone in our office has tested positive. If I were to guess it was probably the one that was hacking yesterday. I was not in close contact. Why did they even come to work when not feeling well? I will never understand this!!!!!! Especially now with all the remote access available. I should be OK, but I am set to visit two good friends this evening, one of whom is in the beginning of a cancer diagnosis. I feel like I still need to alert them and let them choose if they want to be near me or not. I made them food, suppose I could just drop it off, visit outdoors, or indoors with a mask. Nothing is going to be normal anymore.
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COVID is airborne. The virus can linger in the air for hours even when the infected person has left the room. If the person was in the office all day, the whole office has been exposed.
If I were you, I would skip the visit with the friends tonight. You were exposed. Don't expose your friends. Assume you're infectious even without symptoms. If more people were careful, we wouldn't be in this mess.
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I can't remember where I read it, but there was case found where the Delta variant was transmitted outdoors as an infected person walked past another person.
Why take the risk if you've been exposed? Especially with a friend who is vulnerable.
ETA: I don't mean to be harsh. You will likely be fine since you're vaccinated and not in active treatment. Your friend is at the beginning of hers. Any exposure could at the least delay treatment.
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Well, thanks gals. I scheduled a test for this afternoon. I don't think it's the rapid one as it says results 1-2 days. I'd rather know if it's in my head that I don't feel that great, or not. It could just be stress. This positive person was at the fishbowl table for hours with others all afternoon. Even though I wasn't around her, the others that were around her were around me. So, I'll text my friend and see if her husband can come outside and I can least drop off the food I made. I don't think it is contagious. I will also have to call my sister (mbc patient) and cancel with her for tomorrow. Her Godmother (our mother's best friend) passed and we were going to attend her funeral Mass. I may also work remotely tomorrow for my own sanity. I do feel like there is more than 1 sicko in here. I am vaccinated. Here's my employers covid response:
If you have been exposed but are vaccinated and not symptomatic, no further action is necessary. Please monitor for any symptoms that may develop.
If you have been exposed and are NOT vaccinated – whether you are symptomatic or not – you should get tested. If test is negative, resume normal activity. If test is positive, follow isolation protocol.
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I wish your employer encouraged people to work remotely if possible to prevent more cases at your office. Fewer sick employees => more productive employees.
If infected and vaccinated, you're infectious for a shorter period of time than someone infected and unvaccinated. You're also less likely to suffer from severe symptoms.
It's a good plan to avoid your sister and the funeral before you're sure you're not infectious. I'm sorry for your loss.
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Ctmbsikia,
Testing too soon after a possible exposure can lead to false negative results. My county health department recommends waiting 3 to 5 days after exposure before getting tested and allowing the virus load to build for detection.
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HersheyKiss brings up a good reminder of the limitations of testing. Also, if you feel other co-workers may be sick with COVID, then you've been exposed again today.
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Hershey I thought of that and proceeded anyway since this person was in the office everyday this week. Next time I'll wait, and wait until I'm sure I'm symptomatic. That's what's so hard with this virus, you could be walking around with it and not know.
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The one time I was exposed (about a year ago), I quarantined for 3 days before getting tested, then another 48 hrs. till the results came back negative.
We're all triple-vaxed (DH, DS, his fiancee, our HK and her DH), and Chicago's metrics are still pretty low (transmission level is "substantial," down from "high" and positivity rate is 1.6%) so we feel comfortable dining indoors in restaurants we know that take precautions. All of IL (except Elk Grove Village, whose renegade mayor thinks urging vaccinations is enough and mask-wearing should be a "choice") is still under indoor-public-spaces mask mandate. We wear our masks when not sctively eating & drinking--and put them back on when a server approaches.
But we're skipping Halloween this year. Enough houses on our double block will be handing out candy that they don't need us. At most we'll just periodically strew candy on the porch till it's gone, turn off the light, reload, lather, rinse, repeat till we run completely out. Halloween is an exhausting holiday (though it was worse when we had cats that were potential escape artists--our current two know how good they have it indoors and have no inclination to prowl). Only Yom Kippur is less pleasant for me, IMHO.
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The State Senator in Florida who refused to meet with the Florida Surgeon General because he would not wear a mask was on Anderson Cooper tonight. She has been diagnosed with stage 1 BC, and she just started radiation. The Surgeon General said that he did not feel comfortable talking while he was wearing a mask. He offered to meet with her outside without a mask, under the assumption it was safer, or he offered to talk to her while standing in the hall way right outside her office, and she refused both of those options. This story popped up on Fox News, and nothing was mentioned about the fact that she was dealing with breast cancer, and she was portrayed as being unreasonable, and she has received a few death threats since then.
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It was just on the news that the country singer Travis Tritt has cancelled a few concerts because the venue holding them required people to be fully vaxxed or present a negative COVID test, and wear a mask. He said he is not antivax, and he is vaccinated himself, but he is anti mandates
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Working from home today. I hate being overly paranoid but thanks to being old and already having bc, and other issues, it is what it is. My nose is running more than usual. It's probably just the seasonal cold. Mild, feeling fine otherwise. I have much less anxiety not being around anyone. I was never like this. Being a widow now I am getting used to being alone and it's not as scary as I feared.
Have a happy and safe Halloween. Was invited to a happy hour later which I will also cancel. No big plans for the weekend, so no more cancellations to do!! Just going to chill and hang with myself! LOL
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Peaches, didn't anti mandate Travis Truth just create a mandate himself?!
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Covid: Double vaccinated can still spread virus at home https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59077036
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Princess buttercup, I just read that yesterday and was a little surprised as I had thought that the difference would be greater. I still consider vaccinated friends safer (if they are still using precautions) but not safe enough to let my guard down. And now talk about a 4th booster, this delta variant is such a beast.
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Illimae,
I will only visit outdoors with a vaccinated and masked friend. Many layers of caution here in our house, because my husband has Multiple Myeloma. He’s received his third full dose of Moderna, and will hopefully get a fourth dose at some point.
So we just don’t consider anyone safe if they’re not in our bubble. I stopped going to one doctor who doesn’t require his office to be masked. There’s just no way.
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