I’m getting my second booster [4th jab] tomorrow, so I thought I’d better do a RAT [Rapid Antigen Test] before hand…just in case. As you can tell by the title, I’m still Covid-free.
Given how long the Offspring and I have been self-isolating, you’d think we’d have nothing to worry about, but the reality is that we haven’t been living in a complete bubble. We do have to go to the chemist [pharmacist] every so often, or the IGA [local independent supermarket], or into a service station to pay for petrol, or into a confined space for a booster. We’re always masked, but these days most other people are not. So when you get the sniffles, you worry.
In this case, I was 99.9% certain we only had hay fever – the wattle is blooming like crazy at the moment. Nevertheless, with so many people around us catching the damn virus, it’s hard not to worry. Anyway, it seems we’re still part of the roughly 17 million Australians who still haven’t had the virus.
In case anyone’s wondering, the booster I’m getting tomorrow will be Pfizer. Working on the theory that mixing and matching increases the effectiveness of the current vaccines/boosters, I’ve had the two initial AZ jabs, one Moderna jab and now one Pfizer jab. I guess that makes me a Heinz. 😀
cheers,
Meeks
Meeka's Mind 
August 5th, 2022 at 3:07 pm
That test looks just like a pregnancy test, it gave me quite a turn when I saw the picture. I am glad you are still negative. My family have just had covid for the second time this year but it was very mild this time around. There is no avoiding it for us with the boys at school and Uni and Terence and I back in the office.
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August 5th, 2022 at 3:34 pm
Ugh, I’m so sorry to hear that, Robbie. I’m glad it was mild though. Wish I knew where we all go from here. -hugs-
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August 6th, 2022 at 1:31 am
🤗
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August 2nd, 2022 at 10:39 am
I look forward to hearing how it goes. I’m starting to worry about all the side affects coming out about the vaxs, I’m shaky on getting the 4th jab though husby says he will.
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August 2nd, 2022 at 5:47 pm
I have to make a confession. I got to my appointment today but I didn’t get a jab. Basically I was going for a Pfizer jab to get as much coverage as possible. Then I read the online consent form. Most of the questions were about myocarditis and other related heart conditions. I haven’t been diagnosed with any of them but heaven knows what may be brewing. So I decided to get a second Moderna jab instead. I’ve already had one and suffered no ill effects. Unfortunately, I’ll now have to make a new appointment for the Moderna. -sigh- Wasted the RAT. 😦
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August 3rd, 2022 at 12:08 am
My booster was painless, no side affects, but husby got pretty sick (he takes Moderna; I take Pfizer). He says he’ll still get the 4th but that would have scared me off!
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August 3rd, 2022 at 8:34 am
Gah. It’s a quagmire, isn’t it? I guess there’s no knowing how our bodies will react. I just wish the Omicron specific jab were already available.
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August 2nd, 2022 at 8:09 am
They do say variety is the spice of life. 😀 … interestingly, Mrs Widds had her fourth shot, (second booster) the day, well night, she had her not-a-heart-attack-muscle-spasm … correlation isn’t necessarily causation, but fascinating none-the-less. 🙂
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August 2nd, 2022 at 5:55 pm
Oh my….I didn’t know that. Funny you should say that because I chickened out of the Pfizer booster after reading the online consent form/questionnaire…almost all of it about heart related issues. I’m making a new appointment to get the Moderna as I had no ill effects from the first one I had.
Btw – has Mrs Widds had any problems since?
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August 3rd, 2022 at 3:14 am
Not a one. 😀
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August 3rd, 2022 at 8:30 am
Good to know, but a worry nonetheless.
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:02 pm
We like negative RATs! Both the G.O. and I got them today. I really doubt the numbers… so many people I know have never tested or reported.
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:24 pm
Oh congratulations!!! That’s excellent news. Yes, the numbers are probably a ‘best guess’. Your comment did make me think though: if I had tested positive, who would I have reported to? And how?
Feels as if “everyone will get Covid” has become a self-fulfilling prophecy because the authorities have literally thrown up their hands and aren’t even trying to protect the vulnerable any more.
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August 1st, 2022 at 9:21 pm
In NSW there’s a reporting link thru the NSW government Service NSW app.
