Coronavirus (Covid-19) informational thread

[polyphenol]

The people it affects is friends and family, the people in the store you shop at, etc.

I'm well aware of that! Next-door neighbours just got over it. But they didn't need a test - they knew they were ill and assumed it was Covid. (They did test - but first one was negative. The second, a few hours later, was positive.) They got shopping delivered. And they usually work from home anyway.

I see little point in frequent testing if false negatives are an issue - as they are.

 

[I7guy]

I'm well aware of that! Next-door neighbours just got over it. But they didn't need a test - they knew they were ill and assumed it was Covid. (They did test - but first one was negative. The second, a few hours later, was positive.) They got shopping delivered. And they usually work from home anyway.

I see little point in frequent testing if false negatives are an issue - as they are.

My family tests as required. Most of us have had covid and we have to protect the little ones. So testing and isolation and common sense are in order.

 

[polyphenol]

My family tests as required. Most of us have had covid and we have to protect the little ones. So testing and isolation and common sense are in order.

There's just the two of us and we live in quiet area - easy to avoid close proximity most of the time. (Though a bit more difficult in shops now.)

 

[pshufd]

Monday - Thursday morning stress scores from my Garmin Fenix 5+. I felt sick enough to tests on Wednesday morning so the Garmin watch did its job - basically indicated something was up with my body two days before symptoms showed up.

 

[Gregg2]

I'm not at all convinced of that.
(85% in U.K.)

That's because you're not counting the people who were infected but asymptomatic, and didn't know it.

 

[polyphenol]

That's because you're not counting the people who were infected but asymptomatic, and didn't know it.

Rather, I simply am sceptical about all the figures. Hence 85% is not convincing.

But my reply was to the previous comment: "The UK estimates are 85% and they have much better tracking."

And was very much looking at the "better tracking" claim.

 

[pshufd]

Rather, I simply am sceptical about all the figures. Hence 85% is not convincing.

But my reply was to the previous comment: "The UK estimates are 85% and they have much better tracking."

And was very much looking at the "better tracking" claim.

This is what I got from Dr. John Campbell.

 

[polyphenol]

This is what I got from Dr. John Campbell.

When? It might have been true at some point.

 

[pshufd]

When? It might have been true at some point.

I don't recall. He has talked about the countries that do a good job at reporting and the US hasn't been on that list.

But I think that 85% is a floor because of unreported cases.

 

[bradl]

Monday - Thursday morning stress scores from my Garmin Fenix 5+. I felt sick enough to tests on Wednesday morning so the Garmin watch did its job - basically indicated something was up with my body two days before symptoms showed up.

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Honestly asking here, and not questioning or being judgmental. Are you implying that there may be a correlation between stress levels and the symptoms? I would get it if someone thinks that they have it because they feel something onset, but I don't know if that correlation has been made.

I wonder because my allergies have crept up on me, and my stress levels have gone up because of fretting on if I have caught COVID or not..

BL.

 

[pshufd]

Honestly asking here, and not questioning or being judgmental. Are you implying that there may be a correlation between stress levels and the symptoms? I would get it if someone thinks that they have it because they feel something onset, but I don't know if that correlation has been made.

I wonder because my allergies have crept up on me, and my stress levels have gone up because of fretting on if I have caught COVID or not..

BL.

There have been tons of these kinds of reports on r/Garmin and r/running. Here's a pretty good presentation on YouTube:

There are a number of things that can have an effect on stress, such as allergies, as you mention. Others are drinking alcohol and eating a lot of food that is difficult to digest. I think that the thing that resulted in the highest stress for me was playing chess for 8 hours straight. So you have to know your body. But what I have found is that every time I've been sick, since getting the watch, it has always predicted it one or two days out. Even if I didn't know what it was.

Sample research paper:

Detection and Monitoring of Viral Infections via Wearable Devices and Biometric Data

Mounting clinical evidence suggests that viral infections can lead to detectable changes in an individual’s normal physiologic and behavioral metrics, including heart and respiration rates, heart rate variability, temperature, activity, and sleep ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Rafterman]

I avoided COVID for almost two and a half years. Flying back and forth from the Philippines to the UK and travelling around London on public transport extensively in my job. I have always worn a face mask when travelling Internationally or domestically and used alcohol hand wash. I was always mindful of not catching the virus and passing it to my 84 year old mother.

One day 3 weeks ago Mum went to lunch with some friends, contracted the virus and kindly brought it home to me!

All that worry about giving my mother the virus with my high risk travelling and she gives it to me.

I still haven't caught it. Or, if I did, I didn't know it. Vaxed and boosted twice.

 

[polyphenol]

There have been tons of these kinds of reports on r/Garmin and r/running. Here's a pretty good presentation on YouTube:

There are a number of things that can have an effect on stress, such as allergies, as you mention. Others are drinking alcohol and eating a lot of food that is difficult to digest. I think that the thing that resulted in the highest stress for me was playing chess for 8 hours straight. So you have to know your body. But what I have found is that every time I've been sick, since getting the watch, it has always predicted it one or two days out. Even if I didn't know what it was.

