Scared of covid

Post Reply New Topic

Not only I'm going through depression because of losing my mum due to cancer, I'm also going through anxiety because of the pandemic. Although my boyfriend has been fully vaccinated plus the booster, I still fear him catching covid because he has COPD and diabetes and I'm scared he still might die, as fully vaccinated people still seem to be hospitalised and dying from covid and it's scaring me. I don't think I can cope with losing my boyfriend as well as my mum. My boyfriend has inhalers but he still sometimes has difficulty breathing so catching covid could be fatal.
Do the vaccines really work? Are the deaths people who weren't vaccinated? Do the vulnerable have as much chance of surviving covid as the rest of us if they've been vaccinated 2-3 times?
Please help put my mind to rest.

.

Last edited by Mountain Goat on 01 Dec 2021, 8:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My wife is a nurse, and after she got COVID, she was around people who had COVID.

She got both her shots, and a booster. She has tested negative numerous times.

Like I said, she is around potential COVID all the time---yet she always tests negative.

I've been tested many times, too. All negative. I had two vaccinations, plus a booster.

I've been feeling miserable about everything since I learned about the new variant from Africa last Friday. The human race is full of idiots and we're doomed. The weather isn't helping either. Constant rain and flooding. If "they" build an ark I know I won't be allowed on it. Not that I want to.

I didn't go out on Monday because I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep. When I went to bed last night I was literally gasping for air because I felt like I couldn't get enough into my lungs. I hate being alive.

My mother said that the two people with the new variant in Canada are in quarantine to keep it from spreading, but that doesn't help much because I know there are so many idiots who refuse to get vaccinated and think Jesus or whatever will protect them. It's mind boggling how stupid, insane and delusional humans are. We have nothing to look forward to.

Joe90, Only one thing is certain, you and your boyfriend are safer for having been vaccinated.

I still like to wear a mask when away from home, even though I am fully vaccinated and have had a booster shot. I believe in caution, too.

But, always remember to remove the mask before you start eating something. I don't want to make that mistake again.

Quarantining people with the new variant won't make a difference. It still somehow spreads and before long it's in every country. Bloody humans.

I hope Mountain Goat is right (although he deleted his post for some reason) about the new variant might not be as deadly. But if the vaccines aren't effective against the new variant then would everyone have to have 3 new vaccines? It will continue on like this forever. I don't think I want to have a vaccine every 3 months for the rest of my life. People are going to be taking a couple of days off work every 3 months as nobody knows how bad they will suffer side effects.

How come the Spanish flu didn't change everybody's lives forever but it looks like this covid thing will?

Well. I get a flu shot every year and I think they change the formula each year to match what is floating around. And I (and my bride) get a different mix than you younger folk get because we're older and more vulnerable.

And they gave me a pneumonia shot.

And every once in a while they give me a shingles shot, too. (This is the one that hurts me for a while!)

I figure it's just the way it is.

I brush my teeth twice a day but I still need to see a dentist twice a year and there is always a chance they'll pull out a drill.

And I shower daily. That's probably a good idea.

And I wash my hands frequently...but that could be, in part, because I'm an Aspie.

At some point, much like the Spanish Flu, this Coronavirus will mutate into something as mild as every other Coronavirus.


That sounds pretty good to me =)

Well yeah, but not really. You've either got to take your holiday days or have days off sick, and it'll leave many workplaces frequently short staffed.

From doing research and looking at statistics and my mother doing it as well we have seen that it is mostly those who have not been vaccinated that died from COVID, most of the people that have been vaccinated usually recovered from it. Now I won't lie and tell you that it can't happen because there are those rare cases but, the chances are pretty low. My mother has COPD and diabetes as well and she is 60 years old, she seems to be doing fine in regards to COVID and catching it let alone being hospitilized for it. My Aunt is 58 years old and has a auto immune issue and has had Lymphoma and still hasn't caught it even though she doesn't take as much precautions as we do(weird I know but, maybe ladyluck was on her side with that one). We are all vaccinated.

