Coronavirus

[madodel]

For about 10 months, we (my wife and I) did everything we thought was prudent to protect ourselves. We wore masks while out in public, social distancing, no indoor dining (very, very little contact-less dining), frequent hand washing, no gatherings over the 10 months (including the holidays). It worked for 10 months. Sadly, my wife got C19 in late December and I got it a few days after that. Luckily, both mild cases.

After 3 weeks, I had a remnant cough that was driving her crazy, so I went to the doctors last week. Got a PCR test (shoved up the nose) and some blood work. The blood tests showed a significant issue with blood clotting (a known C19 issue). That sent me to the hospital for a CAT scan and I got a rapid test (shoved up the nose) there. The rapid test was negative. The PCR result (the next day) was positive. The doctor said that PCR can return a positive result up to a month after you got the virus. Cat scan showed no blood clots. Got the needed antibiotic for the cough which is now much better. Not sure how much $$$ I will end up paying to get a simple prescription, but am hoping that the TSLA stock goes up to cover it!

The doctor said to increase my vitamin D (up to an additional 3,000 IU) and take a multivitamin (which usually has 1,000 IU of vitamin D). Other folks have mentioned vitamin D as well.

I pass along this information to possibly help others.

I'm not a doctor, but have read a lot on Vit D decreasing severity of COVID, nothing in the literature about it preventing COVID infection or re-infection. Did the doctor suggest taking aspirin or an antithrombotic to deal with the clotting? Or followup blood work to see if the problem continues?

 

[TEG]

Some more COVID thoughts:

I recall that there has been talk that this can cause blood related issues like clotting and problems delivering oxygen around the body.
*but* from what I have seen, the front line medical establishment (still) sees this as a respiratory illness.
They are looking for breathing problems and most concerned about fluid build-up in the lungs.
So, with that said, going to your doctor with "other" symptoms like headache, & fever may not get much attention and not enough to even consider bringing you to a hospital.
The main symptoms they look for are low oxygen sats, and trouble breathing.
( Well, loss of smell & general confusion could get some people's attention. )

Hospitals are overwhelmed with people who have "full on" COVID with all the nasty symptoms. So not the best time to go bugging your doctor with "I have some symptoms that seem like they might be first signs of getting COVID." Even if you go out and buy your own test and get a positive, they may not want to do anything about it unless you develop breathing issues too.

The main thing about watching for early symptoms and getting tested early is to know when you need to 100% isolate. No leaving the house even with full PPE. Once you have a positive test then the countdown clock would start until 10-14 days later when you are done with full isolation. The county health department (not the hospitals) probably wants to know about those positive tests to do what they can to research "contact tracing" and to notify anyone you might have exposed to isolate (and get tested if possible) to help slow the spread.

So, sort of in summary, there are very different efforts between preventive measures and for treatment measures. Recognizing symptoms, knowing when to test, and who to call is important to help the system.
But I don't have all the answers on this anyways. Just sharing some thoughts.

 

[TEG]

What I wonder about are the procedures people use after being around other people. My procedure, other than not going inside any building for months now, (besides my mother's house, where I wear an N95 mask and gloves), is after I've left a building I would remove my mask, then my gloves, put them on the floor of my vehicle, then use hand sanitizer. Usually I'll use the hand sanitizer on the gloves as well before I take them off.

I was forced to go to a "high risk" area (indoors pharmacy line to the counter) on a somewhat regular basis to pick up medicines that were not offered for home delivery.
That is when I would wear the full face P100 and gloves, and carry hand sanitizer in my pocket. I would put the sanitizer on my gloves after interacting with the counter to pick up the medicine.
Once I got back in the car, I would put my mask on the passenger seat, and then remove the gloves and drop them on the floor, and not touch them for at least 2 days.
Generally, I wouldn't bother to sanitize my hands then since they had been covered by the gloves the whole time.
I follow the glove removal procedure peeling off carefully to make sure my skin doesn't touch the outside of the gloves (even though they had sanitizer on them.)
At home I would put the medicine bags on the back porch and spray them with lysol and let them sit for an hour before opening them. After I had set down the bags, I would then wash my hands with soap/water and spray the back door knobs with lysol.
Once I opened the bags, I would put the pill bottles on a shelf inside and go through the hand washing and door knob spraying again.

I hear about disposable PPE in hospitals, but I think a lot of us "civilians" reuse masks... My own approach has been to not touch or use a mask that has gone through a risky area for at least 2 days in the hope that any virus would have become inactive in that time. Someone working in a hospital doesn't have the "luxury" of letting their PPE "air out" for multiple days like I do.

My insurance changed back in November, and I am annoyed that the new one only dispenses 30 days at a time of regular medications instead of the 90 day supply I got from the old plan.
( More trips to the pharmacy now... ) Someone should realize that giving longer prescriptions could be helpful in COVID avoidance...

