Day 520 – Some viral stuff

Not “wildly popular on the internet” stuff.
Sorry if you came here for that. (But then, why on earth would you?)

No. Just some links to recent Coronavirus-related stories and studies.

Why did Ivermectin become so popular?
Ben Collins finds a tangled web of horse wormer and… er… cash.

Teeny-tiny study suggests Pfizer jab is good for 12-15 year olds.

Clearing up the confusion on Israel’s hospital figures.

The bottom line is there is very strong evidence that the vaccines have high efficacy protecting against severe disease, even for Delta, and even in these Israeli data that on the surface appear to suggest the Pfizer vaccine might have waning efficacy. This is clearly evident if the data are analyzed carefully, and agrees with all other published results to date from other countries.

Terrifying story of a teacher spreading Covid in California. Study.

A total of 27 cases were identified, including that of the teacher. During May 23–26, among the teacher’s 24 students, 22 students, all ineligible for vaccination because of age, received testing for SARS-CoV-2; 12 received positive test results. The attack rate in the two rows seated closest to the teacher’s desk was 80% (eight of 10)

If you are sick, stay at home. Isolate.
And “isolation” doesn’t mean “go for a hike on the mountain because you are bored”.
Yeah. if you’re reading, I saw that.

How respiratory viruses get spread. A nice back-to-basics overview.

Who knew?!?
Risks of nasty things happening after vaccination pale into insignificance when compared to risks of nasty things happening after is you get Covid-19.
Big study in Israel.

Oh, and finally, please say hi to C.1.2 – South Africa’s new variant!

Leading the world in terrible things once again. So proud.

Day 503 – Virus update and vaccination

I’m on Day 22(?) of my nasty viral infection, so I thought I’d share an update.

I’m improving. This time last week, I was at the hospital for blood tests and x-rays. This time this week, I’m sitting at my computer with a beagle at my side, contemplating life (both of us).

Things are definitely getting better: fewer headaches, less coughing, resting heart rate dropping to near normal levels, fever is gone. Much to be happy about.

But it’s not all plain sailing. I’ve still got a few ongoing issues. Fatigue is the big one. The “chronic” sort: I struggle to stay up past 8 o’clock each evening – I’m just absolutely exhausted. And the “acute” sort: completing any sort of energetic (ha!) task – like climbing the stairs, moving a chair, doing some ironing, answering the door – leaves me light-headed, out of breath and needing a sit down. This bit doesn’t seem to be getting much better at the moment, which is equally frustrating and ridiculous. At this point, I’m not sure how I’m ever going to get back to my supreme, pre-Covid levels of athleticism. Jokes aside, I was happily doing about three 5km runs a week and playing 5-a-side football just a month ago and now I can’t walk 100m without a break.

I’m still not eating a lot. I have a limited appetite, perhaps partly because I cant smell or taste anything. Or can I? Bitterness is definitely there, maybe occasionally some saltiness. And if I eat anything spicy, I feel the burn, but with no actual flavour. Sometimes, I think I can taste proper flavours, but when I concentrate, maybe I’m only imagining what I know things taste(d) like. It’s just plain weird to lose something so very innate and basic that you – quite reasonably – take for granted. And texture becomes hugely important, which is why I can’t eat banana again until my taste completely returns. And possibly not even then.

And then there’s the mental stuff. Wow. Thinking and remembering stuff is really difficult. Concentrating for any length of time is pretty much impossible – a real effort. I’ve drifted off several times while writing this. I know that this might also be a symptom of just getting older, but it’s come on awfully quickly for me. Hopefully this “brain fog” clears sooner rather than later – it’s actually quite scary.

Other than that, though, I’m getting there. I’ve lost 6.5kg and a few weeks of my life, but I’m very glad to have avoided a stay in hospital and I’m very much looking forward to my second jab and even more protection in a few weeks.

If you’re hesitant about getting vaccinated, please take it from me: go and get jabbed – you don’t want this.

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I’m so very tired of the anti-vaxxers – I always have been – but I’m getting equally tired of those people on social media who tell us “I’m not anti-vax; I’m pro-choice”, and then fill their timelines with blatant anti-vax propaganda.
The stats are great for avoiding serious and disease through vaccination, but as I mentioned here, I would do anything to avoid even what I have had. Please take it from me, this was right up there with the worst I have ever felt, including Salmonella (enteritidis PT4, nogal), malaria, viral meningitis and (It’S jUsT lIkE) Influenza.

And you simply don’t know if it’s going to stop there. You could end up much sicker than I did. And then there are often ongoing symptoms that we’re still learning about: see here and here – and yes, of course we will be vaccinating our kids asap like we have with polio and TB and measles and mumps and chicken pox and HiB etc etc etc, because decent parents look after their offspring.

Anyway, brain fog rambling all done: if you want a personal account or if you have specific questions about how this can affect your life, maybe just to help push you into getting the jab, feel free to get in touch.
Spoiler: it’s zero fun (and I’m not just talking about my personal account).

Day 495 – Not going to plan

I’m still not right, and it’s beginning to get to on my nerves now. There’s no joy in having to sit and struggle for breath each time after you’ve done something as energetic as walking outside or helping with unpacking the dishwasher. Nor having to go to bed by 8pm because there’s no energy left for anything else.

And so I’m going to seek further medical advice tomorrow morning. Whatever my GP can do to get me mended, I’m willing to try.

I’m mindful that the Covid vaccination doesn’t necessarily prevent infection, but does seem to prevent those “serious” complications which might get you stuck in hospital. I haven’t been sick enough to be in hospital, thank goodness, but I need to avoid even this level of illness in the future. I can’t be doing with feeling like this again any time soon.

Day 490 – Virus protection

Spotted online earlier, this small (but very irritating) survey:

There are a number of different reasons that I think a vaccine might work better than prayer when it comes to preventing Covid infection, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t matter. If half the country aren’t going to take the vaccination (for whatever reason), then we’re stuck with this damn virus for longer than we need to be.