I have my dental appointment next week. It will be interesting to see how things have changed. My hygienist seemed to be in a hazmat suit last time.
1 Like
I’ve had two dental check ups since this started. For the first one they had a special machine in the room that sucks up the aerosols (in addition to the Covid questionnaire and the temperature check and the mask wearing.) The doctors and hygienists were in full PPE. This last time I went (maybe two weeks ago), they had an additional suction thing that went in my mouth and took away the aerosols (along with the other precautions they had the first time). I felt perfectly safe both times.
My daughter has also been to the dentist two times for her regular check ups and a filling. The thing that was funny to her was the dentist and the hygienist were communicating from room to room via their phone rather than repeatedly enter and exit rooms with different patients.
2 Likes
My family and I are very much looking forward to being vaccinated. DW is eligible as of today here in Massachusetts because of a comorbidity; S22 and I become eligible when it all opens up April 19. D19 is in New York (classes still remote, but she moved down in January to share an apartment with friends), and I’m not sure of the latest on her eligibility.
D19 has been fairly paranoid, but the rest of us have been cautious but relaxed. The game changer for me was the growing realization that there’s almost no outdoor spread and very little spread through surfaces. I’m not panicked about touching produce or products at the grocery store, for example. We did largely shift to Instacart as the new variants started spreading (I had been doing weekly in-person shops before), but I’ll still run in to a store if I need something. I wear my mask consistently but have played golf and outdoor tennis throughout the pandemic without it, given the wide-open space and natural distancing. Playing indoor tennis, I’m afraid I’m one of those mask-below-the-nose types, because the fogging of my glasses is otherwise intolerable. But I don’t get close to anyone while doing that, and pull it up fully in public areas.
I went to a restaurant a couple of weeks ago on a warm afternoon, intending to sit outside, but there was a long wait for an outdoor table and I ended up taking one inside. The space was high-ceilinged and almost empty, and I sat right next to a wide-open window in the breeze. Felt entirely at ease. Other than that, DW and I have dined outdoors on a few occasions and indoors once (on a 40-degree day when the place we were going turned out to have no outdoor heaters), and we’ve had a few small-hotel stays and house rentals at locations we could drive to.
Last Friday, which I had off but DW didn’t, I went to see a movie for the first time in more than a year. There was exactly one other person in the auditorium with me for my show, both of us masked and seated about 50 feet apart. The only other patrons I saw were two separate mothers with two young daughters each, going to see a kids’ movie. Overall, felt safer than going to a supermarket (which itself feels quite safe to me). Made me think I should have been going more often, although not every show will be as empty as a midafternoon on a not-really-holiday.
I feel for those who are struggling with re-entry, even after full vaccination, but I expect no such struggle for myself. I’ll comply with all masking and distancing rules while they still exist, but I won’t feel any nervousness about being out and about in any situation. Can’t wait.
5 Likes
I will mention that while I am slow to return to activities , no need to feel bad. Fully comfortable and non-stressed over or about it. It’s a choice I’m fully comfortable with .
3 Likes
Our hygienist looks like she is in a hazmat suit! Wears a mask, goggles (always wore those) and a face shield. And a gown over her clothes that is changed between each patient. They are limiting the number of folks working and therefore the number of patients. Waiting room is your car. The little spit bowls are now covered. No sprays used to clean teeth. No cavitron.
That’s been our experience. I went a few times and H went several times by himself. Always on Tuesday nights. It was always just H in the lobby with the one employee behind the counter, nobody in the bathroom, and 0-4 people in the theater who sat in the other section. It felt much less risky than my workplace where I sat 8 hours/day in a room of unmasked people.
That being said, I offered to go Friday night to see Godzilla vs Kong. H had been looking forward to it forever. He would have seen it on HBOmax, but we have been fully vaccinated for over a month. That being said, I had to calm my nerves when the previews started. The theater was 25-30% full and maybe 1/3-1/2 had masks. But I calmed myself by calculating our area’s current infection rate and multiplying by 3 to count for untested cases and then by 10 for the number of days they might be infectious. It came out to 1 infected person in the theater. So what were the chances that that one person sat close enough to me (theater has 3 empty seats between groups) to infect me - a fully vaccinated person wearing a mask - in two hours? That made me feel mostly better. I still am a nervous nelly by nature though.
1 Like
I’m an introvert, but do like to socialize some. I miss things like the neighborhood association meetings where we’d drink wine and talk afterwards. Don’t miss things like the Christmas party which were so loud I could never hear anyone.
We went grocery shopping somewhat less than once a week. I did shopping in an N95 mask until DH got vaccinated then he did it. We belong to a CSA so between that and an early morning Cosco run we often didn’t have to go to the grocery store which has narrow aisles and is more crowded.
We haven’t eaten even outside at a restaurant except once last summer for ice cream at Cape Cod where numbers were very low. However we get take out nearly every week as our way of supporting restaurants.
I’ve been to the eye doctor because they are keeping track of something that might be a melanoma (but probably isn’t), to get a mammogram because I’ve had stuff that is considered worth removing, to the dermatolgist because melanoma for real (thankfully no recurrences) and multiple carcinomas. I’ve avoided the dentist, but will probably schedule an appointment for two weeks after my second vaccine.
Haven’t been to the hairdresser.
