How were the lockdowns for you?

[easyas123]

But it's not over.

The Pandemic is over.

No one has said Covid is done, gone, over and no more. At least not that I've read! I'm sure they are out there somewhere....but for purposes of this (and why to I stress this? Because, without a doubt you can take the time to find someone online who says the opposite. But I'm talking about in this discussion, so if someone upthread said it is done and gone forever, then I humbly beg your pardon for not having read thru & remembered everything in this thread, and I thank you for kindly correcting me) discussion I believe it is over, the Pandemic that is. Covid, well yes that lives on in nature, along with a multitude of other diseases.

"Yesterday, the #COVID19 Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice. With great hope I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency."

WHO chief declares end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency​

https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136367#:~:text=WHO chief declares end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency,-5 May 2023&text=The head of the UN,no longer a global threat.

(this is from NAture.com but is behind a paywall):
"The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)."

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/who-ends-covid-global-health-emergency-rcna83046


https://apnews.com/article/who-decl...ver-pandemic-8b6445735df5218b5d9d6ec32fa047ca

"While the virus is not gone…we have broken COVID’s grip on us,” Biden said. “And soon we’ll end the public health emergency.”" President Biden
https://time.com/6253890/is-pandemic-over-biden-covid-19/


I can't fault folks for being ready to move on from the grips of the pandemic- and yes, I do think a lot of advice was contradictory and confusing at times. And yes some of us still utilize masks for several reasons and that is ok, too. One doesn't make you superior over another, although some would like to think so.

"I know more people in the last 2 months with covid than I knew at any other time in the past three years. And that includes my wife and I" -

Respectfully that does not mean anything other than you know some folks w/ Covid at the moment. At any given time any of us can know several people with Covid, or Cancer, or Flu, or Strep Throat, or a nasty cold, or Bronchitis or fill-in-the-blank.

 

[Kae]

This boggles my mind. Granted I'm state government and dh is federal govt but I find it appalling that so many businesses do not have sick PTO. I earn three weeks per year and it accumulates forever. To think people won't get sick all year or only a day or two is crazy! I'm retiring in Sept and all that sick leave gets converted into "time served" so I my sick leave will add 7 months to my total work years which increases my retirement pay.

Part of PTO is for sick days. People go to work sick because they don't want to use PTO for sick days that's the problem. if you need 3 weeks for sick days then you need to see a doctor.

 

[tvguy]

The Pandemic is over.

No one has said Covid is done, gone, over and no more. At least not that I've read! I'm sure they are out there somewhere....but for purposes of this (and why to I stress this? Because, without a doubt you can take the time to find someone online who says the opposite. But I'm talking about in this discussion, so if someone upthread said it is done and gone forever, then I humbly beg your pardon for not having read thru & remembered everything in this thread, and I thank you for kindly correcting me) discussion I believe it is over, the Pandemic that is. Covid, well yes that lives on in nature, along with a multitude of other diseases.

"Yesterday, the #COVID19 Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice. With great hope I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency."

WHO chief declares end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency​

https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136367#:~:text=WHO chief declares end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency,-5 May 2023&text=The head of the UN,no longer a global threat.

(this is from NAture.com but is behind a paywall):
"The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)."

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/who-ends-covid-global-health-emergency-rcna83046


https://apnews.com/article/who-decl...ver-pandemic-8b6445735df5218b5d9d6ec32fa047ca

"While the virus is not gone…we have broken COVID’s grip on us,” Biden said. “And soon we’ll end the public health emergency.”" President Biden
https://time.com/6253890/is-pandemic-over-biden-covid-19/


I can't fault folks for being ready to move on from the grips of the pandemic- and yes, I do think a lot of advice was contradictory and confusing at times. And yes some of us still utilize masks for several reasons and that is ok, too. One doesn't make you superior over another, although some would like to think so.

"I know more people in the last 2 months with covid than I knew at any other time in the past three years. And that includes my wife and I" -

Respectfully that does not mean anything other than you know some folks w/ Covid at the moment. At any given time any of us can know several people with Covid, or Cancer, or Flu, or Strep Throat, or a nasty cold, or Bronchitis or fill-in-the-blank.

