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Context ☣⛛ The Disease Transmission Triangle
Do I have COVID-19? Life during COVID-19 Analysis 💉︎ Vaccination
Historical context
Hope you are well.
95+% of us got through the ☣⚕︎ COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic. So far, the public health emergency part, which lasted about 3⅓ years from 2020-Jan to 2023-May. Since then, we graduated to the endemic phase.
👐︎ On the other hand:
I personally know:
Some because of COVID; others because of measures our society took to protect our most vulnerable.
Regardless of the outcome or cause, they all hurt.
Despite talk on TV, I didn't see 📈︎ full economic recovery to pre-pandemic levels until:
Our goal then was to bring down COVID community-transmission numbers.
👐︎✋︎ On the third hand, life during those years was way better than in years 1918, 1520, 1349, and especially the year 536 the year 536 (and the year or 5 or 10 after that).
Don't be scared. All of this is new to you, and new can be scary. — #DoctorWho 13 premier.
For disease to be transmitted, all three of these must be present in the same place and time (kinda like the 🔥︎⛛ Fire Triangle):
So if we want to not get the disease, we must reduce one or more of these factors, at least so all three factors are not present in the same place and time. For example:
The table ↓ below is necessarily vague — symptoms overlap — and may give ambiguous results. If you have symptoms ↓ below, and community-transmission of COVID in your area is large, it is good practice to assume you have COVID-19 until proven otherwise. Best wishes!
☑ Testing for COVID-19, from table immediately above, bottom-right corner:
Active-infection diagnostic tests swab the inside of your 👃︎ nose or throat. 🇺🇸 USA CDC says to test 5–7 days after your last exposure to COVID, or, if you develop symptoms, right away. Some suggest to swab your throat, not your 👃︎ nose, implemented in this 🇬🇧 UK NHS video ▷ How to take a combined throat and nose swab for COVID-19. For full effect, select the video link, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ fullscreen, and ▶︎ Play. 🏠︎ At-home rapid tests are available from: 🇺🇸 In the USA, you can or could get free 🏠︎ at-home rapid tests — 4 tests per mailing address in each round, during most months of 2020, 2021 and 2022, and starting 2023-early, 2023-09-25 and 2024-September. ◦ I read to not punctuate your apartment number, especially with a hyphen "-". 🇺🇸 In the USA, some state or local jurisdictions, you can or could get free 🏠︎ at-home rapid tests. Many local non-profit organizations. Costco for US$35/5 (US$7 each). Another source > filter on COVID Tests. Before you buy your test: Check your proposed brand against this list of 🇺🇸 USA FDA-Authorized at-home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic tests > scroll down a bit to a Search box (do not use top menu bar's Search button) > find your Test, or set Show entries to All > look for your brand in entire list [> optional blue button ⊕]. Before you use or discard your test: Check the test kit's box for its ⌛︎ 📅︎ expiration date — but if expired, please continue … Check your brand against 🇺🇸 USA FDA-Authorized at-home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic tests > scroll down a bit to a Search box (do not use top menu bar's Search button) > find your Test, or set Show entries to All > look for your brand in entire list > [optional blue button ⊕ >] whatever your entry says regarding "Expiration Date:".
Past-infection serology antibody tests involve 🩸🧪 blood draw, looking for antibody proteins.
To get either type of test, see: your local healthcare provider, your local community testing sites, your local health department, covid.gov/tests > box Free Testing Sites, or Solv > button Book a COVID test.
If you test Positive: Guidance from 🇺🇸 USA CDC. Easy-to-follow flowchart using that info. To help others can fight the disease more effectively, you can report your test results anonymously.
— Various sources.
