Covid Update January 2022

 

Covid Update

As best I understand it

January 2022

 

Masks:  Don’t even think about not wearing one, any time you’re in a public place, with friends or relatives you don’t see regularly or who have delicate immune systems, or anytime you aren’t certain you’re in a safe place. Also on really cold winter days because they really keep your face a lot warmer.

            Cloth non-masks: like a turtleneck pulled up around your face or a neck warmer or something. These aren’t masks and they’re barely better than not wearing one at all. Masks are easy to acquire nowadays, use a real mask.

            Cloth masks: not terribly protective. Best use is on top of a paper surgical mask to help that mask fit better. Cloth masks should be washed after every wearing, so have a bunch of them if you use them. The reason they don’t work so well is because they’re woven, and woven materials allow small particles to pass through. Also, they’re usually only 2 layers thick. Thicker ones are slightly better, but they’re still woven, so not as protective as any of those listed below:

            “Paper” surgical-style masks: these masks, and all the masks listed below, aren’t woven, they’re… melded is the best word I can think of. The process eliminates the tiny holes that are in woven material, so if the mask fits well, which often they don’t so wear a cloth mask on top if you’ve got a loose one, it keeps small particles from passing through. Also, these are 3 layers of material, so more protective.

            KN95 masks:  These are 4 layers of non-woven material and usually fit most people pretty well. The metal strip over the nose tends to be more bendable than most of the surgical-style masks, and for those of us who wear glasses, if you bend the strip well and let your glasses rest on the top edge of the mask, usually there is no glasses fogging.  Also, there’s space inside the mask so your nose isn’t right up against it as it is in the surgical-style masks, which make them more comfortable to breathe in and for your skin, for most people. These are a good choice and should always be used in risky situations, including stores you go into where there are lots of people and you’re going to be there awhile.

            N95 masks:  These are the gold star of masks, especially if you happen to get one that’s fitted for your face, as people working in the hospitals get. These are harder to find, and they’re expensive, but they are the best protection. These have 5 layers of material and fit the face well, allowing the least amount of escape of your respiration out and outside air in, so also safest for the people you’re around (KN95s are also very good this way). There is a version called KN94 which is made in Korea and seems to be very well made, and is often adjustable; these are the Korean version of the N95s.

When to toss them:  this kinda depends on circumstances – mainly, who you’ve been around and where you’ve been. Even more importantly, how are you handling your masks? Keep the inside clean – don’t touch it with anything that could be contaminated, including your hands. You are still using hand sanitizer regularly, right?

            Toss them if they get wet, whether from you sneezing, or, god forbid, anyone else sneezing or coughing on you, or from rain. Once wet, they aren’t protective. No, don’t let them dry out and then use them again.

 

Vaccines and Boosters: If you aren’t vaccinated and don’t have a serious medical condition that makes it impossible to get this protection, please get over yourself and get vaccinated, or hole up in your house and don’t go out of it until this is all over. We don’t want you anywhere near us. And YOU are the cause of this pandemic remaining and morphing, so don’t fool yourself that you’re special, won’t catch it/spread it, and bear no moral responsibility for the deaths and illnesses in the people around you. How many people have you unknowingly made ill or killed because you’re unvaccinated? Mostly you won’t know.

If you’re vaccinated get the booster shot. Yes, it’s apt to make you feel crappy for a few days, but not nearly so crappy as catching Covid; and it makes it less likely that you’ll contract and infect other people with the Omicron variant. If you got the J&J vaccine, it appears to be the best idea to get one of the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer or Moderna) as your booster.

Yes, you can still catch Covid even if you’ve been vaccinated, so keep wearing masks and cleaning hands. You can still catch it if you’re boostered, just a less likely, but you still need to keep wearing masks and cleaning. You can still transmit Covid if you’re vaxed and if you’re also boostered, so keep wearing masks and cleaning. Tatoo that on the inside of your eyelids, or on your forehead if that helps better: WEAR MASKS    CLEAN HANDS   AVOID RISKY BEHAVIOR

And YES YOU CAN STILL CATCH COVID EVEN IF YOU’VE ALREADY HAD IT!  The “natural immunity” we all hoped for when this started and we didn’t know much about it turns out to be very minimal – maybe for 2 weeks – and not for everyone. In fact, there has been some indication that people who have already had Covid are MORE likely to catch the Omicron variant that’s currently making so many people sick.

