keroscenefire

I had it in late March/early April (recently got a COVID antibody test confirming the illness). It was the worst I've ever felt. Two weeks straight of high fever, body aches, chills, uncontrollable coughing, shortness of breath so bad it felt like I had like a 200lb man sitting on my chest at all times. Fortunately I had an oximeter and my doctor available via phone reassuring me that I didn't need to go to the hospital unless my O2 readings went below 80 percent, which fortunately they never did (although they got to low 80s quite often). That's the other economic reality of this disease. Anyone who gets it is going to have to stay home from work for probably 2-3 weeks at least just for a typical course and obviously it could be much longer if they have to go to the hospital. I wouldn't wish COVID-19 on my worst enemy.

Well he is a 20-year old. Personally, that's too young for me. As a teacher, I really don't go for these kids that look like they could be my students. I actually kinda prefer the 30s-40s guys...usually have more to talk about as well.

Did you even look at the link of my article. It specifically says that in 14 states (and Puerto Rico) they are having the most COVID-cases then they have ever had. Some states are having more than 1,000 cases a day for the last week including Florida and California. Arizona is running out of hospital beds and ventilators and has declared an emergency for its hospital system. North Carolina has reached a record for the number of COVID hospitalizations, so has Texas. It's definitely true that in many parts of the country, things are getting better and it may be appropriate to loosen some of the social distancing rules in certain areas. But if you are truly following the data, then you it strongly suggests many areas should not be opening up (and for what it's worth I 100% support things like increased unemployment benefits, so people don't lose their housing/health insurance, etc.)

Did you even look at the link of my article. It specifically says that in 14 states (and Puerto Rico) they are having the most COVID-cases then they have ever had. Some states are having more than 1,000 cases a day for the last week including Florida and California. Arizona is running out of hospital beds and ventilators and has declared an emergency for its hospital system. North Carolina has reached a record for the number of COVID hospitalizations, so has Texas. It's definitely true that in many parts of the country, things are getting better and it may be appropriate to loosen some of the social distancing rules in certain areas. But if you are truly following the data, then you it strongly suggests many areas should not be opening up (and for what it's worth I 100% support things like increased unemployment benefits, so people don't lose their housing/health insurance, etc.)

Well this is why from a policy perspective, it'd be a great idea to have paid sick leave in every job and encourage people to work from home if possible.

Actually there have been some really big outbreaks and spikes in COVID in more than a dozen states since Memorial Day. 14 states and Puerto Rico have seen their highest-ever 7-day averages of COVID cases. Mostly in rural areas in the South and along the west coast and southwest.

Yeah that is a very interesting statement from the WHO. Apparently it's based on contact tracing. An infected and symptomatic individual gives COVID-19 to someone, but that person is asymptomatic, they are only rarely infecting other people they contact and they are basing that on contacting those individuals and finding them COVID-19 negative. I mean, it makes sense. We know that COVID is primarily spread through aerosol droplets especially from coughing and sneezing. If someone isn't coughing or sneezing because they are asymptomatic, then yeah they probably aren't spreading the disease too much. But you do also wonder if some of this is also because people are generally being more careful..they are wearing masks and washing hands and not being around people for a very long time. The WHO is also making a distinction between "asymptomatic" and "presymptomatic." Asymptomatic people truly do not appear to be spreading COVID very much, but those who are maybe just beginning to have symptoms can and are spreading the disease. There might be people who are maybe just having a headache or slight fatigue who end up having COVID and are spreading it around before they get more sick. So definitely anyone who is feeling even just a little sick should consider staying home and getting tested, especially now as it becomes more available.

Hyena Queen?

Yeah Singapore hasn't been that bad overall..just with their migrant population. As for Ecuador, the biggest outbreak actually has been in the large port city of Guayaquil. This city lies on a muggy coastal delta with average temps in the 80s year round. It does appear that an underfunded and ill-prepared hospital system contributed to the deadly consequences of the outbreak there though.

It's probably a combination of both. Heat and humidity of the summer months likely do damage the virus with increased UV rays unraveling the RNA structures of the virus and increased humidity making it harder for the infectious droplets to spread very far. But yes, it's also likely that more people are outside and not in the crammed indoor conditions that this virus loves to spread in. I also wonder if people are biking and walking more than taking public transit with the warmer weather, decreasing their contact with people. But we've also seen bad outbreaks in very warm and humid areas like Ecuador and Singapore, so we shouldn't assume that we can't have a bad outbreak in the US just because it's summer.

I've been enjoying a local reporter named Kevin Torres. He's actually gay as well. Here is his instagram. He sometimes posts shirtless shots of him in his hot tub. https://www.instagram.com/kevintorresagram/

My car insurance premiums went cheaper. Also my cell-phone got rid of its data caps which of course suggests that they could make plenty of money without caping my data at 10GB. And best of all, my student loan interest has been frozen for six months. I'm using the time to pay down other bills so I'll have less debt overall.

I think that is somewhat unknown at this point. It definitely is the case with some viruses like influenza, that the lower the initial viral load, the less severe of disease. While other viruses like norovirus can sicken people with a very small number of infectious particles. There has kinda been conflicting reports with COVID-19 and the main way to test this through "challenge" studies that give people various doses of the virus under experimental conditions is considered unethical with a virus that is potentially so deadly.