👤︎👥︎ To protect yourself and others, early on, ⚕︎ Dr Fauci, [1] Mel & Max Brooks, and ✈︎ Alaska Airlines※ said we needed to: Wear a mask consistently and correctly. [Indoors in public.] 😷 Mask up! 😷 "COVID-19: Why We Should AllWear Masks — There Is New ScientificRationale." Sui Huang. 2020-03-26. Accessed 2020-04-25. 😷 Masks and other PPE. [ Details on when to 😷 wear masks. ] [ 🏠︎ Indoor air-handler filters are also important.] [We also wear 👓︎ eye-protection, to protect other mucous membranes!] 👍︎ Avoid crowds. X 👥︎👪︎👥︎👪︎ X 👍︎ Distance yourself. 👤︎ — 👤︎ 👍︎ 🏞 Outdoors, if you can. ☀︎ [By 2022-January, outdoors is known to be 19 × safer than indoors against transmission of the Omicron variant. [4] ] [Later, outdoors shown to be 18–20–200–1000 × safer than indoors. ] [Later, there was found to be lots of health benefits by spending time outdoors, in ☀︎ natural sunlight, either direct or indirect. ▷ [5] ▷ [6] ※] 👍︎ 🫧💦︎👐︎ Wash your hands. [By 2020-April, known to be less important than the other actions, due to COVID-19 being transmitted primarily by very-small aerosols, not big droplets. [2] ] 👎︎ ※ = For full effect, select the Mel & Max Brooks or ✈︎ Alaska Airlines video image ↗ above or to right, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ fullscreen, and ▶︎ Play. From the above, I infer that Dr Fauci, Max & Mel Brooks, and Alaska Airlines know about ☣⛛ The Disease Transmission Triangle and 🧀︎ The Swiss Cheese Model of Respiratory Virus Defense.
👤︎ Protecting yourself from COVID as above includes protecting yourself from: developing Long Covid, CCS, PACS or PASC (becoming a ▷ Long Hauler ), or developing Long Covid Kid. "Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ scores." The Conversation. February 28, 2024. Probably due to some dysregulation of some people's immune system, caused by this previously-unknown virus. [citation needed] I read that those infected with the virus will have a 33% chance of developing Long Covid, even if symptoms during the initial infection were extremely mild. I also read that 7% of adults in the 🇺🇸 USA, [citation needed] and 8% of all people in Utah, currently suffer symptoms of Long Covid. And that 7% of the 🇺🇸 USA have had Long Covid. [citation needed] Chart of symptoms. I read that someone has identified three suites of symptoms. [citation needed] If you think you might have Long COVID, or you think that Long COVID doesn't exist, please watch and/or read ▷ "Long COVID: All you need to know" by Sabine Hossenfelder Science without the Gobbledygook. "Long COVID Comes Into the Light" by Jeff Wise. Slate.com. 2023-03-19. "Sequelae in Adults at 6 Months After COVID-19 Infection." JAMA Network. 2021-01-19. By taking precautions to not catch the virus, 👤︎ you have a 0% chance (or very low) of developing Long Covid. And of passing it on to 👥︎ others. Helped a lot by also getting the 💉︎ vaccine. If you don't want Long Covid, you don't want Covid. If you don't want Covid, get 💉︎ vaccinated. Predicting who gets Long COVID.
If you don't want Long Covid, you don't want Covid. If you don't want Covid, get 💉︎ vaccinated.
For me, I find: Being 💉︎💉︎💉︎💉︎ fully-vaccinated-and-updated (vs. not-vaccinated) reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 ×. Attending an 🏞 outdoor (vs. indoor) event reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by 20–200 ×. Wearing a well-fitting N95 mask (vs. wearing no mask) reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by 2–3–5 ×. This tells me a lot! Since these conditions are independent of each other, we multiply their odds. For example, versus attending an indoor event with food while not-vaccinated, attending an: Indoor event with food (restaurant meal?), where I am fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 = 20 ×. Outdoor event, with food (a restaurant patio?), where I am fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 × 20 = 400 ×. Outdoor event, no food, where I am masked and fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 × 20 × 2½ = 1000 ×. Now I know what to do!
🚸︎ For kids! Free book 📖︎ Why We Stay Home: Suzie Learns about Coronavirus, full contents at image ↖ above or to left. 🚶︎👤︎ For adults: "Medical students write, publish illustrated coronavirus children's book" by Janelle Ringer. Loma Linda University. May 21, 2020. "A book that teaches children 'Why We Stay Home'." NewsHour. PBS. July 3, 2020.