I go to my blueprint guy, I make copies at the UPS store, I’ve gone to the Post Office a few times. All mostly work related. I’ve been in clients houses. I’ve had to go and look at stuff under construction. With one exception everyone has been masked up.
DH still believes in spraying everything and likes to iron the mail and the newspaper. I don’t think it’s necessary, but it makes him happy. He’s very used to wearing gloves and being pretty careful from his biology lab work, so I let him take the lead on that stuff.
I don’t know if we’ll ever go back to the way it was.
I will say, I do like that I don’t have to worry about drinking and driving with take out.
3 Likes
Second vaccination plus 4 weeks here.
I got my first haircut in 7 months this afternoon. Yay!
Tomorrow I go to the dentist. Wednesday I’m scheduled to have a mammogram and Friday I’m having lunch with a friend I haven’t seen face-to-face in a year. We are both vaccinated, but we’re having lunch at restaurant with outdoor patio seating.
It’s so nice to get my life back.
And all public schools in the state re-opened this week.
11 Likes
We are fully vaccinated, but are still taking it slow. Have eaten at a few restaurants outdoors and my DH has gone to the gym a time or 2. We walk with friends, still distancing, and still masking most of the time. We were invited to a large, multi-day wedding that will be large, indoors, we will know no one and many guests will be traveling from overseas. From what I have heard, second hand (DH is friend with the groom) they want have a buffet, which the hotel is resisting. This wedding requires air travel and a hotel stay. This event is in May. I decided that there is nothing that will make me feel comfortable (the groom doesn’t know what the distance/spacing or mask policies will be) so I will decline, but DH will go. He has family up in that area he will also visit while there.
2 Likes
Pre vax we were quite cautious and careful. Never 0% risk focused. i feel that is much like an overly restrictive diet, just not sustainable. Sure for a week or a month but not for foreseeable future. That’s what the outlook was prior to warp speed. So we avoided groups, kept to a very small bubble, minimized outside world contact. We were not perfect. There is risk everywhere.
Both have had our second shots. Just came back from visiting daughter in NYC. Place is starting to come back. Not the traffic you would normally see but much more than it was a few months ago. Still sat outside at dinner when given the choice but was ok with inside dining. We will ease in to a total return to normalcy. That will be controlled more by others and regulations.
I would go to a ballgame, the theater. I’d be more inclined to attend if masks weren’t a requirement as it would be far more enjoyable. So when we reach herd immunity I hope that will be the norm again.
I assume some will wear masks for years, which is fine and completely their choice. It’s quite common in other cultures. Not for me if the risk is quite low.
3 Likes
Some one I know, who was fully vaccinated several months ago just tested positive. They did a 2nd different test (awaiting results), but it is messing with my mind. Is it a variant and they are in that 5% that is still at risk post-vaccine? Or is it a false positive? Which tests are likely to create false positives? If this fully vaccinated person is now positive, why the heck are all the rest of us so excited to be ‘done.’ If this person is positive, so could the rest of us, easily, catch it. Or is it a normal illness, but we all could test positive thanks to the vaccine reaction? If the second test is positive does that mean they actually have a Covid variant?
Remember no vaccine is 100% effective, however, the idea is that if you get it you will have a mild case. This is true with all vaccines - no just COVID.
5 Likes
Fully vaccinated people got covid at a rate of 0.04% in the clinical trials, so this person would be unlucky indeed…but with the millions of vaccinations, even 0.04% can be a not-insignificant number of people. Obviously that number can increase should we get a variant that more easily evades the protection of the vaccines. The vaccines in the clinical trials reduced the rate of covid infection (comparing the vaccinated group to the placebo group) by 95%, and vaccinated people did not get severe cases or die from infection.
Here are more details: What Does 95% Effective Mean? Teaching the Math of Vaccine Efficacy - The New York Times
1 Like
I know, but the data suggest 0.025% chance and it is lousy when it happens to a friend versus some theoretical stranger.
5 Likes
We had “coffee” with our neighbors in their patio. It was fun! All 4 of us are fully vaccinated. I made some chorizo and Instant pot Japanese soufflé cheesecake. She made the beverages and a cake with coconut flour and almond flour, plus fresh berries.
3 Likes
Their kids will be flying in to visit. Somehow it seems risky to me, but safer for the kids to fly here than them to fly to CA. They are both cancer survivors and 70+ years old.
Back at Taco Tuesday - surprise suggestion from husband. We sat on the outside deck. They have space marked off for no seating in between groups of seats. Also QR code menus, which was nicer than the old system of waiting in line to order.
14 Likes
Are they asymptomatic or do they have symptoms? If so, how bad?
I’m also wondering how long ago, “several months” was considering the vaxes just became available relatively recently. Were they part of a trial getting it earlier or is several months mainly meaning since Jan (Covid version of several months!)?
Pure curiosity TBH. We still want to be somewhat wary around my FIL and other more “at risk” people who we know, so I don’t mind anecdotal bits to consider.
Fully vaccinated by January and mild symptoms, which were the reason for the test.
2 Likes
One of my friends tested positive on a rapid PCR test yesterday (took it after traveling). She had covid 5 or 6 months ago, and was surprised to hear this news. Her internist didn’t believe the test could be accurate, because even with the variants, they are not seeing many people get covid a second time. Sure enough, after a traditional PCR test today, she is negative.
6 Likes