Also, forget what your brother’s doctor says … what about your mother’s doctor? That doctor knows the level of your mom’s risk. Let him/her be the heavy. Or not.
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Regarding your question about 70% vs 90% safe…I guess I feel like if the CDC lets people out of isolation within those posted guidelines, then that is the “safe” benchmark, right? Would they really post that and have those as the rules if those people could still transmit? Honestly, they might be the “safest” people there, because anyone else could supposedly have an early or asymptomatic case.
I’m not trying to stick up for your brother or contradict anyone who wants extra caution. I’m cautious! But I was in that situation (questioning when I could be around people post covid,and caretaking of my covid son who started a little later than I did) and all medical providers I spoke to assured me about the CDC rules about coming out of isolation. (So, I’m actually trying to make you feel better).
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@TS0104 actually, it does make me feel better, and I have read a bunch more about the CDC guidelines and the science behind them. We still have a few days to go, so there’s time. I leave tomorrow, got my second covid-negative test today.
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In your original post you said they are on day 11 and it was still another week before seeing your parents. 11 days is well within the CDC guidelines, and the additional week sounds very safe to me. When my spouse had Covid, the CDC said 10 days and he got a letter of clearance from our state department of public health on day 10.
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You could probably buy an OTC test and have them test there before going inside if you wanted to.
OP here, with the post-trip update.
Gathering of 7 adults, 2 post covid people. One post-covid person currently on prednisone as the cough is lingering; they stayed away from most everyone else.
Here is the cautionary tale: the two unvax children (under age to have one) were also brought. That was Wednesday night. Today, their parents found out that both children were exposed to a covid-positive person on Monday. (they attend preschool MWF)
It is highly unlikely the kids have passed anything at all on to anyone. Their parents could not haveknown, and testing would not have helped. BUT if they had thought “well, these are the only way covid could get to Mom and Dad, so let’s just be super careful and keep them with the sitter just in case” my parents would not be losing their minds worrying, the parents of the kids would not be worrying.
And in cold/flu/COVID season, don’t let small children near the food and/or don’t ever eat out of common serving dishes. I watched the littles burrow through the fruit salad with their bare hands and was therefore ready to say a polite “no thanks” when offered.
And go get your booster shot, everyone!!!
Oh gosh not exactly a perfect ending!
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I don’t understand why this would be the “only way” for transmission to occur. There’s plenty of breakthrough transmission between vaxxed people, not just from unvaxxed to vaxxed. So there’s no guarantee that the parents or other adults wouldn’t have picked it up in their daily lives, unless everyone is working from home and not participating in activities that involve contact with others.
We do eventually have to get to the point where we accept that there’s an ongoing risk in living our lives, but that the vaccine and new treatments should limit the chances of an infection having serious consequences.
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All the adults have boosters, My parents and I are entirely at home, I tested negative the day before I arrived. Two adults have been covid quarantined for about 11 days. that leaves the family with children.
The only unvaccinated people in the room were the two children, who were with a covid positive person two days before they spent 3 hours with us. Is it likely they caught it, and then asymptomatically passed it on to a room of relatives? I dunno, it’s possible but not probable. But when you are 88 and 86 with lung issues and medical issues, serious consequences are more likely than not. I am hopeful the children, for their own sake, are perfectly fine. Their parents intend to send them to preschool unless they run a fever.
My point was only that everyone makes allowances and plans based on best outcomes (“only the kids or their teacher parents could even be exposed to covid, that will never happen”) and sometimes it is a missed choice to make plans based on worse ones (“maybe we should shorten the visit or not let the kids eat from the bowl,just to be extra safe”)
It’s a hard thing to be vulnerable in the ambiguity of behaviors and pressure to just be normal again. I understand there’s risk involved in anything, but for COVID and vulnerable people, it’s hard to navigate right now.
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But the middle ground of “the kids and their teacher parents may be exposed to Covid but we’re not going to live the rest of our lives without hugging our grandchildren, children, siblings, friends, etc” seems to me where we have to get to.
I just don’t think the risk of becoming infected will diminish meaningfully from current levels for many years to come, though treatments are clearly improving. There’s a lot of wishful thinking that if only we vaccinate more kids then this will soon be “over” and everything will suddenly go back to normal
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All very true. But maybe they could have hugged their grandchildren when the chemo is done, the oxygen is less necessary, the prolia injections haven’t damaged immune systems, the UTI is under control.
Agreed, there is a fine line between reasonable safety and quality of life issues. Finding that as a group is always a work in progress . For the record, my wishful thinking broke sometime back in 2020.
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