If you are a healthy young person, who wishes to 🚶︎🏠︎ travel to visit someone who is immunocompromised or otherwise medically-vulnerable … Consider that whatever guidelines come out from the 🇺🇸 USA CDC, or your state or local governments, to be general guidelines meant for the general population. Your immunocompromised / medically-vulnerable person is not in the general population. As long as community transmission levels remains "not-Good," your vulnerable person probably would be happiest to see you, if you … Are 💉︎ vaccinated, to the maximum extent allowed by our society. All-doses, soaked-in (usually 2 weeks), plus revaccinated as allowed. Vaccination is a good first step, but is not good enough. Necessary, but not sufficient. Prior to 14 days prior to your visit, your immunocompromised / medically-vulnerable person, probably don't care what you do: Go to work, mingling with coworkers, if you wish. Eat and drink with others, indoors or outdoors, as you wish. Go to 💪︎🏊︎ gym, if you wish. Work out maskless, if that makes you happy or makes for a better workout. Go 🗣 sing with your group, masked or not, if you wish. Have a ball. Your vulnerable person may be self-isolating pretty tight during weeks of high community transmission, but you may have other criteria. But it you catch anything, you want it to clear up before the start of the 14-day washout-period described ↓ below. ◦ So you might choose to start ramping up a few days early — treat it as practice … For the 14-day washout-period prior to visiting your immunocompromised / medically-vulnerable person, you quarantine / self-isolate yourself equivalent to what they are doing. This may include (among other things): Everyone in your household adheres to these rules. 🚶︎🏠︎ Outside your home, be ready with a mask at all times. ◦ When I leave the house, it is in my pocket in a Ziploc bag, or sometimes, hanging from my glasses frame. ◦ Backup masks in car and briefcase. ◦ When I drive somewhere, I park, then don and adjust my mask while still in the car. I don't have to, but I find it easier to do this before filling hands with briefcase, shopping bags or whatever. ◦ Masks are effective — N95[?] or other rated masks, engineered medical masks, or (before Omicron) 3 layers of tight-woven cotton (no knits). ◦ Mask fits and seals well against your face. ◦ Set all that up at home. I use a neckstrap and bracket on all mine. ◦ If indoors with non-household members, you are fully-masked, full-time. ◦ Minor exceptions for occasional meetings with very-small groups of people who are self-isolating as well as us. Outdoor activities are fine, in any location with lots of 💨︎ fresh air, and low–moderate 👪︎👥︎👪︎ density of people. ◦ Chatting and eating on patios, walks in parks, and walk-and-talk meetings, are all fine. ◦ Does not include sitting in a crowd in stadium bleachers. Never rely on a building's HVAC system (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning). These spread small particles very effectively. 6 feet or 60 or 600 -- does not matter. ◦ Stay masked. ◦ No going to 💪︎🏊︎ gym without being masked. I don't care about the layout or air circulation pattern — see note on HVAC ↑ above. ◦ No potlucks with coworkers. Unless you chat while masked, assemble a plate, then go back to your separately-filtered-office to eat. ◦ If you have an 🚪︎ office with a door: Get or make a portable room air filter device, MERV=13 or better, or HEPA. We have one in our bedroom (helps with 🤧︎ allergies), and another by the bird (helps catch feather fragments).   Assemble filter unit, and place in your office where it 💨︎ blows vaguely toward your face at your desk, and sits between you and the 🚪︎ door.   When you get to your office, drop your stuff, turn your filter on High, go chat with others, get your mail and whatever, and pour some coffee.   When you return to your office, turn the filter to Low or some reasonable level of noise.   When 15 minutes are up, you can drop your mask, drink your coffee, work, eat lunch, whatever.   If someone comes in to talk, mask up again, until they are done, gone and some minutes have elapsed.   When leaving for day, can turn off your filter.   Many 🏫︎ teachers have done this since 2020-March. No eating or drinking indoors with others. Minor unavoidable exceptions for: ◦ ✈︎ Airplanes (wait until wheels-up [engines spinning for a while], and all others nearby have finished their juice and cookies and restored their masks, — thank you for this suggestion, daughter). ◦ ✈︎ Airports (find a very-quiet spot to have your breakfast bagel and drink), mask up immediately when done or between bites. Or bring it on your next plane. ◦ Occasional meetings with very-small groups of people (e.g., 1) who you know are self-isolating as well as you. Minimize trips to indoor venues: food shopping (masked up, good list, in order of your path around the store), medical (masked up), etc. Any possible exposure to individuals with COVID-19, and any symptom of anything, will restart your 14-day washout-period at the beginning. After the exposure or symptoms end. ◦ Presumably means you must waive off your planned visit. ◦ Possible exceptions for 🤧︎ seasonal allergies and other well-understood conditions. For additional assurance, 7 days into this 14-day washout-period, with enough time to get the results before you leave (perhaps 48 hours for PCR, plus another 24 hours of overhead involved in your testing appointment and getting your results), get tested for COVID-19. If your visit is for a single day, you can get at-home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic tests, perhaps having people self-test and wait masked or outdoors for the 10–15 minutes it takes to get results. On visit day, if you or anyone in your household is sick — even just the sniffles —, waive off your visit this time, and reschedule for some weeks in the future. That is what a nurse told us to do, in this case. Then when you arrive, you can all feel safe and happy, and have a great visit. Unmasked! Reconnect happy, without fear! Sorry, that is how I see life today. I hope that we can return community transmission to low levels, with adults now getting newly-vaccinated again, with primary-age kids now being vaccinated, backed up with better mask-wearing by our communities.