I still have not had a positive COVID test. I am thinking now that I somehow avoided catching it even though exposed to my infected wife for days inside our house. ( Anecdotally, I heard from some others that some people seem far less likely to catch it even when directly exposed. )
The headache I reported a couple of days back may have been a side effect of the (non-DGL) licorice and ginseng supplements I had added to my diet after being exposed.
By the way, she is doing well in the hospital, and is needing very minimal oxygen to keep sats up. She is talking to them about being discharged soon since her IV medicine course is nearly done.
I had some chat with her today if staying in the hospital would be a good idea "just in case" things got worse, but she wants to be back home so badly that she would rather risk it. Making it to today without needing 4l oxygen is a really good sign from what I know.

 

[JRP3]

I was forced to go to a "high risk" area (indoors pharmacy line to the counter) on a somewhat regular basis to pick up medicines that were not offered for home delivery.

No drive up window option? That's what my mother has been doing.

 

[TEG]

No, not at the 24 hour pharmacy that handles most of my wife's prescriptions.
They have refrigerated items, etc.

I wish they had a drive-through. Would much rather wait in my Tesla than indoors in a long line.

 

[TEG]

For anyone that cares: my wife was discharged from the hospital and is back home with me now.

 

[shinytop]

I received my first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Jan 14. One of our biggest hospitals set up a site at what might be the biggest church in our town. You signed up on a website by choosing your time and then filling out some information, then submit. I tried about a dozen tomes and each of those early tries by the time I clicked submit I was told the time was already taken. I finally got an appointment. Florida allowed all 65 and older so I qualified.

The vaccinations were set up in the very large gymnasium on the church's campus. The central hall had chairs set up for proper social distancing. The people at the door only let in people when chairs were available. I only waited minutes outside. Then they would call the group for your time. Got into another socially distanced line and was only in that queue until one of the ten vaccine tables opened up. Once you got your shot you were asked to sit in one of the chairs set up on the court. After fifteen minutes a lady called my name, handed me my card, and said I could go.

The process was smooth and all were masked. One surprise to me was that nobody was taking temperatures. You did answer questions about having symptoms but no thermometer. When they gave you your card they also gave you the time and date for your second dose.

I spent years in the IT business and am used to the internet but I could see where some would be challenged. My mood definitely darkened as attempt after attempt failed before I finally got in.

 

[ZeApelido]

Why are the side effects much stronger after the booster shot? Simply because the immune system is already better primed to respond due to initial vaccine?

 

[bkp_duke]

Why are the side effects much stronger after the booster shot? Simply because the immune system is already better primed to respond due to initial vaccine?

Yep. And . . . you want that. It indicates robust immunity.

I know, no one wants to feel sick . . ish for a day or two, but it's a very good indicator for immunity.

 

[TEG]

Yep. And . . . you want that. It indicates robust immunity.
I know, no one wants to feel sick . . ish for a day or two, but it's a very good indicator for immunity.

If someone already had COVID, do their natural immunities do the same thing on the first dose?

 

[bkp_duke]

If someone already had COVID, do their natural immunities do the same thing on the first dose?

Very possibly, but what I hear is that the range of clinical outcomes is broader. Not a lot of data on this scenario yet.

 

[TEG]

Magary: I tested the dumbest PPE of all time

 

[scottf200]

Colchicine reduces the risk of COVID-19-related complications

Title: Positive results from COLCORONA trial show that colchicine is the only effective oral medication for treating non-hospitalized patients

January 22, 2021 22:58 ET | Source: Montreal Heart Institute

MONTREAL, Jan. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) announced today that the COLCORONA clinical trial has provided clinically persuasive results of colchicine’s efficacy to treat COVID-19. The study results have shown that colchicine has reduced by 21% the risk of death or hospitalizations in patients with COVID-19 compared to placebo. This result obtained for the global study population of 4488 patients approached statistical significance. The analysis of the 4159 patients in whom the diagnosis of COVID-19 was proven by a naso-pharyngeal PCR test has shown that the use of colchicine was associated with statistically significant reductions in the risk of death or hospitalization compared to placebo. In these patients with a proven diagnosis of COVID-19, colchicine reduced hospitalizations by 25%, the need for mechanical ventilation by 50%, and deaths by 44%. This major scientific discovery makes colchicine the world’s first oral drug that could be used to treat non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
<snip>

 

[EVCollies]

I received my first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Jan 14. One of our biggest hospitals set up a site at what might be the biggest church in our town. You signed up on a website by choosing your time and then filling out some information, then submit. I tried about a dozen tomes and each of those early tries by the time I clicked submit I was told the time was already taken. I finally got an appointment. Florida allowed all 65 and older so I qualified.

The vaccinations were set up in the very large gymnasium on the church's campus. The central hall had chairs set up for proper social distancing. The people at the door only let in people when chairs were available. I only waited minutes outside. Then they would call the group for your time. Got into another socially distanced line and was only in that queue until one of the ten vaccine tables opened up. Once you got your shot you were asked to sit in one of the chairs set up on the court. After fifteen minutes a lady called my name, handed me my card, and said I could go.

The process was smooth and all were masked. One surprise to me was that nobody was taking temperatures. You did answer questions about having symptoms but no thermometer. When they gave you your card they also gave you the time and date for your second dose.

