On Topic Discussion 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2)

[belamyi]

I walked a LOT during my six days in Spain, and aside from a slight tickle in my throat, I have no signs of respiratory distress.

And it's nice to hear that SOMEone thinks I'm young.

The trick of putting old hag Joan beside you works well.

 

[belamyi]

I walked a LOT during my six days in Spain

Must needs

 

[KaraBulut]

I walked a LOT during my six days in Spain, and aside from a slight tickle in my throat, I have no signs of respiratory distress.

And it's nice to hear that SOMEone thinks I'm young.

Your experience, while less than ideal in timing, is what a lot of vaccinated people should experience if they contract COVID. The vaccine is effective for lowering the risk of complications like the pneumonia. For most people, it will feel like a typical seasonal cold. For people who are immunocompromised, it may be more like a mild flu.

It is still a serious illness for people over age 70 or for the unvaccinated.

That said, being sick away from home always sucks.

 

[Kulindahr]

Now to remind myself to go get a booster. Is there a new one in the last six months?

 

[unloadonme]

I think Covid boosters are becoming like the flu ones. The vaccine is being tweaked each year to target the most prevalent strain of the virus. I also read that combined vaccines are being developed.

Moderna's two-in-one flu and Covid vaccine passes advanced trial

The trial suggests the jab arms the body with protective antibodies as effectively as separate shots.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[KaraBulut]

Now to remind myself to go get a booster. Is there a new one in the last six months?

I think Covid boosters are becoming like the flu ones. The vaccine is being tweaked each year to target the most prevalent strain of the virus. I also read that combined vaccines are being developed.

Moderna's two-in-one flu and Covid vaccine passes advanced trial

The trial suggests the jab arms the body with protective antibodies as effectively as separate shots.

www.bbc.co.uk

There will a Fall 2024 COVID booster. The booster will be targeted toward the JN.1 variant that was predominant in Spring 2024. The Fall 2023 booster was targeted at an earlier variant (XBB.1.5) which is distinctly different from the JN.1 variants, which is why the booster is being updated.

 

[frankfrank]

Now to remind myself to go get a booster. Is there a new one in the last six months?

I called my doctor's office a week ago and said my last booster was on 30 November. I asked if I should get another booster, especially because I'm in my 70s. They said I should just wait until October... (Not sure I really "like" that answer, and I hope I don't "pay for" going to the Pride parade on the 30th.)

 

[Kulindahr]

There will a Fall 2024 COVID booster. The booster will be targeted toward the JN.1 variant that was predominant in Spring 2024. The Fall 2023 booster was targeted at an earlier variant (XBB.1.5) which is distinctly different from the JN.1 variants, which is why the booster is being updated.

So is there any point in getting one now?

 

[KaraBulut]

So is there any point in getting one now?

It depends on two factors -

1. Whether you're in a high risk group.
2. Whether you're involved in high risk activities.

The old booster is based upon an earlier omicron variant and offers some value in raising antibody levels. For example, if you have one of the conditions that fall into the immunocompromised category or if you are in contact with the public daily, then you would benefit from maintaining a high level of antibodies.

On the other hand, if you are not in crowds frequently and you are otherwise healthy, then receiving another Fall 2023 booster before the Fall 2024 booster is optional.

The recommendation is for persons in high risk groups, particularly those over age 75, is to be boosted every 6 months with a minimum time between doses of 3 months. If you get a booster now, you would be eligible for the new booster in October.

I haven't seen a final availability date for the Fall 2024 COVID booster but the general plan is to have both the Fall 2024 flu shot and COVID booster available for the September-October campaigns. This year's flu shot will be trivalent with H1N1, H3N2 and a B/Victoria lineage virus.

 

[fredroy]

I'm not going to get the shot. I've never had the flu. I just don't get sick. I figure I have enough pollen and dust allergies that the constant stream of snot from my nose washes all the cooties out.

I wash my hands. Many years of working at c-stores and grocery stores. I mean, money is dirty, you have to wash your hands before you un-zip to pee.

 

[rareboy]

Give me my needle.

My first bout with COVID was so bad that it made me a decade older.

I would have died without the immunizations. And so would my partner.

I have no doubt at all.