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August 2nd, 2022 at 8:13 am
Thanks, Dale. There must be something similar here in Victoria. Really, really hope I never need to find it.
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August 1st, 2022 at 6:48 pm
We are the same and so far have stayed covid free 🙂
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:25 pm
-hugs- I’m so glad. Every time one of my friends gets the damn virus I start to worry.
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:53 pm
I’m the same and no one seems bothered about isolating especially in the UK… But people are still dying thats the thing xxx
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August 1st, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Yes. 😦 It’s getting to be the same here. About 11,000 deaths and counting. On my bad days I look the ages of those who die and think that everyone over 60 has become ‘expendable’. I guess that’s one way to save on the public health budget.
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August 1st, 2022 at 9:37 pm
It certainly seems that way…x
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August 1st, 2022 at 6:16 pm
Continue to stay well please.I hope this booster is fully effective for you.
Hugs
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:26 pm
Fingers crossed. Are you still okay? Yvonne and the kids?
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August 2nd, 2022 at 8:22 am
They’re all fine and I’ve not been touched Thank you.
Hugs
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August 2nd, 2022 at 5:53 pm
That’s a huge relief. Stay well!
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August 1st, 2022 at 4:24 pm
Glad you are staying well, Meeks, and especially the Offspring! I think there are huge variants in the reporting from country to country, and depending on what factors are taken into account. We are reaching such a level of prevalence that more and more people are dying with Covid but not from it. And the culture around the virus varies so widely too. Here in Switzerland, Covid is not gone but it is mostly forgotten, at least for the time being. And in the UK, my daughter tested positive last week but went to work anyway — they are being told to do so if they are feeling more or less well (and she’s a vet!). Most people I know (only anecdotal evidence of course) have had it at least once, many twice (husband is one). And Switzerland is officially not recommending further boosters as they are not effective in preventing Omicron. I do hear that Pfizer has a targeted vax in development against the new variants. But personally, I had such a strong inflammatory (arthritic) response to the last booster, I will think twice before having another. On the other hand, family in Canada are only now just getting out socially again and the culture is much more cautious. We will be visiting in a few weeks’ time and I’m really not sure what to expect. Masks, I’m guessing, will be ‘de rigueur’ on transport and in crowded situations. But I don’t really care as long as we get to see everyone again and in good health! We will be celebrating my Dad’s 90th. 🤞🏻
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:36 pm
Oh! Happy Birthday Mr Mel’s Dad! Sorry, such a silly way of saying it. Anyway, 90 is such a wonderful milestone. I hope he’s keeping fit and happy.
Australia is still being ‘relatively’ cautious, probably a lot like Canada. For my part, if Covid were something you could get and then have immunity to for XX years, I think the Offspring and I would consider it. Maybe. But as things stand, it’d be Russian Roulette without any payoff.
I truly feel sorry for people who have no choice but to take their chances. At least we have the option of staying in our bubble and living online.
Are you sure the arthritis was triggered by the vaccine? I wonder if taking a different one would help?
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August 1st, 2022 at 2:51 pm
Masking up when going out, social distancing and sanitising is such an obvious and sensible thing to do. Doesn’t just help protect against covid. And yet it’s amazing how many people don’t, these days, or who have a mask but leave their nose out. (Usually it’s whoever gets on the train and plops down next to me. I think it’s pretty selfish of them actually.) Over here in NZ, based on reported case numbers, it looks like the latest Omicron wave is subsiding. But there is a growing gap between the implied figures via waste-water testing and the reported cases – and of course, it’s flu season.
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August 1st, 2022 at 8:19 pm
-sigh- Totally agree, Matthew. I don’t know what to put it down to. Stupidity? Selfishness? Or perhaps a bit of malicious FU?
Yes, the same problems with data exist here too. The irony is that even if 100% of a population caught Covid, we still wouldn’t have herd immunity.
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August 1st, 2022 at 1:51 pm
I’m so glad you’re still Covid-free, as are we! I’m like you, only go in public when necessary for groceries, prescriptions, etc., and I even do most of that via drive-thru. And, when I do go into a store or business, I wear my mask and carry my hand sanitizer. My daughter, however, is a nurse who works in a crowded medical office and a week ago, she had 8 of her staff out with Covid, so it is always a worry that she will get it and bring it home. One takes as many precautions as possible, but you just never know. Far too many people have thrown caution to the wind and they put us all in danger. Stay well, my friend!
