Candy, I’m sorry to hear that there’s still so much covid and resistance in your area.

I too am very lucky, hospitals are doing fine, my zip code is 70% vaxed and the county positivity rate is down to 4.6. We mask and see many others doing so as well. The media image of a reckless Texas just isn’t very accurate.

Sandy, I always gamble in Vegas. I always win more than I spend too. I’m just a lucky person.

I stopped listening to Bill Maher a couple of years ago when he seemed to turn into a regular old white guy. I used to think he was funny.

I too like Mehdi Hasan but lately feel like there is so mush "look at me" or hollywood influence with all commentators that I want it ALL to go away. I feel like the culture in America feels like many wake up asking "are we rolling?"

I think the flooding in BC and now rationing of gas has put me in a despair that I have avoided with all of this crap.

Wrenn, are you in the area where the flooding is? Like most in the U.S., I am stupid about your provinces except that they're mostly enormous. Hope all is well with you.

Many people have lost everything. So far 5 people died and many animals.

I have been very lucky

We are on vacation in Page, Arizona. Not much mask wearing here, surprising because the nearby Reservations have been hit hard by Covid and are taking it very seriously. I knew dinner would be challenging in this town. It’s cold here, and after 3 nights of microwave meals, I really wanted a nice night out, but I don’t feel comfortable eating indoors. A couple of restaurants were not accommodating but the third one went above and beyond to make us comfortable, seating us outside with a heater. I almost cried that they were so nice to me after the other two restaurants couldn’t have cared less. To top it all off the food was verygood as well.

If you are ever visiting Page, AZ, go to Grand Circle Grille. It’s rare for people to go out of their way these days.

Good point, Beaverntx.

I ditched my cloth masks once N95s became widely available. Before that, I was using my N95 for medical appointments and cloth masks outside. Now, I just wear N95s everywhere.

"Why We Need to Upgrade Our Face Masks—and Where to Get Them

High-quality respirators such as N95s and K95s are now widely available and provide the best protection against COVID, according to experts. Why aren't more people wearing them?"

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-...

(my hospital has their own surgical masks they give out & depending who's manning the door, sometimes they insist I take it so I put it on over the N95. No way am I taking off my N95 & replacing it with a procedure mask...)

wrenn, I did a pulmonary function test last spring in Surrey. They did it in a private room with only 1 person in & she was masked the whole time & were sitting quite a ways apart. I felt pretty safe . I didn't have to do the treadmill lung test tho, just breathing into the machine. I hope it goes well for you!

I wear the hospital issued surgical mask over mine too. I have a 50 pack of N95 but the head straps are not very comfortable and I have chubby cheeks, however, my KN95’s are very comfortable and seal my face perfectly, they’re the best. DH still uses a cloth mask most of the time though because of his big beard. Not ideal but he is cautious at least.

Paintball convention? That's on my list of things I would never do. I don't understand why he would risk it when he could expose vulnerable people. I hope the kids don't get sick.

My older daughter moved downtown in September, but she comes back once or twice a week. This week she's going to a gala that requires a vaccine passport. She will quarantine at her apartment afterwards and get a COVID test before visiting us again.

speaking of conventions, conference etc,

"Seven doctors contract Covid after attending Florida anti-vaccine summit"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/23/fl...

Divine - The world would be better off with more thoughtful people like my daughter. I’m not biased or anything. 😀

Chowdog - These doctors must be the ~4% of doctors refusing to be vaccinated.

Alice - I must be nastier then. Some or all of these doctors are involved with the group pushing ivermectin as part of their protocol. They’ve been doing harm. They shouldn’t be doctors.

I hate to say it but I was thrilled when I read it

US may have a 'game changer' new Covid pill soon, but its success will hinge on rapid testing

CNN — Within a few weeks, perhaps before many Americans finish decorating for the holidays, the U.S. could have access to a new antiviral pill from Merck expected to alter the deadly trajectory of the covid-19 pandemic — with a second option from Pfizer to follow shortly after.

