KEN'S COVID UPDATE #2 - I'M FREE!!!

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Ken Kurtis

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Location
Beverly Hills, CA
# of dives
5000 - ∞
I cleared the L.A. County mandatory 10-day isolation last night so can resume life (somewhat) today. Will continue to wear a mask even when I don't have to for at least another week or so just to make sure I don't inadvertently infect anyone else. (CDC says no live virus nine days after first symptoms but I'm being cautious.)

I feel fully recovered. Exhaustion was one day, fever lasted about three days, fatigue wasn't that bad but I took a lot more short naps (15-60 minutes) than I usually do, never had any breathing issues (pulse oxygen was always in the 95-99 range), cough faded away, runny nose continued for a number of days and was the most annoying part. Got an infusion of monoclonal antibodies on Wednesday and even though my symptoms were very minor at that point, the runny nose stopped the next day and I felt peppier even by that evening. Everything seems back to normal today (Saturday).

The most frustrating thing in all of this is trying to figure out what went wrong. I try to be very careful. I mask up in public, especially indoors, I try to avoid people I don't know, I try to wash my hands &/or sanitize often (but maybe not as often as I should), but I also wanted to get on with life. The most obvious candidate for where I got infected was one of two major sporting events I attended (masked) but again, hard to specifically pin things down. I was eating/drinking so removed my mask at times but when was the danger time? Impossible to know. That's the frustration. Hard to know what to correct if you don't know what the deficiency was in the first place. So we do the best we can.

There can be two takeaways from this, one a false one that plays into confirmation bias and the other what I believe to be the truth. The false narrative would be to say that even though I was fully vaxxed, I got COVID and that shows the vaccines don't work as advertised. Couldn't be further from the truth IMHO.

The vaccines are not a guarantee against getting sick, they're a hedge against getting HOSPITALIZED &/or DYING. My case was relatively mild as things go. It was no worse than a mild flu that hung around for a week. I would hate to think what the reaction would have been had I NOT been vaccinated.

I think the true lesson here is not only that the vaccines work but that the Delta variant (which is what I assume I got) is HIGHLY contagious, evidenced by the fact that it broke through my vaccine defenses and the mitigation measures I tried to take. If you are walking around un-vaccinated, you essentially have a big "INFECT ME" sign on your back. I don't understand the motivation of those who continue to push drivel and nonsense about COVID nor do I understand how seemingly intelligent people can have a blind eye and be so un-educated in this particular aspect of our lives.

As a kid, I grew up on "Romper Room." One of the sayings to get you to behave well was, "Do be a Do-Bee, don't be a Don't-Bee." Maybe we should change that for the COVID era to, "Do be a Do-Vax, don't be an idiot." (Or something like that.)
😇
 
The most frustrating thing in all of this is trying to figure out what went wrong.

I mask up in public, especially indoors
It's been awhile since I read this, so take with a grain of salt...IIRC, it's been said the mask is more about reducing your risk of transmitting the virus to others than it is about preventing you from catching it. I don't know hard numbers on either end; there's been controversy over what the true 'safe' distance is, most masks aren't N95 equivalent (never mind how few are worn with an ideal seal), etc... So even if you do everything right with your mask, you still don't have an impenetrable barrier, just a further reduction in risk.
 
Great to hear you're better.

As for figuring out... what about reduced antibodies? How long has it been since your last shot and which vaccine?
 
Just because you were vaxed does not mean you were immunized. If your body didn't react and make the antibodies, the vaccine didn't work for you. Add in the antibodies waning over time. And as you stated, it still is no guarantee. But it sounds like you had a mild case. Got over it quick. That was good.

I got a decent education. Understand how this stuff works. Sound science, not voodoo. Had Covid myself at the start of the year. Nothing news worthy, just the boring stuff that most get. When the vaccine was opened, I got it the second week. At this point it is available enough that you should have it. If not, expect to get it the hard way. As in not on your terms and out for a lot longer and a lot rougher.
 
As for figuring out... what about reduced antibodies? How long has it been since your last shot and which vaccine?
Pfizer. Second shot February 26. Reduced antibodies definitely a possibility. No real way to know.
 
Pfizer. Second shot February 26. Reduced antibodies definitely a possibility. No real way to know.

True. The only thing we know, then, is that it's been a while since the shots and Pfizer did advocate for boosters, so it's a known possibility.

The sporting events are wild cards, as it is mixing with a lot of people and LA has had a lot of community spread, so maybe there's just a lot of it still circulating among unvaxxed and some vaxxed. Overall, so much circulating that it's hard to avoid.

I'm usually home, or if out, masked and outside. Grocery shopping is about an hour, masked and moving. The big regular risk for me is movie theaters, as I will snack on popcorn and sip on soda. This hasn't been a big issue, as I've been going on weekdays and check to make sure the show isn't crowded. The theater used to automatically block out adjacent seats when booking, but San Francisco is easing restrictions (fair enough, to help businesses), but that means no more blocking of seats. Vaxx status is checked if refreshments are purchased, but not carefully if there's a long line at concessions, kinda like at airports where the body scanner isn't used, just the metal detectors to move the line. Ultimately, it means mitigation efforts are going down and depending on where you are, it might be inevitable to catch it. :(
 
Pfizer. Second shot February 26. Reduced antibodies definitely a possibility. No real way to know.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to hear that you had a mild one and are recovering well. It is a sign for me to get a booster shot. I had Moderna back in April.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to hear that you had a mild one and are recovering well. It is a sign for me to get a booster shot. I had Moderna back in April.

Moderna boosters were just authorized at half dose of the original shots, 50mg instead of 100mg per shot. I know you'll ask for a booster shot, but some people, like some friends who are anxious, are willing to say they've received no shots, to get it sooner and will likely get a full dose. (Pfizer is 30mg, so booster of same dose size still isn't more than Moderna half dose.)
 
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