 

[Kulindahr]

Well, July 3 I hiked the bay shore on the sandspit where I do conservation work and collected good data, but I also wore myself out enough that I triggered my old frenemy viral bronchitis, so around noon on the 4th I started getting headache, fever, pressure in my head, a cough, and a touch of dizziness, all par for the course. The fever almost hit 102° F but not quite, and it stayed high through the 5th and most of the sixth; I managed to get myself to the store on the 5th and got Mucinex, the version that's for pretty much everything, and that dealt with the headache, cough, and much of the fever but not the dizziness though I didn't care because I was experiencing what I figured was a drug interaction that had me feeling stoned and loopy. The night of the 5th the fever broke but it returned the next day. The cough lingered and faded some but three days ago it started to get worse and I started sweating while sitting still like I was out jogging in warm weather. Today I went to urgent care because of the turn for the worse and learned that my self-diagnosis had been excellent but my self-care not so much; they had me breathe some sort of "activated" mist with a steroid that totally opened up my lungs, took several swabs (nose, throat) and sent me home with an order for two over-the-counter meds and two prescriptions (which I didn't go get because the pharmacy is a half hour distant and I wasn't feeling up to that drive). So I get home, start drinking lots of fluids, and then a call comes from the lab: COVID got me on top of the bronchitis, which was why I was feeling feverish and sweating while sitting still and the cough was coming back. I probably would have been free of the COVID if I hadn't had to stand in line to get the Mucinex; that was the largest concentration of people I've been in since 2018.

I see the doc again Tuesday for a full check-up. I'm happy to have the cutest person at the clinic for my doc!

Oh -- they said go ahead and get a booster anyway, but the clinic isn't doing them any more so I'll have to go to one of the pharmacies that has the shots.

 

[cityboy-stl]

Sorry to hear. Hope you feel better. Covid on the rise again. Kinda scary. I had the booster in May.

I'm having cataract surgery Monday. Had the other eye on the 10th. Not sick so far. Crossing my fingers, no covid from that. I may just go back into lockdown for a couple of months when this surgery is over.

Take care and get well.

 

[KaraBulut]

...

Oh -- they said go ahead and get a booster anyway, but the clinic isn't doing them any more so I'll have to go to one of the pharmacies that has the shots.

From your symptoms, I was thinking, "He needs a COVID test".

The pharmacy may have you fill out a questionnaire before the COVID booster about whether you've had COVID in the past 8 weeks. The US guideline is that you should wait 8 weeks after a case of COVID to get the booster, so if you answer "Yes" to that question, they may not give you a booster.

The guidelines vary, though, and other countries are giving COVID boosters after COVID symptoms resolve.

 

[cityboy-stl]

The updated booster should be out in about 8 weeks. You might as well wait for the new one. Right?

 

[KaraBulut]

The updated booster should be out in about 8 weeks. You might as well wait for the new one. Right?

Short answer: it's up to each person and their primary care physician to make the decision based upon their risk for exposure. The 2024 Fall booster is designed to increase antibody levels to more recent variants- the Omicron variants that were circulating in the Spring of 2024. The 2023 Fall booster isn't going to offer the same level of immunity because it was based upon Omicron variants from 2023 that are no longer in circulation.

Long answer for those who are into the nerdy details:
Here's the current situation: the 2023 Fall booster and the 2024 Fall booster are both based upon the Omicron variant lineage that arose in South Africa in Nov, 2021. Omicron variants are significantly different (~50 mutations) than the original Wuhan strains from 2019 through 2021. Omicron variants are many times more contagious than what was circulating in 2020-2021.

The 2023 Fall booster was the first booster to offer immunity targeted to Omicron variants. This is why we encouraged everyone to get that 2023 Fall booster last year.

As Omicron has continued to mutate into new variants that are able to partially bypass immunity to both antibodies from the 2023 Fall booster and from the Omicron variants from 2023, it requires a reformulated booster for 2024 Fall.

Here's what the evolution of COVID from 2020 through today looks like:


The green and yellow in the chart was the Omicron XBB lineage that was circulating in 2022-2023 and the 2023 Fall booster was based upon XBB. The orange is the Omicron JN.1 lineage and the map colors correspond to the colors in the lineage chart on the left. Notice that the map is pretty much orange everywhere with not a lot of green/yellow. The 2024 Fall booster is based upon JN.1, so it's a much better match to what is circulating currently.

In most cases, people who either have had COVID in 2023/2024 or who received the 2023 Fall booster should have enough immunity to prevent severe illness and the complications from COVID which is the goal of the boosters.

