So eat more Monaco bars and Sushi? I can live with that.
Iām not convinced the tests were accurate for the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. I tested negative 5 times on different RATs with a ācoldā during that wave, yet lost my sense of taste and smell on day 6.
What are the chances I got a regular cold that affected my sense of taste like my first COVID infection did?
The boosters do increase your resistance for at least a few weeks, maybe a few months, and immunity peaks at around 2 weeks after vaccine, so Iād say maybe a month before you travel would be good timing for a booster? But are you going to actually be stopped from travelling nowadays? I think your biggest risk is being sick during your time away. Iād be making sure your travel insurance is as comprehensive as you can get. That may be more important than when you get a booster.
When you get that person that whinges about how we locked down for nothing, THIS is the reason.
The government did a pretty good job of getting businesses through too. Of course, some business owners complain about losing business due to lockdowns, but conveniently ignore that plenty of businesses went out of business in countries that didnāt have lockdowns.
Woke up with very mild throat and headache. Sense of fatigue. Dry nose yet RAT positive in seconds. Only add this far is mild sniffle. 3x vax. 50yo in Keilor. Gut says it was birthday beers at the Linc. Take care out there good people.
Bunch of lab techs in micro labs brushing up on their acid-fast stains as we speak*
*probably just run a PCR nowadays
Get well soon!
Dusting off my proven advice: Panadol, water and Netflix.
Best wishes.
Cases up around 60% this week from last week.
CDC now allowing access to bivalent vaccine for all people over 5, 2+ months on from last vaccine, saying āThe updated booster provides broader protection against newer BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variantsā. ATAGI is yet to follow suit, but if youāre eligible for a booster, it seems like evidence is mounting up about better protection from the bivalent booster.
If you have symptoms, amongst other recommendations, remember to test and get access to antivirals as early as possible if you are eligible, i.e. 70+, 50+ with 2 additional risk factors, 18+ and moderately or severely immunocompromised.
Still not close to the mark. Hospitalisation doubled in the last week, actual case numbers would x2 and then some. Which is why itās a pointless metric now, for all the reasons previously mentioned in this thread. But I guess it probably still gets likes and retweets on Twitterā¦
ICU hasnāt moved, give it a week or two to see the lag effect.
I think itās still a useful metric, even if not accurate. Itās a lead indicator for hospitalisations, and at least roughly indicates if cases are rising, steady or falling.
Hospitalisations are probably the most accurate metric we have though.
Hopefully death percentage continues to fall due to improving treatment and access to medications, so it shouldnāt be the most important metric to track waves.
At the presser, CMO Kelly said a deal had been struck with Pfizer, involving two shipments ( no date of arrival given)
The recommendation in Hong Kong is the 2nd booster ( 4th shot ) is only for high risk groups or if travelling overseas- I suspect that when the omicron specific vaccine is available the health authorities may broaden their coverage for a second booster shot - Anyway with so many being vaccinated and or infected there is not such a need for 2nd booster shots.
@glu - I had the same - loss of taste and smell and my lungs were hit hard. I couldnāt take a deep breath without feeling like something was grabbing my lungs.
I was convinced it was Covid but RATs and PCR negative and then I tested positive for very mild symptoms of a cold about 4 weeks later.
One shipment towards the end of next week and the other a day or two later. Havenāt been given the exact date just yet but will see further correspondence in the next few days