Covid vaccination status?

[jmacswimmer]

I got the initial dose of Pfizer a week & a half ago at a state-run, drive-thru mass vaccination site 1.5 hours away, and I return for round 2 in another week and a half.  Felt fatigued and achy the day after the first shot (plus the arm soreness for a few days), so we'll see how round 2 goes.  The site I went to was incredibly efficient - set up around the parking lot of a small baseball stadium, with large tents you drive thru where the actual shot is given (followed by parking for the observation period).

Interestingly, within the past couple days I've started to notice that the few lingering things that still smell/taste weird (I had a mild case back in November) are finally starting to return to normal.  For instance, I recall posting a while ago about how honey-nut cheerios started tasting funky to me, but now I'm having some as I type this and it tastes closer to how I remember it.  Not sure if this is related to getting the initial dose or just pure coincidence (I'm almost 5 months removed now, and there seems to be a wide range on when people's full sense of smell & taste returns).

[bandit957]

I just got my second dose of Pfizer.

[kphoger]

Interestingly, within the past couple days I've started to notice that the few lingering things that still smell/taste weird (I had a mild case back in November) are finally starting to return to normal.  For instance, I recall posting a while ago about how honey-nut cheerios started tasting funky to me, but now I'm having some as I type this and it tastes closer to how I remember it.  Not sure if this is related to getting the initial dose or just pure coincidence (I'm almost 5 months removed now, and there seems to be a wide range on when people's full sense of smell & taste returns).

Have you heard of Scentsy?  They make wickless candles–pot warmers that heat scented wax by means of a light bulb or other heating element.  Anyway, the CEO of the company got COVID back in June or July, and he still has "COVID nose".  He said 20% of the scents his company makes smell awful to him now.  Rather ironic, considering the business he runs.

[jmacswimmer]

^

I haven't heard of them, but thanks for sharing!  With how different the smell/taste thing seems to be affecting everyone (and for how long), it's interesting to hear different stories.

(Another example: my fiancée has a colleague who had COVID around the same time as us in November, and she still can't smell a single thing 5 months later.  As much as I've complained about wonky smell/taste, I can't imagine what that's like )

[Scott5114]

But my point is that the rescission of any state or local ordinance won't necessarily change any of that.  That is, the government lifting its restrictions won't necessarily make stores lift their policies, nor will it suddenly prompt stores to stop enforcing their policies, nor will it prompt people to stop confronting you about it.

I remember reading somewhere (can't remember whether it was someone interviewed for a news article or an Internet post) that the store the person worked at still nominally had a mask policy, but that the employees stopped enforcing it when the local mask mandate had been lifted, because "wear a mask or we'll call the cops" is a lot more effective than "wear a mask, it's company policy". When something is just company policy people want to argue with you because they think they have a chance at getting you to bend on it. "Wear a mask, if you have a problem with it tell the city council about it" is more likely to get the person to actually comply because it's clearer that arguing will do no good.

Of course, you're in the legal right to trespass a customer for not wearing a mask and call the police to enforce the trespass, but that has a bit too many steps to be able to shut down the line of thought that makes defiance seem like a good idea, and so they'll probably keep arguing.

[kphoger]

But my point is that the rescission of any state or local ordinance won't necessarily change any of that.  That is, the government lifting its restrictions won't necessarily make stores lift their policies, nor will it suddenly prompt stores to stop enforcing their policies, nor will it prompt people to stop confronting you about it.

I remember reading somewhere (can't remember whether it was someone interviewed for a news article or an Internet post) that the store the person worked at still nominally had a mask policy, but that the employees stopped enforcing it when the local mask mandate had been lifted, because "wear a mask or we'll call the cops" is a lot more effective than "wear a mask, it's company policy". When something is just company policy people want to argue with you because they think they have a chance at getting you to bend on it. "Wear a mask, if you have a problem with it tell the city council about it" is more likely to get the person to actually comply because it's clearer that arguing will do no good.