Now under federal review, both pills are being hailed by infectious-disease doctors not prone to superlatives.

"This is truly a game changer," said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an expert on infectious diseases and immunology at Columbia University. "This is up there with vaccines. It's not a substitute for vaccines; we still want to get people vaccinated. But, boy, this is just another great tool to have.

The new regimens, which require 30 or 40 pills to be taken over five days, have been shown to dramatically reduce hospitalizations and prevent deaths in adults with mild to moderate covid who are at risk for severe disease because of age or underlying conditions. But experts say the success of the treatments would hinge on one uncertain factor: whether high-risk patients infected with covid will be able to get tested — and then treated — fast enough to make a difference.

"Early, accessible testing and access to the results in a time frame that allows us to make a decision is really going to be key to these medications," said Dr. Erica Johnson, who chairs the Infectious Disease Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine. "It puts the onus on our public health strategy to make these available."

In clinical trials, molnupiravir, the antiviral drug developed by Merck & Co. and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, was given to non-hospitalized, unvaccinated, high-risk adult patients within five days of their first covid symptoms. Pfizer's product, Paxlovid, was tested in similar patients as early as three days — just 72 hours — after symptoms emerged.

Results from the Merck trial, released last month, showed the drug reduced the risk of hospitalizations by about 50% and prevented deaths entirely. It will be considered by an advisory panel to the federal Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 30. Pfizer officials, who requested FDA emergency authorization for their drug on Nov. 16, said Paxlovid cut the risk of hospitalizations and deaths by 89%. Both drugs work by hampering the way the covid virus reproduces, though they do so at different points in the process.

But those promising results assume the drugs can be administered in the narrow window of time used in the trials, a proven challenge when getting antiviral treatments to actual patients. Similar drugs can prevent dire outcomes from influenza if given early, but research shows that only about 40% of high-risk patients during five recent flu seasons sought medical care within three days of falling ill.

"That's just not human nature," said Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious disease programs for the Association of Public Health Laboratories. "If you have a sniffle, you wait to see if it gets worse."

Even when patients do seek early care, access to covid testing has been wildly variable since the start of the pandemic. U.S. testing capacity continues to be plagued by a host of problems, including supply-chain bottlenecks, staffing shortages, intermittent spikes in demand and results that can take hours — or far longer.

PCR, or polymerase chain reaction tests, the gold standard to detect SARS-CoV-2, can require scheduled appointments at medical offices or urgent care center, and patients often wait days to learn the results. Rapid antigen tests are faster but less accurate, and some medical providers are hesitant to rely on them. Over-the-counter tests that can be used at home provide results quickly but are and remain expensive. And it's not yet clear how those results would be confirmed and whether they would be accepted as a reason for treatment.

"Get ready," Griffin said. "You don't want to call someone four days later to say, 'Ooh, you're now outside the window,' and the efficacy of this oral medication has been lost because of problems on our end with getting those results."

The situation is expected to improve after a Biden administration push to invest $3 billion in rapid testing, including $650 million to ramp up manufacturing capacity for rapid tests.

Full article: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/24/health/covid-antiviral-pills-testing-khn-partner/index.html?utm_source=fbCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2021-11-24T15%3A28%3A07&utm_term=link&fbclid=IwAR3ontGBFdHlWf7ADv_ehkWHNsfA5V-A8ayjDfzWJOgIfmdh4SCnzyji5T0

Chowdog - Yes, I agree. Thi is why treatment options aren't as good as being fully vaccinated. Unless someone is getting tested regularly, it will be hard to get these treatments in time.

Jelson - Was he not wearing a mask? Hope his daughter doesn't get sick. We're having rising cases while hospitalizations remain stable. I think it's because most of the new cases are in the under 12 and 18-39. They're less likely to be hospitalized, but of course, some are.