Don't panic, [it's] not the end of the world. Well, it could be the end of the world, but one thing at a time. — #DoctorWho 13 premier.
It is important. "A closer look at how COVID-19 damages human lungs." News Medical. 9 June 2021. DOI: 10.1038/​s41467-021-23533-x Accessed 2021-06-09.
To protect 👤︎ yourself, 👪︎ family, 👥︎ friends, coworkers, elders, and 👥︎🌐︎ all other residents of our planet, please help break the chain of transmission — flatten the curve and push it downward — by following recommendations from 🇺🇳 UN World Health Organization WHO, 🇺🇸 USA CDC (expert version), Consumer Reports magazine, Doctor Who, 🏞 parks, Michigan, Kent County, local healthcare provider Spectrum Health (rebranding as Corewell Health, West Michigan), and your local authorities.
If 👤︎ you or 👪︎ family members are risk-averse, such as having an attribute that makes them immunocompromised , and thus medically-vulnerable to the 🔆︎ coronavirus, when 🚶︎🏠︎ you leave home, do so smartly. Plan carefully. Have a list. Reduce your number of shopping trips. Shop at good times: Our local big-box membership store had minimum shoppers, maximum physical-distancing, and then-99+% 😷 mask-compliance during their "Senior Hour" each day. Was way better than ½ hour later. Later scaled back to two hours a week, and poor mask-compliance (although still better than during regular business hours, with terrible mask-compliance). And later gone altogether. Our local big-box grocery store was also best during their "Senior Hours" and pretty good a little after that. When they had those "Senior Hours." Have not found there to be a best time at our local hardware stores/home centers. Don't go just before Closing — it's a zoo! I hear that grocery stores are good during dinnertime, and at 8pm. I have found Costco to be good just before the Pharmacy closes.
If you come out of this, and you've lost weight, you're just doing it wrong. 🎂︎ — Margaret Choo, New York Museum of Art, on PBS Inside the Met S1Ep1, 2021-05-21.
My daughter says that during the pandemic emergency, the 👥︎🌐︎ happiest people on our planet may well have been 🌱︎🚶︎ gardeners. [support] [more support]
But also take care of yourself! Socialize, and ▦ screen for signs of impaired mental health.
Practice random [acts of] kindness, and senseless acts of beauty. — Anne Herbert.
👤︎ Protect yourself. 👥︎ Protect others. 💉︎ Get vaccinated!
The philosophy behind science is to discover truth. The philosophy behind medicine is to use that truth for the benefit of each of your patients. The philosophy behind ▷ public health is to use that truth for the benefit of everyone. The philosophy behind using that truth for everyone is 👥︎⚖︎ social justice. — William Foege, former CDC director, slightly reworded by me.
On a simple, everyday-decision level, I find: Being 💉︎💉︎💉︎💉︎ fully-vaccinated-and-updated (vs. not-vaccinated) reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 ×. Attending an 🏞 outdoor (vs. indoor) event reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by 20–200 ×. Wearing a well-fitting N95 mask (vs. wearing no mask) reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by 2–3–5 ×. This tells me a lot! Since these conditions are independent of each other, we multiply their odds. For example, versus attending an indoor event with food while not-vaccinated, attending an: Indoor event with food (restaurant meal?), where I am fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 = 20 ×. Outdoor event, with food (a restaurant patio?), where I am fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 × 20 = 400 ×. Outdoor event, no food, where I am masked and fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 × 20 × 2½ = 1000 ×. Now I know what to do!
