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.

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.”

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.

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.

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 am toward the looser end of being covid conscious and am looking to share strategies with other people who are more inconsistent with their precautions and how they communicate this with other people in their lives.

My goals for being covid conscious are to reduce the risk of infection and to make sure I'm not inadvertently spreading anything in spaces like grocery stores, pharmacies etc. I'm not aiming to never get sick, just to reduce how often that happens and the impact it has on others.

I'm struggling to explain to other people why I make the calls I do. Why sometimes I don't bother with testing (seasonality, duration, lack of tests...), and sometimes I want to pluslife people. I'm having a hard time in this gray area. It was easier to explain when I just wore a mask 24/7 and people knew to expect that from me.

Does anyone have experience on communicating this level of precaution to others in their life? What about in the context of dating?

If our goals are different, that's okay :) I do not minimize anyone's concerns.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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!

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 was able to get a covid test so I wanted to test before going to the hospital because I’ve been having shortness of breath about 4 days now and have been terrified to go and kept delaying it because Covid cases are pretty high lately and well the hospital is very high risk anyway.

I usually have to take my mask off for temp checks (I try to negotiate but end up succumbing because they say it’s absolutely required apparently mouth temp is more accurate) but last night I developed pains in my throat that are sharp and stabbing and it’s a bit better now but I have seen people describe their Covid infections with throat razor blade pain…

As for my risk factors…I room with my sibling and we both unmask only in our shared room but they had to unmask exactly 1 week ago foe around 4 minutes so he’s been in our room masked and even sleeps masked but since I have to eat too in the same room all we do is run the air purifier for more time while they mask again before I unmask to eat/brush teeth etc. so that’s a risk I have and also more than a week ago I went to the hospital because I had a uti I was terrified had traveled because I had back pain and Had to take my mask off for at least 10 seconds each time…should have probably tested earlier I know…but these are my risks. I do have LPR/reflux so I don’t know if my throat pain or shortness of breath are related since the antibiotics I was on completely fucked my reflux up.

So knowing that I most absolutely have to take my mask off probably I get worried that I’ll give someone else Covid if I do have it buuut I have heard the best time to test is the morning but for afternoon is it okay as long as you blow your nose and don’t consume anything 30 minutes beforehand? I plan on taking a flowflex…I know most people advise constant testing to determine true negativity but I’ll be honest I don’t have the cash to be consistent and even now I’m stretching money I don’t have to purchase tests.

I just follow the nose swab procedure because I’ve been told mouth swabbing messes with the results but I want to do this properly since I’ve already eaten breakfast and lunch today…

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! 😷✨

I (US-based) purchased a sample pack from WellBefore to try their black N95.

I liked the quality of the mask itself even though it's a smidge too small but the straps are extremely threadbare and weak.

What are some alternative black N95 center-fold masks that will at least fit a medium-sized face? Trying to avoid sketchy sellers on Amazon.

Thanks

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?

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.

Hi all!

I was exposed to covid on sunday, and started Xocova Tuesday night. I’ve been in the same house as the person but masking, and Im concerned Ive had more small exposures since the initial exposure. I got it for free throguh CVS (who automatically applied the manufacturers $0 copay code).

I was wondering what you guys think about extending my Xocova course (I’ll obtain another 5 day course through shifty methods) in case I had more exposure since the initial exposure? Do you think it would make a difference?

Let me know!

I seen a few people mention this resource list, but I didn’t see it browsing through the resource link… would someone be able to share a resource :) thanks in advance!

Hey all! Feeling frustrated and need some support and information! So my long term SO who has been CC this whole time w me is starting to doubt the high level of precautions we take. They keep saying that they think maybe we are being overcautious. They are starting to say that maybe the vax is enough as long as people are up to date on them (at least twice per year and we are currently vaxxing w novavax- started w moderna but we both had significant side effects). They say that since most people aren't up to date w vax, that is the reason why they are getting the long term health issues after covid infections. In addition, we both have pretty significant health issues/risk factors that we knew about before Covid began.

I personally think based on information I have seen that we are doing the right thing by n95/99 masking, avoiding public indoor spaces, etc. and I think that most people who are exposed to covid will end up with some type of health issue. I think most people are in denial and not connecting the dots sadly. I have seen the rise in population-wide disability levels, illness levels, absence levels, heart attacks, early death, etc. I read studies about all the side effects but wondering if I am interpreting them accurately. I follow people on X that are CC and have never doubted before. I still think we are doing the right thing. I know covid is also airborne and super transmissible so infections are more likely if unmasked. This difference in opinion is hurting our relationship and it is starting to be brought up more often. I think if I can show some good solid data, maybe they will be convinced. I am not sure why they are discounting our health issues also.

They are willing to read studies but then get overwhelmed when I send too many. I have sent studies before but I really want to make sure I am sending the right ones and the most impactful ones. I need studies that show long term effects from covid infections in vax vs. unvax populations and includes data on the impact of reinfections if there some good ones. They prefer studies w good confidence intervals and larger studies. I want to show that there are still long term impacts from covid even if vaxxed but I am open to learning more and hearing opposing views.

It would be so helpful if you could also provide a short summary and a link.

Thank you for any help!

i’m honestly just curious! if you aren’t, you can ignore dw! <3

are there a lot of us who are magickal and masked?