This would be a great discussion over drinks. Can't discuss it here because it is a political decision, but a health decision. The system for tracking also has become a victim of politics.
But I will point out that as of today, many parts of the city government of Vallejo are closed due to a covid outbreak. https://www.ktvu.com/news/covid-outbreak-will-shut-down-part-of-city-hall-next-week-officials-say

 

[easyas123]

But I will point out that as of today, many parts of the city government of Vallejo are closed due to a covid outbreak. https://www.ktvu.com/news/covid-outbreak-will-shut-down-part-of-city-hall-next-week-officials-say

And I'd point out that there have been several instances over these many years where private/public offices/schools/small businesses have had to temporarily close for a few days due to an outbreak of something.
My kids school for instance, about 10 years ago. Several teachers & admin along with some students had the flu. They closed down for rest of the week.

 

[Lumpy1106]

But it's not over. I know more people in the last 2 months with covid than I knew at any other time in the past three years. And that includes my wife and I who finally went on a vacation and brought covid back last month.
Remember, masks are to protect others from you, not you from others. Even after the 5 day quarantine was over, we wore out masks when we went out and still do to protect others, not us.
We still have our cloth masks hanging by the front door, 40 each, and a box of disposables.

Speaking of "not over", you know that seasonal flu that we don't pay that much attention to? You do realize that's a variant of the Spanish flu, right? And not to scare anyone, but THAT was a pandemic. That had double digit % deaths of the entire population. COVID had right around 0.85% deaths of the people who tested positive - NOT a pandemic, at least not on the same scale.
If we really wanted to save lives we would have insisted everyone lose 10 pounds. After all, there is no debate - those who are in better shape had better outcomes when they did get sick. What would be the harm? We all know the real epidemic in the US is obesity. But that was never in the discussion. Wear a mask, close everything down because that was something we could all do to "do our part". Do something to be doing something without questioning if it was something we should even be doing. OK, well, done and done. I never got sick and never even got tested. If you asked me how I got through the pandemic with such a great outcome you'd be the first - what does that tell you?

 

[tvguy]

Speaking of "not over", you know that seasonal flu that we don't pay that much attention to? You do realize that's a variant of the Spanish flu, right? And not to scare anyone, but THAT was a pandemic. That had double digit % deaths of the entire population. COVID had right around 0.85% deaths of the people who tested positive - NOT a pandemic, at least not on the same scale.
If we really wanted to save lives we would have insisted everyone lose 10 pounds. After all, there is no debate - those who are in better shape had better outcomes when they did get sick. What would be the harm? We all know the real epidemic in the US is obesity. But that was never in the discussion. Wear a mask, close everything down because that was something we could all do to "do our part". Do something to be doing something without questioning if it was something we should even be doing. OK, well, done and done. I never got sick and never even got tested. If you asked me how I got through the pandemic with such a great outcome you'd be the first - what does that tell you?

Yup. Perfect example of what happens when people follow health guidelines instead of fighting like some did with covid.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

Well, we will pretty much always disagree then which is OK. Data was suppressed. Covid ended up being a disease of the elderly or severely immunocompromised. The hospitals were using the wrong treatments and ventilators were a disaster and caused needless death. You won't get that on ABC. The chance of a healthy person under 50 dying from covid was 1 in 333,333. That's why it is so important to have choice of treatments and vaccines. You vaccinated based on your risk and research and I didn't vaccinate based on my risk and my research. We both did what we thought was best and luckily nobody in my family was forced to do otherwise. We can't ever go back to trying to mandate a vaccine again. Especially now that we know that this vaccine doesn't protect anybody but the patient (maybe).

This sounds very tin foil hat-y, getting data from Fox News isn't accurate either. So are you saying that hte elderly and immunocompromised don't matter that them getting sick or dying isn't that big of a deal? I'm just curious. I've known plenty of very healthy people that got covid before the vaccine was available and they still have lasting effects from covid to this day. Having complications from covid is an issue too not just dying. The vaccine doesn't keep you from getting covid it just keeps you from getting severly sick. So yes it does protect the patient, but in doing the vaccine you are also protecting others by protecting yourself.

The lockdown was alright for me, I still had to work. I do think that the lockdown brought out a lot of very entitled people, and I always think that there were entitled people even before covid it but definitely made it worse. I missed being able to go out and do things, but as time went on I got used to it.

 

[leahgoogle]

This sounds very tin foil hat-y, getting data from Fox News isn't accurate either. So are you saying that hte elderly and immunocompromised don't matter that them getting sick or dying isn't that big of a deal? I'm just curious. I've known plenty of very healthy people that got covid before the vaccine was available and they still have lasting effects from covid to this day. Having complications from covid is an issue too not just dying. The vaccine doesn't keep you from getting covid it just keeps you from getting severly sick. So yes it does protect the patient, but in doing the vaccine you are also protecting others by protecting yourself.