Of course, you're in the legal right to trespass a customer for not wearing a mask and call the police to enforce the trespass, but that has a bit too many steps to be able to shut down the line of thought that makes defiance seem like a good idea, and so they'll probably keep arguing.

Were businesses actually calling the cops beforehand, though?

[Scott5114]

Were businesses actually calling the cops beforehand, though?

I don't know about how common it is, but it does happen. I know at the casino I worked at there were people that were belligerent enough when asked by staff to wear a mask properly that the police got involved. I also saw, via the Washington Post, a bodycam video of a Texas police officer arresting a woman who refused to wear a mask in a Bank of America branch.

Most businesses, however, tend to err on the side of "don't make a scene, just take their money" for bad customer behavior not having to do with mask-wearing, so a business with that sort of culture is likely to let people slide on mask-wearing rules too. Frontline employees hate it, but if they'll get into trouble for refusing someone service, there's not a lot they can do.

[hbelkins]

In an odd sort of way, I think losing your sense of taste might actually be a benefit of getting covid. If I couldn't taste anything, I'd probably eat a lot healthier than I do now.

[Scott5114]

48 hours after getting the second shot, I'm more or less back to feeling normal. The second shot was definitely worse than the first, and was somewhat close to having actual covid for me, but it, of course, lasted a lot shorter than the real deal.

In an odd sort of way, I think losing your sense of taste might actually be a benefit of getting covid. If I couldn't taste anything, I'd probably eat a lot healthier than I do now.

That was my thought too, but it hasn't worked that way in practice, at least for me–it's not a total loss of taste, but a changing of it, sort of like you might get when you have a particularly bad cold. Random foods I used to like, such as peanut butter, are now gross.

[hbelkins]

48 hours after getting the second shot, I'm more or less back to feeling normal. The second shot was definitely worse than the first, and was somewhat close to having actual covid for me, but it, of course, lasted a lot shorter than the real deal.

In an odd sort of way, I think losing your sense of taste might actually be a benefit of getting covid. If I couldn't taste anything, I'd probably eat a lot healthier than I do now.

That was my thought too, but it hasn't worked that way in practice, at least for me–it's not a total loss of taste, but a changing of it, sort of like you might get when you have a particularly bad cold. Random foods I used to like, such as peanut butter, are now gross.

A co-worker of mine was involved in an awful motorcycle wreck a few years ago. She didn't suffer a head injury, but something altered her sense of taste. Things she used to like she found tasted terrible.

[Scott5114]

I went outside and did some physical labor today, and I'm pleased to say that the lingering "covid lung" shortness of breath that I had from my bout with it in October is now gone. This has been described as a potential benefit of the vaccine that has been reported in other patients before, though doctors aren't quite sure why yet.

[Duke87]

Well after several days of fighting with CT's open season stampede and getting nowhere, I finally have an appointment to receive my first shot on... May 4th. Man that's brutal.

But at least I have a spot locked in so that's now the worst case.

[US 89]

I finally got my first dose of Pfizer today. Other than some minor soreness at the injection site itself, no real side effects so far. We’ll see how the next day or two goes.

[cl94]

Finally eligible in New York today. Scheduled a first dose appointment for Thursday morning up in Plattsburgh. If I had time today, I could have gotten my first dose this afternoon.

I'm using this as an excuse to revisit some bridges, etc. up that way, because I haven't been to the North Country in a couple years.

[bandit957]

The White House just moved up the timeline so every eligible person in America can be vaccinated by April 19.

[kphoger]

My wife got her second dose of Pfizer at 3 PM Saturday.  At around 8:30 or 9:00 that evening, the side-effects set in.  She got a headache (which may or may not have been related), both upper arms were sore (not just from the shot), she had tightness in her chest that came and went, and she had slight shortness or breath that came and went.  Even though she slept well that night, she woke up feeling unrested.  The following morning, the headache went away, but the other symptoms persisted through church, then gradually started to get better during afternoon/evening Easter activities with my parents.  By Monday, she was pretty much symptom-free except for the shot soreness.