🇨🇦 In Canada, a dashboard for how your province[?] is doing > set first dropdown to "Rate" or "… per 100 000 p…".
To inform my actions above, and because I live in the 🇺🇸 USA, I could periodically check:
Data geeks only: I go beyond that, and periodically check COVID-19: ⚰ Death rate graphs in my county , those of relatives and friends, and other areas of interest, by: ◦ Launching COVID Act Now > section All metrics > dropdown Locations add states, city metro areas, or counties (or country) about which you care > dropdown Metric = "Deaths per 100K". ◦ If needed, set dropdown Past # of Days to short. ◦ When the graph gets too cluttered, delete some Locations. ◦ Also interesting are Metrics = "Cases per 100K", "Positive test rate", and "Percent vaccinated". ⚰ Death rate numbers in my county , those of relatives and friends, and other areas of interest, by: ◦ Launching Track COVID-19 data daily by state[?] and county[?], > section Download Data > button Deaths. ◦ Put this data into my analysis spreadsheet worksheet "date_​covid_​deaths_​usafacts". ◦ Calculate the ⚰ death rates by population by combining with population data from each county > 📱︎ calculate > Filter on states or counties (or their equivalents) for 👤︎ yourself, 👪︎ relatives and friends, and other areas of interest > turn cells various colors based on conditions > etc. ⚰ Death rates in ZIP Codes within my county, for ZIP Codes of relatives and friends, and other areas of interest (actually, I would prefer death rate numbers, but my county doesn't provide that, so I have to settle for case rate numbers), by: ◦ Get ZIP Code info from my county > page=2 pane=lower-left, select each line > right-click Copy Selection. ◦ Paste this data into my analysis spreadsheet worksheet "date_myCounty​Cases​By​Zipcode". ◦ Combine ⚰ death case info with ZIP Code population data from other source > calculate > sort > Filter and your zips of interest > etc. Rant for a while about how, when our society is doing all this COVID testing, why does there seem to be no Surveillance Testing? ◦ Why do I have to do all this work, just to get some vague idea of the prevalence of COVID in my area, so I can decide what level of precautions to take to go to Costco and the grocery store? Or to decide whether to stretch out this run a few more days? Or whether to meet my daughter for a half-hour outside-outside in the cold, or sorta outside in an outdoor pavilion with a roof and two walls? ◦ Or more to the point (since I am a tech and data geek, and kinda like this analysis), what are ordinary people supposed to do? ◦ Why can't I, and ordinary people, just look this up on one of the websites above? ◦ OK, calm down, ☀︎🚶︎🏠︎ go outdoors ( ▷ in ☀︎ natural sunlight, direct or indirect) , do something 💪︎🏊︎ physical, and …
More data geeks only: Total safety is not possible. Life itself is dangerous, and everything is a tradeoff. Even your various life goals (e.g., safety, sanity, fulfillment, 👥︎ socializing) conflict with each other. That said, beyond ☣⛛ The Disease Transmission Triangle, I figure … The harm of anyone in our household catching COVID-19 = time anyone from our household spends indoors or outdoors with people outside our household × 👪︎👥︎👪︎ density of people within that space × % of people, in the places we go, who shed COVID particles × (100% − % those shedding viral particles who wear a mask × % efficiency of their masks ) × (100% − % efficiency of 💨︎ natural wind or venue's ventilation system at keeping viral particles away from us ) × (100% − % efficiency of our vaccine ) × (100% − % time we wear a physical mask × % efficiency of our masks ) × the age and health status of myself and everyone in our household × some innate transmission factor I will never know Currently, % efficiency of our vaccine = about 70% (was 95% against early variants). So it is like we are always wearing virtual leaky medical [surgical] masks (against early variants, was like we are always wearing virtual properly-fitted 😷 N95 masks against early variants). So I figure that … IF time anyone from our household spends in public is short, AND 👪︎👥︎👪︎ density of people within that space is low, AND our % of people, in the places we go, who shed COVID particles stays low, AND % efficiency of our vaccine stays high (is going down, but currently still good), THEN we don't have to worry much about the % efficiency of our masks, or the % time we wear a physical mask. Hence, our decision ↓ below to: not wear a mask much 🏞 outdoors, wear a lighter-weight mask [we later reversed this decision when community transmission increased dramatically], and wear them indoors as much as practical (all the time in stores, maybe 50% in 💪︎🏊︎ gym and a rare restaurant meal [we later reversed this decision when community transmission increased dramatically]), seems like a good compromise, to: stay relatively-safe from COVID-19, while still getting the life-benefits of a great workout and being a 👥︎ social being. But if our % of people, in the places we go, who shed COVID particles goes up, we may have to revisit this. Update: We later reversed these decisions when community transmission increased dramatically, due to Delta and Omicron variants (and sub-variants). And will continue to reevaluate periodically. Controlling what we can. Best wishes!