The lockdown was alright for me, I still had to work. I do think that the lockdown brought out a lot of very entitled people, and I always think that there were entitled people even before covid it but definitely made it worse. I missed being able to go out and do things, but as time went on I got used to it.

I don't get my news from Fox either. The elderly and the immunocompromised are important. We don't lockdown or mandate shots for the flu or other respiratory diseases. Those hit the elderly and the immunocompromised harder too. Mass widespread lockdowns don't work. At best they just delay the virus from spreading. Coronaviruses can't be controlled with a vaccine. They mutate too quickly. Even this great new vaccine technology couldn't stop it from spreading. There is evidence that the vaccine doesn't even protect against severe illness, but let's say it does. You can still spread covid to the elderly and immunocompromised even after getting the vaccine so it does nothing to protect others by protecting yourself. That was the narrative they spread at the beginning. It has been proven wrong. Having vaccine complications is very real too. Most of the people I know that have gotten the vaccine have had some sort of lingering side-effect from mild to severe heart issues. I only know a few that got even one booster after the initial set because of the problems it has caused. I'll take my chances with covid (and did). You are welcome to get all the shots. I am not putting anybody at risk with my decision.

 

[tvguy]

I don't get my news from Fox either. The elderly and the immunocompromised are important. We don't lockdown or mandate shots for the flu or other respiratory diseases. Those hit the elderly and the immunocompromised harder too. Mass widespread lockdowns don't work. At best they just delay the virus from spreading. Coronaviruses can't be controlled with a vaccine. They mutate too quickly. Even this great new vaccine technology couldn't stop it from spreading. There is evidence that the vaccine doesn't even protect against severe illness, but let's say it does. You can still spread covid to the elderly and immunocompromised even after getting the vaccine so it does nothing to protect others by protecting yourself. That was the narrative they spread at the beginning. It has been proven wrong. Having vaccine complications is very real too. Most of the people I know that have gotten the vaccine have had some sort of lingering side-effect from mild to severe heart issues. I only know a few that got even one booster after the initial set because of the problems it has caused. I'll take my chances with covid (and did). You are welcome to get all the shots. I am not putting anybody at risk with my decision.

At least here Nursing Homes and Rehab Centers routinely lockdown here for flu. And now RSV has caused some lockdowns in pre-schools.......at least it did back in December in Southern California because my Granddaughters daycare was shutdown for 2 weeks for RSV outbreak.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We knew several people who got very sick and at least 4 or 5 who died Including a disabled friend of my daughter. And a good friend almost died last year from long covid. He’s still on dialysis. But my daughter, husband and I were primarily mildly inconvenienced. im retired so I wasn’t going anywhere anyway, my husband is a lawyer and court was via zoom, my daughter is disabled and her day Programs moved from in Person to Zoom. We each Got all our shots and had two cases of covid over the years, none of it dangerous. We cancelled several trips. We didn’t lose any income and saved money because we weren’t going anywhere. We were in Illinois and everything shut down. I felt lucky we had a governor and mayors willing to do the hard thing to keep us safe. I had a self employed friend who got PPE thst kept her whole. And I’m on the board of a not for profit thst used PPE to keep the doors open so they could continue to serve the disabled population. And I hated what the then administration did to tear this country apart.

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Most of the people I know that have gotten the vaccine have had some sort of lingering side-effect from mild to severe heart issues.

This statement is truly mind boggling. I am curious, when you say "most people" how many people are you talking about?

Between my very large extended family, church, work, large circle of friends, friends of friends, my kids friends, we are talking hundreds and hundreds of people, I don't know a single one that ended up with any heart problem. Zero!

 

[Pooh2]

This statement is truly mind boggling. I am curious, when you say "most people" how many people are you talking about?

Between my very large extended family, church, work, large circle of friends, friends of friends, my kids friends, we are talking hundreds and hundreds of people, I don't know a single one that ended up with any heart problem. Zero!

That is quite fortunate that you and your family were not affected.

My mother went into Afib less than 6 hours after her second moderna with zero history of heart trouble;
my 40-year-old marathon runner nephew had a heart attack shortly after his first shot.

 

[Frwinkley]

Speaking of "not over", you know that seasonal flu that we don't pay that much attention to? You do realize that's a variant of the Spanish flu, right? And not to scare anyone, but THAT was a pandemic. That had double digit % deaths of the entire population. COVID had right around 0.85% deaths of the people who tested positive - NOT a pandemic, at least not on the same scale.
If we really wanted to save lives we would have insisted everyone lose 10 pounds. After all, there is no debate - those who are in better shape had better outcomes when they did get sick. What would be the harm? We all know the real epidemic in the US is obesity. But that was never in the discussion. Wear a mask, close everything down because that was something we could all do to "do our part". Do something to be doing something without questioning if it was something we should even be doing. OK, well, done and done. I never got sick and never even got tested. If you asked me how I got through the pandemic with such a great outcome you'd be the first - what does that tell you?