Sample research paper:

Detection and Monitoring of Viral Infections via Wearable Devices and Biometric Data

Mounting clinical evidence suggests that viral infections can lead to detectable changes in an individual’s normal physiologic and behavioral metrics, including heart and respiration rates, heart rate variability, temperature, activity, and sleep ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A significant part of medicine went down the road of finding specific tests which identify specific issues. We see this with cholesterol, blood sugar, numerous types of antibody, etc.

But there is a lot of sense in asking what can be measured, especially if it can be done simply and cheaply, doing as much as you can, then trying to establish its meaning.

Full Blood Count (called Complete in some parts) seems about halfway. Quite a bit of what we now see reported is the result of intensive automation of the analysis. In that sense, once you have gone as far as getting a sample and putting it into a machine, do what can be readily achieved.

Wristband devices have huge potential. One example relevant to my area of interest. In thyroid disease, the main tests are TSH, Free T4 and Free T3. If all three appear within reference intervals, patients are often told all is well. Which is simply poor medicine and statistics. There is generally greater variation between individuals than within. Our personal reference intervals are much tighter than those of the population.

Adding other factors might make a huge difference. It might look sensible to consider temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturation, but we really don't yet know what will have real benefits.

And I'd like to see a mass of simple factors put into them analysis system. I know many ask for weight and height. Try adding in foot/shoe size - length and width. Finger lengths. Breathing sounds. Vocal capabilities.

The further we go, the more relations we'll start to appreciate. Which will also provide individual base states which will inform changes due to other diseases.

 

[pshufd]

A significant part of medicine went down the road of finding specific tests which identify specific issues. We see this with cholesterol, blood sugar, numerous types of antibody, etc.

But there is a lot of sense in asking what can be measured, especially if it can be done simply and cheaply, doing as much as you can, then trying to establish its meaning.

Full Blood Count (called Complete in some parts) seems about halfway. Quite a bit of what we now see reported is the result of intensive automation of the analysis. In that sense, once you have gone as far as getting a sample and putting it into a machine, do what can be readily achieved.

Wristband devices have huge potential. One example relevant to my area of interest. In thyroid disease, the main tests are TSH, Free T4 and Free T3. If all three appear within reference intervals, patients are often told all is well. Which is simply poor medicine and statistics. There is generally greater variation between individuals than within. Our personal reference intervals are much tighter than those of the population.

Adding other factors might make a huge difference. It might look sensible to consider temperature, heart rate and oxygen saturation, but we really don't yet know what will have real benefits.

And I'd like to see a mass of simple factors put into them analysis system. I know many ask for weight and height. Try adding in foot/shoe size - length and width. Finger lengths. Breathing sounds. Vocal capabilities.

The further we go, the more relations we'll start to appreciate. Which will also provide individual base states which will inform changes due to other diseases.

Garmin could actually get foot measurements. They have a gear management system and you can put in information about your shoes. This is so you can keep track of mileage on your shoes as runners typically replace them around 400 miles. They could simply add data fields for size and width.

Apple has done some work on breathing I think; but doing this all-day would be difficult. I think that they can measure this with their in-ear devices.

Garmin can track a lot of other stuff related to exercise. One example is Running Dynamics. They have a chest strap with accelerometers so they can determine what various body parts are doing while you are running and it can do analysis on your running and make recommendations for improved performance.

The thing is that you have no idea as to how useful this data is until you actually see your own reports and then think about how you can make lifestyle changes to improve your metrics. Something simple like eating smaller meals at dinner to improve sleep quality.

Here's this morning's stress report. COVID has behaved like a cold for me. The Flu would have high stress scores for 1-2 weeks.

 

[polyphenol]

The thing is that you have no idea as to how useful this data is until you actually see your own reports and then think about how you can make lifestyle changes to improve your metrics. Something simple like eating smaller meals at dinner to improve sleep quality.

I think that is very much the issue.

Adequate thyroid hormone makes me sleep much, much better. But I'd like indicators other than (relatively) expensive and intrusive blood tests to help with maintaining the best dose I can achieve. What I've said implies that good sleep detection might well help to indicate good thyroid hormone levels. Not something that most thyroid research even mentions. The attitude is that inadequate thyroid hormone makes you tired (usually true) and sleepy (can be true) which implies you will sleep solidly for hours (not true).

 

[Healer Flame]

I survived delta and all but Omricon hit me twice. The first infection was seriously hard i almost lost my life , its extremely nasty and you feel like you are dying every minutes.

The second one was weeks ago and it felt like a seasonal flu but with chest burning coughs.

 

[pshufd]

I survived delta and all but Omricon hit me twice. The first infection was seriously hard i almost lost my life , its extremely nasty and you feel like you are dying every minutes.

The second one was weeks ago and it felt like a seasonal flu but with chest burning coughs.