"Recent COVID-19 vaccination tied to lower risk of long COVID." By Stephanie Soucheray. University of Minnesota. November 6, 2024. DOI: 10.1016/​j.vaccine.2024.126497 Not getting 🦠 infected by viruses (including by 💉︎ vaccination against flu, shingles, pneumonia and hepatitis)reduces your chances of ☣💥︎🧠 getting neurodegenerative diseases NDD (including dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and MS). DOI: 10.1016/​j.neuron.2022.12.029 But this page is about COVID …
Which 💉︎ vaccine should I get? How do I get a 💉︎ vaccination?
How did the 💉︎ first vaccination go for me? Afterward, now what? How did the 💉︎💉︎ second vaccination go for me? The 💉︎💉︎💉︎💉︎ third and fourth vaccinations
I used to think it didn't matter much. All work very well to reduce ⚰💥︎🏥︎ death and severe disease. First thought to be by up to 96% (later, measured differently, by 90%). For 2020 and most of 2021, the conventional wisdom was to get whatever vaccine is first available to you.
That said:
🇺🇸 In the USA, anyone age 5 and older can now sign up at Vaccines.gov > button Find COVID-19 Vaccines > your ZIP Code. Check out the 🗺 map! Or 📱︎💬︎ SMS text your ZIP Code to GETVAX. The vaccine is free! (Can also find a flu shot, using a flu vaccine button!)
Or use its sister-site Vacunas.gov > botón Encontrar vacunas contra el COVID-19. O envía un 📱︎ SMS con tu código postal a VACUNA. ¡La vacuna es gratis! También puede encontrar una vacuna contra la gripe, usando un botón de vacuna contra la influenza (gripe).
But we received the 💉︎ COVID-19 vaccine 4½ months before we were eligible. Not because we deserved it at that time, but because we dug. These are all websites. You can also try 📱︎☎ calling, particularly your local providers. If trouble getting through, I recommend trying:
The 💉︎ vaccination went very well. Despite us not even knowing this third healthcare company served our county, and them knowing about us for only 20 hours. The line was short, and while we worked our way from paperwork-person to jab-person to wait-in-these-chairs-for-15-minutes, we noticed more workers arriving, and the line soon dwindled to nothing.
They were either ramping up faster than they thought, or getting better at it. By the time we left at 10am(!), they could use 💪︎ more arms!
So if offered the chance to jump the line, take it, and don't feel bad. For all you know, they have extra staff time, 💉︎ needles, or half-full vials that might go to waste.
OK, now that we got the 💉︎ vaccine (first dose), what now?
The 💉︎💉︎ second dose also went smoothly. What now?
Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, from 🇺🇸 USA CDC
After getting the 💉︎💉︎ second vaccination, and informed by the above, we decided to: Continue 😷 masking up 100% in grocery stores, ✈︎ airports and airplanes (wheels-down), for the rest of my life. I like not ever catching a cold nor the flu! Nice! I'm not going back. If you can take an action with very little cost [to you], and with some gain [for you or others], why not do it? We will always have 😷 masks in our Everyday Carry (EDC), whenever 🚶︎🏠︎ we leave home. [When community transmission increased dramatically, I made sure this includes an N95-or-batter mask.] Not wearing a mask on 🚶︎🏠︎ walks in the neighborhood, 🏞 parks, or any low-density outdoor events. Although I will continue to track prevalence in the community (and any proposed travel). And in the many months since then, we have! And because local community transmission was Low at the time, we also decided to: Return to the ✂︎ haircut store. Start attending important indoor meetings. And if a quality crowd (e.g., highly-vaccinated), opting for a 😷 lighter-weight mask. Return to the 💪︎🏊︎ gym. Yay! Return to ✈︎ air travel. When local community transmission increased dramatically, we reversed these decisions. All of them. We also came up with some criteria we expect visitors to abide by. Maybe I will write up more differences of living in our brave new living-with-COVID world. Thinking about it, us choosing to: not wear a mask much 🏞 outdoors, reduce our time indoors with non-vaccinated people (such as by shopping during "Senior Hours", or using the 💪︎🏊︎ gym when relatively quiet), and when sharing indoor space with non-vaccinated people, 😷 wear a mask whenever practical to do so (such as in 💪︎🏊︎ my gym before and during warmup, and after some point in the cooldown) (and the eating part of a rare restaurant indoor meal), is an attempt to reduce our odds of catching COVID (while meeting our other goals), as expressed by my calculations up in Analysis.