Not a guarantee though. My DH and I are in are early 60s, extremely fit, active and healthy. We both got Covid last July (and I as a teacher in person full-time was able to avoid it for close to 2 years). Thanks to the vaccine, we had barely more than a cold. I've been way way sicker with bronchitis.

I know a number of people half my age, in good physical shape who chose not to be vaccinated. They were much sicker than I was.

I do agree with you though--as a nation (US), we are a terribly unhealthy bunch.

 

[Frwinkley]

We knew several people who got very sick and at least 4 or 5 who died Including a disabled friend of my daughter. And a good friend almost died last year from long covid. He’s still on dialysis. But my daughter, husband and I were primarily mildly inconvenienced. im retired so I wasn’t going anywhere anyway, my husband is a lawyer and court was via zoom, my daughter is disabled and her day Programs moved from in Person to Zoom. We each Got all our shots and had two cases of covid over the years, none of it dangerous. We cancelled several trips. We didn’t lose any income and saved money because we weren’t going anywhere. We were in Illinois and everything shut down. I felt lucky we had a governor and mayors willing to do the hard thing to keep us safe. I had a self employed friend who got PPE thst kept her whole. And I’m on the board of a not for profit thst used PPE to keep the doors open so they could continue to serve the disabled population. And I hated what the then administration did to tear this country apart.

That's what I hated most about the whole thing. We became a nation divided. To me, that's really what has set the tone for where we still are today.

 

[mumto3girls]

This statement is truly mind boggling. I am curious, when you say "most people" how many people are you talking about?

Between my very large extended family, church, work, large circle of friends, friends of friends, my kids friends, we are talking hundreds and hundreds of people, I don't know a single one that ended up with any heart problem. Zero!

I was curious about that statement too. The majority of the people in my circle were vaccinated. I don’t know of a single person with any issues from the vaccine beyond a sore arm or feeling lethargic/achy for a few days.

 

[Moliphino]

Not a guarantee though. My DH and I are in are early 60s, extremely fit, active and healthy. We both got Covid last July (and I as a teacher in person full-time was able to avoid it for close to 2 years). Thanks to the vaccine, we had barely more than a cold. I've been way way sicker with bronchitis.

I know a number of people half my age, in good physical shape who chose not to be vaccinated. They were much sicker than I was.

I do agree with you though--as a nation (US), we are a terribly unhealthy bunch.

My sister got covid just before she was eligible to get the vaccine (April 2021). Was sick as a dog for almost 2 full weeks. 10 straight days of fever, felt like death.
My whole family, including this sister, got covid a year later after being fully vaccinated and boosted and none of us was anywhere near as sick as she had been pre-vaccine. It was a mild to moderate cold. She was the only one who'd had it before.
My 96 year old (at the time) grandmother caught it last fall. She was fully up to date on the vaccine and boosters and they gave her monoclonal antibodies because of her age and health. She came through it completely fine. And she is a pretty frail person (has a pacemaker, dementia, and an aortic aneurysm).

 

[tvguy]

That's what I hated most about the whole thing. We became a nation divided. To me, that's really what has set the tone for where we still are today.

I agree. And as I (think) I posted up thread, my Rheumatologist really put it all in perspective for me. We really aren't going to start to know about the long term impact of covid, long covid and vaccines for at least another 10 years. They were still discovery things about the Spanish flu 100 years ago during the covid pandemic.

 

[PezRuth]

Most of the people I know that have gotten the vaccine have had some sort of lingering side-effect from mild to severe heart issues. I only know a few that got even one booster after the initial set because of the problems it has caused.

This statement is interesting to me. Everyone in my circle (and it is a very large circle) received the vaccine and none of us have any reported side effects. And almost everyone in that groups had multiple boosters.

 

[PezRuth]

This statement is truly mind boggling. I am curious, when you say "most people" how many people are you talking about?

Between my very large extended family, church, work, large circle of friends, friends of friends, my kids friends, we are talking hundreds and hundreds of people, I don't know a single one that ended up with any heart problem. Zero!

Exactly same here. Everyone in my circle got the vaccine and boosters and there are no issues.

 

[Southernmiss]

Vaccines, boosters here all good and grateful for them.

Husband had a mild case in late January becausehe was vaccinated and boosted. 4 of us have never gotten it and know precautions work.