I spent years in the IT business and am used to the internet but I could see where some would be challenged. My mood definitely darkened as attempt after attempt failed before I finally got in.

We are up to 5,000 vax/day and this weekend added a drive up site, pilot 1,000/d, hope to increase to 5,000/d. We offer the medical support to local health departments and indigent clinics but they need to provide the registration and logistics.

If someone already had COVID, do their natural immunities do the same thing on the first dose?

Anecdotally my colleagues with prior COVID infections have experienced worse fever, chills and muscle aches after the vax.

 

[Puma2020]

Did the doctor suggest taking aspirin or an antithrombotic to deal with the clotting? Or followup blood work to see if the problem continues?

yes to both. Since the CT scan showed no clots, they now suspect that the C19 elevated the blood clotting numbers and are going to do a second blood test in few weeks to verify the numbers are heading back to the normal range.

The antibiotic pills are working great, so all seems to be trending up now.

My sister works in a medical facility and has received her 2 doses. Some arm discomfort but otherwise it went well. She realizes that it'll still be a couple of weeks to get up to the 95% threshold and that also means it's not 100%.
My daughter who is an RN, got her first dose and that also went well.
However they both realize that until these C19 case numbers drop dramatically, things will not be able to return to "normal".
The number of flu cases this year is down dramatically (so far), most likely due to all of the precautions people are taking.
Yesterday, I also read an article on bbc.com about a mother who managed to get out of her anti-vax information bubble and have started getting her kids vaccinated against the other diseases (polio, measles, ...). This pandemic got her to re-think her ideas. It pains me to think of how many kids got polio or something else because of the anti-vax misinformation campaign.
I also saw a conference video on YT talking about the 1917 Framingham model, which was interesting. Back then they were worried about the next pandemic but expecting it to be TB or Polio or measles... before they got hit with the 1918-1919 flu.

 

[TEG]

Is it possible to have COVID with with no sinus / respiratory symptoms at all? Catch it from something you eat and have it be in your gut but not manifesting in your sinuses in a way that a nasal swab test would pick up?

This is old, but:
Gastrointestinal symptoms common in COVID-19 patients, Stanford Medicine study reports

...“COVID-19 is probably not just respiratory symptoms like a cough,” Podboy said. “A third of the patients we studied had gastrointestinal symptoms. It’s possible we may be missing a significant portion of patients sick with the coronavirus due to our current testing strategies focusing on respiratory symptoms alone.”...

My wife is still trying to figure out how she caught it since she hadn't gone out of the house for a long time before. (Well she had done one trip to get a sandwich 1.5 days before she developed symptoms, but the doctor said that would be too soon for it to be related.) Hopefully she wasn't contagious when she picked up that sandwich...

She is claiming that I must have caught it in my gut, but asymptomatic and passed it to her not through breath. ( I never had any obvious symptoms, and my PCR came back negative, but she said it would be false negative if it didn't get in my sinuses. ) I do recall having some indigestion for a day around the time she thinks she must have caught it.

 

[TespaceX]

So, looks like Moderna is already thinking of booster shots for future variants. This might become an a regular thing like a flu shot. I’m sure some people already anticipated this.

And, Merck has dropped out of the vaccine race stating their data suggests not as robust response. Must have been pretty ineffective.

 

[bkp_duke]

Is it possible to have COVID with with no sinus / respiratory symptoms at all? Catch it from something you eat and have it be messing with your blood but not manifesting in your sinuses in a way that a nasal swab test would pick up?

Theoretically . . . yes. Practically, I haven't heard of this kind of asymptomatic viral shedding except for a few days before fully symptoms kick in. And blood symptoms would be accompanied with other symptoms (i.e. the blood would carry it fully to other organs to be infected).

 

[TEG]

Not sure how trustworthy a site, but:

Coronavirus: Diarrhea and Other Confirmed Gastrointestinal Symptoms

...Some people may only experience gastrointestinal symptoms without developing any of the more common symptoms...

...Research suggests that the virus that causes COVID-19 can enter your digestive system through cell surface receptors for an enzyme called angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Receptors for this enzyme are 100 times more common in the gastrointestinal tract than the respiratory tract.

 

[TEG]

So, looks like Moderna is already thinking of booster shots for future variants. This might become an a regular thing like a flu shot. I’m sure some people already anticipated this.

Moderna says its vaccine is less effective against one coronavirus variant

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

B.1.351 lineage (a.k.a. 20H/501Y.V2)

• This variant has multiple mutations in the spike protein, including K417T, E484K, N501Y. Unlike the B.1.1.7 lineage detected in the UK this variant does not contain the deletion at 69/70.
• This variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, in samples dating back to the beginning of October 2020, and cases have since been detected outside of South Africa.
• The variant also was identified in Zambia in late December 2020, at which time it appeared to be the predominant variant in the country.
• Currently there is no evidence to suggest that this variant has any impact on disease severity.
• There is some evidence to indicate that one of the spike protein mutations, E484K, may affect neutralization by some polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies.1,2