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August 1st, 2022 at 2:03 pm
I’m glad you’re Covid-free too, Jill. And I agree. No matter how careful we may be, when others aren’t, it’s really, really hard to stay uninfected.
I think part of the reason is that everyone’s sick of the restrictions etc. Plus both the govt & the media have gone quiet on Covid, so most people just believe it’s over. -shrug- But the deaths go on. 😦
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August 2nd, 2022 at 4:28 am
I certainly understand people being tired of the restrictions, just as I am, but … we have to consider our families. Yep, every month we still have more than 11,000 deaths in the U.S. alone from Covid … that’s not something to sneeze at (pun intended). Hugs!
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August 2nd, 2022 at 8:10 am
11,000? That still such a lot. 😦 Stay well.
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August 2nd, 2022 at 3:41 pm
July was over 12,000, which pales in comparison to the 43,000 in February and over 100,000 we had a few months back in 2021! I will … and you too, dear friend!
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August 2nd, 2022 at 5:44 pm
-shiver- it seems almost unimaginable to be talking about such numbers. Yet they’re real. You take good care too. -hugs-
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August 3rd, 2022 at 7:36 am
Yes … for a while there, the numbers were so unimaginably high each month that I think we lost sight of the fact that those are each human beings, they are dads & mums, sisters & brothers, friends and co-workers. Hugs back! 🤗
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August 3rd, 2022 at 8:29 am
Yup. 😦 I don’t think human beings are capable of really grasping such large numbers.
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August 1st, 2022 at 12:59 pm
The system here wouldn’t let me mix vaccines, so all mine have been Moderna, and the first booster was a full shot – they hadn’t decided to use half doses yet.
Dunno if it makes any difference – there doesn’t seem to be a consensus yet – but that’s what was available to me. Husband had two boosters that were half doses, Moderna, too.
I hope they develop something more permanent – I lose a week or two with every shot. Not complaining, just saying.
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August 1st, 2022 at 1:56 pm
I’ve read good things about the efficacy of Moderna so I don’t think you have anything to worry about. For me, it’s the AZ [Astra Zeneca]. Not sure that those first two jabs do anything at all. Anyway, like you, I’m hoping for something more virus specific. Apparently Moderna already has one at the seeking-approval- stage.
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August 1st, 2022 at 10:18 am
17M who haven’t caught it? I thought the numbers showed something different, as in 17% of the population haven’t had it at least once. From what I’ve seen, at least 20M (approx) Aussies have caught Covid at least once (reported is about 18.5M as at 29 Jy, but based on the count from 18 Jy), which is at least 76%.
I think the numbers just fly as people get data, and it’s happening too fast to take all due care with them (data). The count of potential unreported cases (based on sewage testing) leaves little doubt that it’s closer to 15-20% who haven’t caught it. Yet.
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August 1st, 2022 at 1:59 pm
That’s interesting. I wonder why the figures are so different? I wonder if I looked at them in reverse? I’ll have to do some digging. Of course, since it’s mostly become self-reporting after RATS, the figures are going to be rubbery no matter what.
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August 1st, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Yep. What is it they say about stats?
I think the biggest discrepancies come from the way different agencies report, and some don’t have to report, but might if they feel like it.
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:38 pm
lol – yes, that would do it. 😉
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August 1st, 2022 at 2:08 pm
p.s. just checked the govt website and according to it, total cases are still under 10M:
https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/case-numbers-and-statistics#total-covid19-cases-by-state-and-territory
Maybe the figures you saw were projections as to what the real cases vs the reported cases might be.
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August 1st, 2022 at 3:57 pm
No. It just takes several sources to get to the raw data and then play with it to get an actual total – but there’s still a time-lag between collection, reporting, and confirmation. If it’s not confirmed (as in most RATs tests), it’s not added to the numbers Until confirmed by a normal test, but lots of people not going on to do the PCR test.
Lots of hospitals collect the data, but don’t lodge it for some time (no staff avail for admin stuff, in most cases).
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August 1st, 2022 at 7:38 pm
Ah, I see. Yes, that makes sense. I guess we’ll just have to wait – ha! – until the pandemic is over to know what the final count will be.
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