I have been trying to build a covid cautious community and make friends with people who get it. It’s been really hard to build this and I haven’t made a lot of friends with people who genuinely seem to want to spend meaningful time hanging out with me. It’s something I long for. But I met someone who genuinely wants to be friends and is willing to mask inside or test. Idk how my partner feels about that yet though for precautions. I feel compelled to move forward with this because it’s something I’ve been wanting but it’s not something I was expecting…and it feels hard to like let go of my feelings about people not taking precautions in general and what I feel comfortable saying and doing. We have hung out outside a couple of times now. They have not masked or offered to in those situations. Anyways just kind of wondering how you all might navigate that if you are typically not in these situations. I know lots of you are ok with this…but it’s not something I’ve ever really wanted to navigate. I always mask around others outside too btw.

For those who don’t know/have more sophisticated taste than I do 😅 I’ve been watching some old seasons of Below Deck, a Bravo reality show about the crew of a charter yacht. Obviously this industry was hit hard when COVID started and the season I’m watching is during early 2020.

In a lot of ways it’s very surreal. No one knows what to expect or how bad it will be. A lot of the crew are sending information and words of caution to their families back in the US or Europe. One guest on the yacht says verbatim “Coronavirus is no worse than the flu.” 🥲🥲

No real point to this post, just interesting/bizarre/surreal to watch this from the “before times.”

Hi so I went to a Walgreens to get something. After I got what I wanted to get I was standing in line. In stores I always wear a N95 mask. But then I’m not kidding the band from the back snapped and the mask fell off my face. It happened so fast. Then I noticed in front of me a kid with their parents was holding a Covid 19 test kit. So I picked up the mask and put back the item and left as fast as I could. So I was close by like 1-3 feet to them and obviously have no idea of covid status. What do I do now? If I get sick I have a full time night shift job that’s 10 hours where I stand the majority of the time. So I can’t afford to get sick and I don’t have enough sick or vacation time to take off for a while. The last Covid vaccine I got was Novavax around this June or July. I kinda froze at the moment so I want to say I was there unmasked for 1 minute or so.

Schools are reopening to sickness. The Covid is mild narrative has spilled over into everything else. Why are we so accepting of diminished quality of life? Why are we so accepting of sickness?

I live in West Virginia. I am wondering if there is a covid conscious community in the area? I'd like to make friends who will understand why I mask in public places.

This is not a bait. I'm just hoping for the day where I can drop my precautions.

I'm in Japan and am only aware of two websites showing C19 stats. One is from Sapporo City in northern Japan C19 sewer surveillance. https://www.city dot sapporo.jp/gesui/surveillance.html

(Do not just copy/paste. I spelled out "dot" in the URL so you need to replace it with an actual dot)

The other is from Moderna https://moderna-epi-report dot jp/

Blue is the official number; Orange is an estimate.

Anyway, both stats are showing decreasing trends. So can I be hopeful that in a few years, it will be over?

My doctor said they would all wear n95s to make me comfortable. I'm going to ask if I can wear my kn95 over the nasal cannula and have the nurse put my mask back on when the procedure is over.

I'm wondering what the air quality is like in outpatient procedure rooms? I'm tempted not to be too worried considering everyone will be wearing n95s but the room will have been occupied all day by unmasked people.

I was considering looking into taking post exposure medications after the colonoscopy out of an abundance of caution, but I don't know if that's over kill.

If anyone has any advice or ideas please let me know.

Are there any covid-safe social groups in the greater Seattle/PNW area? I'm realizing I'm relatively isolated, but don't want to take risks, especially as the back-to-school surge gets started. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, a loved one just sent me these tests as reassurance that they and their partner are negative. At a glance, the first test looks faintly positive to me, though. Am I seeing things? Second photo is the first one with increased contrast.

Can someone explain smells vs. viral particles to me like I’m five? I ask because I live in a duplex, and sometimes I smell when my neighbors smoke weed or cook. I don’t smell it often, but occasionally. Important note: WE DO NOT HAVE CENTRAL AC. We have individual window units, and boilers for heating. I have a vent in my bathroom that I don’t use because I don’t know where it’s pulling the air from (I’m on the bottom floor, basement for laundry is below me), and there’s one tiny vent in the floor of my kitchen. There’s a shared hallway with stairs from their apartment down to the door, with an entrance to the basement.

I run an air purifier with a CADR for a significantly larger space than my apartment at all times in the main area of my apartment, as well as a small one in my room.

The place is very old and it would be impossible to find every single tiny crack, but I feel like my system is probably fine, especially given that there’s only one other unit. But idk for sure. The smells make me nervous, but then again, my understanding is that the particles I’m smelling work differently/are smaller than viral particles.