I've scheduled mine for exactly three weeks (plus one hour) after I got my first dose.  That'll be a Friday evening.  I've already asked if someone else is available to sub for me on drums in church the following Sunday, just in case I have lingering side-effects.



How long after getting the second shot is a person considered "immune"?  That is, how long does it take to have its full effect?

[1995hoo]

How long after getting the second shot is a person considered "immune"?  That is, how long does it take to have its full effect?

I believe they've said two weeks.

[wanderer2575]

Getting my second Pfizer dose this Saturday.  I had no side effects from the first; in fact, I immediately went for a long dayhike at a nearby metropark because it was one of the first really nice days outside.  That probably would not be a great idea after getting this second one.

[GaryV]

Remember that "immune" pretty much means you won't get sick from the disease.  It doesn't mean you won't have the disease.  You still need to take precautions around unvaccinated people.  And since most people don't wear signs telling about their vaccination status, you need to be careful around everyone.

[kevinb1994]

I'm getting my first dose this Friday at CVS. Second dose, same location, same time, next month.

[kphoger]

Remember that "immune" pretty much means you won't get sick from the disease.  It doesn't mean you won't have the disease.  You still need to take precautions around unvaccinated people.  And since most people don't wear signs telling about their vaccination status, you need to be careful around everyone.

You meant "doesn't mean you won't have the virus", not "doesn't mean you won't have the disease", right?

Considering that we will never reach a 100% vaccination rate, what exactly are you suggesting?  Wearing face masks and keeping six feet apart from everyone for the rest of our lives?  Count me out.

Also...

Vaccination does lower your chances of transmitting the virus. Because your body has created vaccine-induced antibodies to COVID, the virus is unable to replicate inside you and therefore there is a lower viral load (amount of pathogen particles) leaving your system when you exhale and are around others.

[Scott5114]

Considering that we will never reach a 100% vaccination rate, what exactly are you suggesting?  Wearing face masks and keeping six feet apart from everyone for the rest of our lives?  Count me out.

I feel like we'll reach a certain point where everyone who is willing to get a vaccination will have been able to get a vaccination. At that point masks and social distancing can go away, and anyone who chooses not to get vaccinated will get to live with the consequences of that decision.

[kphoger]

Considering that we will never reach a 100% vaccination rate, what exactly are you suggesting?  Wearing face masks and keeping six feet apart from everyone for the rest of our lives?  Count me out.

I feel like we'll reach a certain point where everyone who is willing to get a vaccination will have been able to get a vaccination. At that point masks and social distancing can go away, and anyone who chooses not to get vaccinated will get to live with the consequences of that decision.

Exactly.

[Scott5114]

That being said, I do think it would be nice if there are some aspects of the pandemic normal we keep around, just to help mitigate the spread of cold and flu. Things like it being socially acceptable to wear a mask if you are sick, and the plexiglas dividers between customers and service employees. Employers being okay with you taking time off work if you have a communicable disease. Things like that.

[kphoger]

I feel like we'll reach a certain point where everyone who is willing to get a vaccination will have been able to get a vaccination. At that point masks and social distancing can go away, and anyone who chooses not to get vaccinated will get to live with the consequences of that decision.

Around here, the mayor was begging people to get vaccinated, because they have more appointment slots than people wanting to take them.  The day you're imagining will quickly arrive.

That being said, I do think it would be nice if there are some aspects of the pandemic normal we keep around, just to help mitigate the spread of cold and flu. Things like it being socially acceptable to wear a mask if you are sick, and the plexiglas dividers between customers and service employees. Employers being okay with you taking time off work if you have a communicable disease. Things like that.

Socially acceptable to wear a mask – I expect this to be true, kind of like how it already was acceptable in some other countries.

Plexiglass dividers – I expect the existing ones to stay up, but I doubt they'll be common in new construction.

Time off – I actually wonder if the opposite will be true at some places:  employers expecting their employees to work from home instead.