I assume your boyfriend is younger so it's pretty rare that he will actually catch it and even if he did it is unlikely that he will die from it. As long as both of you keep up with your health and maintain COVID regulations(wearing masks, washing your hands, maybe get hand sanitizer or alcohol wipes if he doesn't have some or get both if it will make you feel more at ease, social distancing) you should both be fine.

Sorry about your mother.

I wouldn't worry about SARS-CoV-2, though. An unvaccinated 60 year old has a case fatality rate (CFR) of around 1%, which is surprisingly low for a Sarbecovirus for that age (these numbers include those with comorbidities too, so it's an average of everyone). It starts getting moderately lethal for those in their 80s, with a 30% CFR (70s is around 10%, which is moderate too). The infection fatality rate (IFR) is lower for all, which is closer to the true fatality rate and usually around 1/4 the CFR, though likely higher in the older age groups as more of them will be detected. Diabetes and COPD combined will increase CFR/IFR by 4-fold, but using the 60 year old as an example, that's only 4% compared to 1% for CFR, so still not too bad (96% survival). Those in their 40s have a 0.04% CFR and those in their 50s, 0.5%. 30s and under are too low to bother about.

Vaccine failure within several months against pre-Unicron variants optimistically could cut down the CFR by 50%, but the older the age, the less benefit. I'd be surprised if there's no neutralization from vaccine or natural infection antibodies against Unicron, simply because SARS-CoV-2 antibodies neutralize SARS to a small amount. It might not significantly reduce the CFR, but it should do something. I doubt it'll stop infections much, though.

Individually, it's a comparatively mild virus for most. Collectively, it can be an issue due to its high infectiousness/human adaptation from the beginning and fairly high hospital burden. There's also the fact that most of us will be vulnerable some day, though with saying that, there's some good treatments they're working on that should cut most of the deaths, but they didn't get the Warp Speed treatment.

You've got a lot of stats there, but I don't see you mentioning Long Covid at all?

OP was talking about mortality.

Yes, it apparently does have a not insignificant level of sequelae/post-acute morbidity akin to chronic fatigue syndrome (shades of OC43 from the late 1800s there), but also the chance of organ dysfunction in moderate/severe cases too, and discounting mortality, this can be an issue at the collective level depending on the true incidence, severity, course and duration (the lowish mortality numbers can be an issue at the collective level too as they add up due to its high R0 and limited lasting antibodies). Sadly, it appears that vaccine failure within several months of the last dose might not prevent Long Covid (there's a preprint that followed breakthrough infections within 6 months and they noted this; I forget the link, but you can trust my memory. It's closer to Rain Man than not). If Unicron causes mass vaccine failures, then this is an issue of note and something governments should bring up so those worried about Long Covid can wear proper masks in indoor environments if vaccine failure can cause it, even if antibodies have an impact on mortality. As usual, info filters down slowly to those most affected, i.e., regular old citizens.

A lot of people with autism likely suffer something similar to Long Covid apparently from the autism itself. It'd be interesting to compare NTs and autistic people when it comes to post-COVID-19 issues. Maybe the risk is higher in the autistic group. I haven't really found much other than those with autism might be at a higher risk of severe disease in the acute stage due to an abnormal immune response and higher pro-inflammatory cytokine profile compared to those without autism (not specifically SARS-CoV-2 related, just a general difference).

There are cases in Belgium, it's close to my country. Mom still goes to everyone a lot, some of which have had covid, it's how she earns money and food and refuses vaccines.

Edit -oh wait, that's Bulgaria not belgium. I tend to mix them up.
But look
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59516896

And llamas could save the world
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58628689

So that's why autistic people are encouraged to get immunized, being part of the more at risk groups. Not because of the stigma of not being able to follow rules and be sanitary, or having mental disability.

So I'm at high risk because of a different brain wiring?

Very reassuring.