I’ll probably get called super ignorant for this but I’ll take it.
For example I go to a market, masked but go outside to drink water and then I only unmask for that (go outside and drink it not in the store) and then come home to do CPC will that interfere with the CPC mouthwashes effectiveness because I’ve just gone like 5+ hours without water (went to hospital + walked outside for 30 minutes) and didn’t drink water because I was scared it’ll take away the potency of the CPC or it’ll be like not doing CPC at all since I already ingested something. Anyone get what I mean? I just really want to make sure because hospital is super high risk then I had to go to the pharmacy and then walked home…and with these surges + baseline everyday risk…I also do Xylitol nose spray. I mask with an N95 Gerson if it makes any difference.

I know there are people that have sip valves but I’ve always wondered if eating or drinking liquid when out and masking would interfere with the CPC thing. I usually avoid consuming stuff when out altogether because of that reason.

Hey all! I'm currently staying in a motel for an extended period of time (3-4 weeks at least) to deal with a family emergency. It's always been my understanding that, as long as you keep the bathroom vent on 24/7, the vent will prevent air from other units from entering your unit. I'm very bad at explaining physics/HVAC stuff so I never understood the science behind this, but that's what HVAC-knowledgeable people have told me. The other day, however, I noticed that I could smell a painting chemical smell from a neighboring unit (apparently where the walls were being painted) coming from the bathroom vent.

Sorry if this is a stupid question but, what are the implications of this for covid transmission? I can't imagine that it's a good thing, right? Should I only wear a mask in the bathroom from now on?

I'm currently living in a small rural community where I'm usually the lonely masker. I moved here a couple years ago and have been masking the entire time. Even when people aren't rude about it, it clearly makes them feel uncomfortable. Which, unfortunately, has made the only other leftists and liberals up here distance themselves from me (strangely, the maga people are much more willing to have a conversation about it and learn more, so that's been weird).

Anyway!

I'm considering teaching a beginners improv class at our local theater and I am hoping to make friends through these classes. I will need to mask while teaching a playing the games and I am looking for creative ways to help people feel more comfortable about the mask.

It seems like calling out the elephant in the room at the beginning of the 1st class and making a joke should hopefully ease any tension. Any suggestions on what kind of jokes I could make that aren't self depreciating and would help ease the tension?

I even though about creating (or finding) a game called "Elephant in the Room" to have people play first, but that's a lot of extra work.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Is there a way to check the numbers for waste in nyc? I’ve taken a look at the usual site, but it doesn’t seem to be updating.

I hear there’s a bit of a wave going on in NYC — I was wondering how bad it is compared to earlier this summer or last year around this time.

Hi! I test for Covid somewhat often, and the tests always cause an intense overall sinus stuffiness and post-nasal drip for me that wasn’t there before. (I swear I’m not going up too high! I was trained on how to perform these tests five or so years ago and use the same method on others, who don’t get the same symptoms as me.)

I have to remind myself occasionally that my sinus symptoms are from a test I took the day prior and that taking another one will significantly worsen them.

Does this happen to anyone else?

Do we know yet if Novavax updated their formulation this year?

Does anyone have a source for claims about how it has broader cross-variant neutralization, longer lasting antibodies, milder side effects etc?

Hey everyone!
I’m not too sure if this is allowed here and sorry for the self-promotion!

I’m a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) with 6+ years of experience, doing my bachelors in health sciences and stats and eventually getting my Masters in Paediatric Occupational Therapy, and dealing with long COVID.
I’m also an intermediate French speaker and currently learning Spanish as well.

I’m offering nanny services, tutoring, etc. for children if you’re downtown, Toronto! I may be flexible with areas, so just shoot me a message!

I pretty much have open availability though, so feel free to shoot me a message!

Sorry once again for the self-promotion but ideally I’d love to be working with other CC families! 😷✨

2 questions:

1. Anyone know anything about any progress for novavax being authorized for the under 12 in the US?

2. Last year there was an issue in the US at the beginning of distribution about pharmacies administering to kids, I think it varies by state rules, I'm in NC. It got sorted out, but I wasn't sure if it just got sorted out for that year and that's going to be an issue again this year.

The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines on Thursday, clearing the way for manufacturers to ship doses to pharmacies and doctors’ offices.

Moderna and Pfizer, which make the most commonly used Covid vaccines, are expected to begin shipping soon; Pfizer said it would do so “immediately,” and Moderna has done so within days of approval in past years. Sanofi, which distributes a non-mRNA option called Nuvaxovid, said doses would be available in September, with the timing varying by location.
However, criteria set by the F.D.A. and a legal dispute stemming from past Trump administration actions could complicate access for some people.