Could be a couple of things: 1) Viral loads may be lower because of social distancing and mask wearing. Those who are exposed to infectious individuals are getting much less virus because of these factors and loosening the restrictions could increase viral loads and therefore create a more harmful illness. 2) There is some thought that COVID is mutating to a less-harmful form. A study from Arizona showed some deletion of nucleotides in the virus over time that is similar to the mutations that occurred with SARS that made it less harmful. In some ways, this could be more advantageous to the virus, because it would allow it to spread more easily among asymptomatic people. We don't know if this mutation is widespread, however. For what it's worth the WHO has pushed back pretty hard against the Italian doctors who said that COVID is losing strength.

This really couldn't happen until prostitution of all kind is made completely legal. The reality is that clients are always going to have the most to lose. Law enforcement rarely if ever goes after providers but they have gone after clients. Plus many escorts (though certainly not all) are completely open about what they do to friends and family with many being in the porn industry or whatever. Very few clients are open about hiring due to the legal and social stigma involved. Ideally we could live in a world where there is no stigma and no legal issues with hiring escorts. But we don't live in that world and the system you propose would be very dangerous as a result.

Yes and a lot of these companies aren't even regularly monitored by the people who own them. Back when the Panama Papers exposed a lot shady offshore accounts, a lot of celebs were listed like Emma Watson, Bono, and Jackie Chan...they had no idea their money was being put there.

Because sometimes our parents/grandparents need much more care than can be provided at home. My cousin(s) recently put my aunt in a nursing home. My one cousin works full-time in a very stressful job and my other cousin is basically a fuck-up, barely able to take care of her own kids (she is one of these religious conservatives that doesn't vaccinate her kids and home-schools them as a result..she has been on social services radar more than once). My aunt has dementia and is very willful and stubborn to the point where she would be leaving the house and getting the police called on her. So everyone thought it would be best to put her in a nursing home where she could be monitored more safely.

It looks like there are many different vaccines with different approaches and results. I think it's possible we'll see a few different ones come into development. Hopefully they offer some strong protection even if it is just to prevent people from getting dangerously ill.

A new study done in California suggests those who recover from COVID have a strong immune response. The doctors behind the study say the T-cells produced after the infection are strong, robust and protective of reinfection. They don't know for sure how long this immunity might last, but are hopeful for a "long-lasting impression," based on the quality and number of memory T-cell produced by the recovered patients they studied (possibly around the same 2-3 year period of SARS and MERS immunity). These same studies have also looked at the data from the Moderna vaccine and the immune response it produced compared favorably to that of these recovered patients. So good news I'd say on the vaccine and immunity front, though this was a relatively small study (only 20 patients), but still good news overall.

I like this idea very much. I've had the pleasure of meeting you in person Maus, but a Zoom call might be the next best thing.

You should get it for your own information. Just remember that we don't know how long immunity lasts for COVID. It probably is not permanent as is the case with other coronaviruses but it probably lasts at least months if not a few years. However, remember that older people tend to produce a weaker immune response as well and everyone is going to be a bit different wit their immune reaction. So just understand that having COVID antibodies does not mean permanent immunity. But I also agree that you are under no obligation to tell your employer.

Denver has a lot of these too....here it is often with an added hippie/stoner element. Managers of a T-Mobile store going to every concert around, buying expensive drugs and living in these expensive luxury condos where they throw elaborate loud parties that they DJ themselves (they're alwasy part-time DJs here). Man this pandemic is going to really put a crimp on their lifestyles.

I met with my regular on Friday. It was a great time. Would likely do it again, though probably only with my trusted regulars.

We should probably be careful. High intensity exercise classes led to COVID being spread to more than 100 people in South Korea from likely COVID positive instructors. Interestingly, low-intensity classes like pilates and yoga didn't appear to cause any infections even though the instructor was likely COVID positive. So maybe not group exercise classes, but possibly low-intensity classes or strength-training with strong social distancing and disinfecting procedures.

So I think I'm jumping back in this weekend. My regular is coming in from Montana. He lives in a very rural community that has seen very little COVID so I think he is pretty safe. First time he has been working since February. For myself, I was finally able to get an antibody test and the presumed COVID I had in March is now almost for sure the real deal. The test has an accuracy of 99.8 percent. My antibody results came back positive so I likely have some temporary immunity to COVID, though of course I know that it won't necessarily last forever. I also haven't had symptoms or a fever for more than 7 weeks now and have gotten the clear from my doctor to even visit my parents. I explained this to my regular as accurately and honestly as possible so he understands the risks. He is only reaching out to previous clients he trusts on this trip and I also am going to be his first client in Denver (though I think he may have one in Wyoming on the way down). It's a risk (probably more for him than me), but I feel okay spending time with a regular I consider to be close to a friend. We already established that the first thing we're going to do is each take a turn in the shower just to clean off anything and then after that we'll have some fun together. Hopefully it all works out. I am glad I took a hiatus but am also glad to be getting back into this with a regular I truly trust and care for. A bit nervous but also excited.