The responses seem to vary widely. Only one person I know of could have died (he was in the ICU and took 18 months to recover). Two others with Long COVID. Everyone else was mild and got over it quickly. All vaccinated and most boosted. Some got it before boosters became a thing. Those with Long COVID were unvaccinated but this was summer 2020 before vaccines were available.

 

[Healer Flame]

Those with Long COVID were unvaccinated

I am double vaccinated Omricon really took me by surprise. My work colleague violated trust and broke all covid rules by attending work sick and coughing in the office. I am not sure if i have a strong case to sue him and the company.

 

[pshufd]

I am double vaccinated Omricon really took me by surprise. My work colleague violated trust and broke all covid rules by attending work sick and coughing in the office. I am not sure if i have a strong case to sue him and the company.

I'm pretty sure that there was Federal legislation protecting companies from liability.

Additionally, Senate Bill 1 provides civil liability immunity to businesses, government entities, schools, and other entities for death or injury to an individual or damages caused by an act or omission resulting in exposure to COVID-19. This immunity is effective March 1, 2020.

ð employer liability covid federal legislation - Google Search

www.google.com

I suggested to someone that they not go out as they still were coughing despite being past the quarantine and masking period. But they went out anyways. A lot of people don't care what happens to other people and there's not a lot you can do about it.

 

[danny_w]

Unfortunately I just lost my last brother August 9 due to COVID. What an absolutely horrible disease. I am the youngest of 3 brothers and by far the most sickly (when I was as 3 the doctors told my parents to take me home and be good to me, I as not expected that live). Anyway my brother (in excellent health and strong as an ox) caught it from his wife who is extremely immunocompromised but somehow only had a light case. Within just over a week he was in the hospital and after another week was intubated. His lungs were almost completely calcified and his kidneys shut down. After they removed the vent he lived for 42 minutes. It still does not seem real even after the funeral. I think of things to tell him or ask him and suddenly realize that I can’t. As hard a time as I am having I know that his widow and family are having it much worse. Now I’m the only one left in my immediate family at 69.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Unfortunately I just lost my last brother August 9 due to COVID. What an absolutely horrible disease. I am the youngest of 3 brothers and by far the most sickly (when I was as 3 the doctors told my parents to take me home and be good to me, I as not expected that live). Anyway my brother (in excellent health and strong as an ox) caught it from his wife who is extremely immunocompromised but somehow only had a light case. Within just over a week he was in the hospital and after another week was intubated. His lungs were almost completely calcified and his kidneys shut down. After they removed the vent he lived for 42 minutes. It still does not seem real even after the funeral. I think of things to tell him or ask him and suddenly realize that I can’t. As hard a time as I am having I know that his widow and family are having it much worse. Now I’m the only one left in my immediate family at 69.

Sorry for your loss. Every loss is horrible, but the loss of a close immediate family member just makes it worse.

Sorry, it's just terrible...

 

[danny_w]

Sorry for your loss. Every loss is horrible, but the loss of a close immediate family member just makes it worse.

Sorry, it's just terrible...

Thank you so much. Yes it seems harder even than the loss of my parents or oldest brother I suppose because he was the last person in my family.

 

[polyphenol]

Unfortunately I just lost my last brother August 9 due to COVID. What an absolutely horrible disease. I am the youngest of 3 brothers and by far the most sickly (when I was as 3 the doctors told my parents to take me home and be good to me, I as not expected that live). Anyway my brother (in excellent health and strong as an ox) caught it from his wife who is extremely immunocompromised but somehow only had a light case. Within just over a week he was in the hospital and after another week was intubated. His lungs were almost completely calcified and his kidneys shut down. After they removed the vent he lived for 42 minutes. It still does not seem real even after the funeral. I think of things to tell him or ask him and suddenly realize that I can’t. As hard a time as I am having I know that his widow and family are having it much worse. Now I’m the only one left in my immediate family at 69.

That is really upsetting to read - so sorry for you.

 

[danny_w]

That is really upsetting to read - so sorry for you.

Thanks so much. Yes it was/is extremely upsetting. COVID definitely affects different people in different ways. For him it was extremely quick and his wife said that he went through every symptom there is for the disease.

 

[Kung]

I am NOT vaccinated, nor do I plan on getting it.
I had it and the only thing that it did to me was put me to sleep a couple of days, I have NEVER slept that much.

I'd originally not planned on getting it, for one pretty good reason - by the time the vaccine was available, our entire family had had COVID 3x. (I was one of those civil service 'essential employees.)

About a month or so after being available, I asked my PCP if they could test our antibody levels. She did...and then called us into the office. She couldn't tell us that we 'didn't need' the vaccine, but she did tell us that our antibody levels were easily higher than those who were vaccinated.

BUT...I worked for civil service, and that was that. Got the J&J, and about 2 weeks after that, it was no longer required. I CAN tell you that aside from the first bout of COVID we had in February 2020, the J&J made me sicker for a few days than any bout of COVID but the first one did.