If you can take an action with very little cost [to you], and with some gain [for you or others], why not do it?
The first I heard is to revaccinate the latter of:
Very early in the revaccination discussion, a buddy called that our local large healthcare system now has a system to offer the third dose. We called, and received appointments for 7.1 weeks after our second shot — four weeks short of the eight-month point.
The very next day, 🇮🇱 Israel announced they would offer the third dose at the five-month point, and the 🇺🇸 USA CDC started discussing doing the same. Nice to know we are right in that five-to-eight-month range.
Since then, we received our third injection. Went very well. No problem that we were way out in front of the 🇺🇸 USA FDA and 🇺🇳 UN WHO. No problem that we asked for a vaccine different that the first two. No symptoms other than being a bit tired. And that could easily be ascribed to, the next day, gardening (one of us) or running around the wood for 3 hours running after very-fast 9th-graders, while cutting down brush that they missed (the other of us).
Hope the 🇺🇸 USA CDC and FDA reach a consensus with the 🇺🇳 UN WHO, and we can get on with saving the world.
Update: Not sure about any consensus. But time moved on, and now we've received our 4th dose.
🇺🇸 In the USA, in the absence of federal guidance, every state or other jurisdiction handled 💉︎ vaccination differently. In late-2020/early-2021, this process was so disorganized, it felt like us vaccine-seekers were participants in 🏹︎ The Hunger Games. Unlike a real vaccination effort in 1962 May–July, where our society vaccinated: 84% of the entire population (versus 69% so far in this vaccination effort ), with 3 doses given to each person (versus 1 or 2 doses to be called vaccinated in this effort), in only 6 days spread over 3 months (versus 1496 days spread over 49 months in this effort). [5] [6] [7] And in that operation, no one had to drive across the county to a stadium — they did it in high school gyms. Everyone can get to their nearest high school. OK, if the vaccine-athon can travel to high schools, it can also travel to 🏥︎ hospitals and 3-Stage Retirement Villages 3SRV / CCRC / LPC / LPRC / LTCF, to handle their specialized populations. But why, this time around, did we have to reinvent every wheel, and do such a bad job of it? OK, Public Health officials in 1962 had several advantages that we don't have this time around. Still, their process was the exact opposite of what we are did here. More applicable to today's situation is smallpox — like COVID, it requires an injection. Anthony Fauci has a great story about New York City vaccinating 5 million New Yorkers in a single week! [citation needed] Fortunately, as 2021 progressed, we got much more organized. Yay!
Yes, we really did know all this! ↖ Above or to left, view White House memo from 2020-Jan-29, White House Playbook from 2016, and videos from 2015 and 2006. For full effect, select a video image, then icons ⛶⤢ fullscreen, 💬︎ captions, ▶︎ Play, and ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads. "'All Of This Panic Could Have Been Prevented': Author Max Brooks On COVID-19." Fresh Air with Terry Gross. NPR. 2020-03-24. 🔊︎ audio (Your browser does not support online audio control tag. Please use this link to the audio instead.)
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here,it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. — Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
▷ Trailer. For full effect, view the video ↖ above or to left by selecting the video image or link, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ fullscreen, and ▶︎ Play.
[5] Yes, my sister and I remember — we were there! Personal communication, various dates, including 2021-01.
[6] "Cuyahoga County had best record in the nation for Sabin polio vaccine distribution". Cleveland.com. Jan. 13, 2021. Accessed 2021-02-04.
[7] "COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States". CDC. May 20, 2021. Accessed 2021-05-21.
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--Eric Piehl comments on web covid.html v1.0.9.2 2025-02-02, copyright © 2020–2025 by Eric Piehl.