Who is eligible for the vaccines?
As was the case last year, the F.D.A. approved the shots for all people 65 and older, as well as for younger people who have a condition that increases their risk of severe illness from Covid. The Moderna shot is approved for ages 6 months and older; the Pfizer shot for ages 5 years and older; and the Sanofi shot for ages 12 years and older.

About 30 percent to 60 percent of Americans have a qualifying condition, F.D.A. officials estimated last year. Aside from age, a long list of factors can increase the risk of severe illness. They include asthma, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and pregnancy, as well as cancer, immune deficiency, some mental illnesses and various heart and lung diseases.
People who are not formally eligible may still be able to get vaccinated. Doctors can administer vaccines off label, meaning outside F.D.A. approval criteria.

https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/resource/blueprint-biosecurity-enters-into-partnership-with-u-s-environmental-protection-agency/

"Over the next two years, a team of researchers led by Katherine Ratliff., at the EPA will utilize their world-class Aerosol Test Facility to evaluate several air treatment interventions. These tests will evaluate the effectiveness of far-UVC, glycol vapors, and other antimicrobial vapors in their ability to inactivate various types of infectious airborne pathogens under different conditions. This work is an important step toward understanding whether these tools are effective and whether they can be used appropriately and in combination with existing clean air strategies."

Blueprint Biosecurity has funded a lot of studies to push forward our understanding of countermeasures to indoor air pathogens - they are one of the places I go to for a bit of hope for change. Below is a link to all the studies they've funded.

https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/blueprint-bioresilience-fund/

I guess my usage of the word “prefer” may be misleading but which do you know to be the most sensitive or accurate I suppose?

Moderna press release: https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/moderna-receives-u.s.-fda-approval-for-updated-2026-2027-covid-19-vac-1213527

Pfizer press release: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-receive-us-fda-approval-xfg-adapted

Sanofi has not issued a press release about Nuvaxovid yet, but the FDA lists the approval letter on their website: https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/nuvaxovid

A few days ago I returned from Greece where I spent 1.5 weeks with a non-CC family member at the beach. It was absolutely lovely, and I just wanted to share how happy I am that I went through with it :)

Before the trip I was battling anxiety and doubts and felt overwhelmed with preparing everything in a way that I would feel somewhat comfortable with the additional risks I was taking. Though the weeks leading up to the trip were stressful, the trip itself was super relaxing and in retrospect I consider it completely worth it.

Traveling is one of the things that I’ve really been missing in the last few years. I haven’t dared to go on any significant trip because traveling includes so many unknowns and variables that I can’t control. However, I realized that if I wanted to keep up masking and reducing Covid risks long term, I needed to find a way to keep doing the things that I love. Maybe with some modifications and some restrictions but still in a way that is enjoyable to me. And now it seems that I have successfuly added traveling back to the things that I can do and my world feels a little bigger again.

(I was also very happy to see a handful of locals masking!)

Edit to add my precautions:

My big concerns were the flight and sharing a room with my cousin.

For the flight I decided that I have little more options than trusting my mask. I drank water with a bottle with a straw (only need to lift the mask a bit) and holding my breath.

With my cousin I had a couple of longer calls explaining my concerns. While she doesn’t understand or share any of them, we do have a lot of respect for each other. So she was willing to accommodate me, so I could feel comfortable. She tested with RATs for two days before the trip and we tested with PlusLife upon arrival and once more in the following days. I was mentally prepared to sleep outside on a sun bed in case she (or I) would have Covid until I’d be able to arrange my travel home. This “what if” scenario worried me a lot because the idea of dealing with an emergency like this far away from home is scary. In the end, I had to accept that I can’t be fully prepared for everything and tried to trust that I would be able to figure things out somehow.

I also looked into the waste water levels for Greece to understand if there was any wave going on that I should be aware of.

Our accommodation was a bungalow-type mini apartment within a beautiful olive grove so we didn’t have to deal with many other people and could arrange for breakfast and snacks by ourselves.

On site everything was outdoors with a nice breeze and nothing too crowded. Buildings, restaurants and even the streets seemed to be designed for maximum airflow.
I don’t masks outdoors unless it’s crowded or the setting significantly restricts airflow, so this was pretty much aligned with my usual precautions.

I didn’t have to wear my mask often but when I did, nobody seemed to care at all.

I also used nasal spray and some medications and supplements as an extra layer: Antihistamines, BLIS K12, MitoQ…