Here's what is circulating in the US at the moment:

 

[cityboy-stl]

That's really helpful. Thank you.

 

[Kulindahr]

From your symptoms, I was thinking, "He needs a COVID test".

It's the same set of symptoms that always comes with one of my bronchitis flare-ups, though the fever was higher than usual, so I didn't start to get concerned until the dry cough stopped getting better and started getting worse. The last time that happened with a bronchitis bout and I ignored it I ended up with pneumonia. I thought about digging out one of my home COVID tests but then forgot to do it; now I'm wondering how long those kits are good for -- the set I have must be a year old by now.

Anyway, they've armed me with more meds than I can keep track of along with a mist inhaler, which a friend picked up for me (along with a few groceries), and my biggest complaint at the moment is that sometimes when I let Knox out the cool air feels wonderful but other times it feels like an arctic blast. Well, that and the fact that last night as I was falling asleep it felt like something bit me on my right shoulderblade and this morning that spot is really sensitive.

 

[rareboy]

Well, July 3 I hiked the bay shore on the sandspit where I do conservation work and collected good data, but I also wore myself out enough that I triggered my old frenemy viral bronchitis, so around noon on the 4th I started getting headache, fever, pressure in my head, a cough, and a touch of dizziness, all par for the course. The fever almost hit 102° F but not quite, and it stayed high through the 5th and most of the sixth; I managed to get myself to the store on the 5th and got Mucinex, the version that's for pretty much everything, and that dealt with the headache, cough, and much of the fever but not the dizziness though I didn't care because I was experiencing what I figured was a drug interaction that had me feeling stoned and loopy. The night of the 5th the fever broke but it returned the next day. The cough lingered and faded some but three days ago it started to get worse and I started sweating while sitting still like I was out jogging in warm weather. Today I went to urgent care because of the turn for the worse and learned that my self-diagnosis had been excellent but my self-care not so much; they had me breathe some sort of "activated" mist with a steroid that totally opened up my lungs, took several swabs (nose, throat) and sent me home with an order for two over-the-counter meds and two prescriptions (which I didn't go get because the pharmacy is a half hour distant and I wasn't feeling up to that drive). So I get home, start drinking lots of fluids, and then a call comes from the lab: COVID got me on top of the bronchitis, which was why I was feeling feverish and sweating while sitting still and the cough was coming back. I probably would have been free of the COVID if I hadn't had to stand in line to get the Mucinex; that was the largest concentration of people I've been in since 2018.

I see the doc again Tuesday for a full check-up. I'm happy to have the cutest person at the clinic for my doc!

Oh -- they said go ahead and get a booster anyway, but the clinic isn't doing them any more so I'll have to go to one of the pharmacies that has the shots.

Bronchitis...on top of the COVID and pneumonia in December and January have left me still wrung out.

I am still at least only at 2/3rds or less of my lung capacity and can only work for about 30 minutes before fading...so all I can recommend is that you have to take really good care of all of this. And gradually it just seems like each thing wears you out more..

 

[KaraBulut]

It's the same set of symptoms that always comes with one of my bronchitis flare-ups, though the fever was higher than usual, so I didn't start to get concerned until the dry cough stopped getting better and started getting worse. The last time that happened with a bronchitis bout and I ignored it I ended up with pneumonia. I thought about digging out one of my home COVID tests but then forgot to do it; now I'm wondering how long those kits are good for -- the set I have must be a year old by now.

If you don't have a home finger pulse oximeter, they're only about $20 from Amazon:

Amazon.com : finger pulse ox

There's an expiration date on the box. Generally, the recommendation is that unused tests be replaced before the expiration date. The ones that the government sent out for free did have their dates extended. You can look up the lot numbers here:

Manufacturer​
IHealth ​	Latest News iHealth is making personal healthcare management easier for everyone! Improve your health by tracking your vitals data: blood pressure, blood glucose, blood oxygen & pulse rate, and more. Remote Patient Monitoring empowers providers to offer comprehensive care for patients. Increase patient... ihealthlabs.com
Abbott: ​	https://www.fda.gov/media/158003/download

Unfortunately, the free test delivery program ended in March, 2024. But you can still get tests from major pharmacies. Insurance should cover 100% of the cost. For the uninsured, the test kits are still provided for free.