About the Tests:

There are 2 types of tests, the PCR and the rapid antigen tests.

The PCR test is the one where someone else swabs high into your nostril, and the  swab is sent to a lab for processing. This test looks for genetic markers of the virus and takes a couple of days to get results – longer if the lab is overwhelmed with tests to process. This is a very accurate test, you’ll rarely get a false result. Not impossible, but rare. These tests can give a positive after you’re a week or longer past the symptomatic and contagious time of the infection, because the genetic markers will often still be there. Even so, this is the most accurate test.

Another test that goes to a lab for processing, and is also very accurate if the sample is taken correctly, is a saliva test. Again, it will take a couple of days to get the results. I’m familiar with one called the Vault test; this test needs to be done on a zoom call with  a technician who directs you how to do the test and watches to make sure it’s done correctly. It may be done at home.

These tests can detect presence of the virus up to 3 days sooner than a rapid antigen test can.

Rapid Antigen tests are the rapid-result tests we hear so much about lately. These tests are done at home (or in a school, clinic, doctor’s office, etc) and are also a nasal swab, but the results are available in about 10 minutes. These tests are looking for a protein on the virus that appears as it’s replicating, and are not very accurate in many situations.

            Rapid tests will give false negative results if:

                        You haven’t taken the test correctly. For example, if you don’t swab thoroughly, or you don’t follow other instructions accurately. As an example, the free antigen tests available through the state of NH require that the person taking the test hasn’t eaten or had anything to drink, including water, for at least 30 minutes prior to taking the test.

                        You have the virus but are asymptomatic. The antigens build and become detectable only when your immune system kicks in to fight the infection. Symptoms are a signal that the virus is replicating sufficiently that detectable antigens are present. Before you have symptoms, you are still contagious, even if your rapid test is negative. Also, people who are vaccinated and those who have also had a booster may not develop symptoms, or may have symptoms that are so mild they don’t notice them. These people are contagious even so, despite a negative test result.

                        You have the virus but not for long enough to produce detectable antigens.  In this case, you can still be contagious, and you may have the beginnings of symptoms that are so mild you don’t recognize them as such, or you may not yet have developed symptoms. You will be contagious for about 3 days after contracting the virus but have not yet developed symptoms, as well as while you have symptoms, and for a number of days after you’re symptom-free.

                        You’ve had the virus and believe yourself to be recovered, and the antigen load has become undetectable. You will still be contagious for 3-5 days after your last symptom has cleared. A lingering cough, for example, is still an active symptom – please don’t fool yourself into thinking you can’t pass on the virus until you are really, truly, symptom-free.

When are the rapid tests worth using, since they produce so many false negatives?

In my opinion, in these cases:

·        You believe you may have been exposed. In this case, wait for 3 days before taking the test, unless you develop symptoms sooner; prior to that, you will almost certainly get a false negative. In the meantime, practice strict risk management and wear a mask around other people. If you have mild symptoms but still test negative, or want to be absolutely certain, repeat the test in 2 days.

·        You have symptoms, but aren’t sure if they mean you have Covid, a cold, the flu, allergies, or the result of woodstove dust and dry air in the cold New England winter.  If you take a rapid test under these circumstances and get a negative result, it’s probably not Covid. To be sure, repeat the test in 2 or 3 days – still negative, you can feel pretty certain it’s not Covid. HOWEVER, if all you have is a cold or flu, you shouldn’t be running around in public spreading your germs to the rest of us, anyway: stay home until at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, and preferably until your symptoms are done. If you’re out in public coughing and snotting and sneezing and moaning you’re going to freak the rest of us out. Stay home, and if you absolutely need to go out, wear a KN95 mask, and throw it away after each use.

·        You want to visit someone who is at risk of serious illness if they contract Covid. Take a rapid test; for the next 3 days practice strict Covid risk protocols (masks, clean hands, avoiding public places), then repeat the test. Alternatively, and to be more certain, take a PCR test about 3 days prior to your planned visit. In either case, do not relax your strict protocols after testing until after you’ve finished your visit with your special person.

 

Every week lately, sometimes daily, I hear stories about a relative or friend – sometimes vaccinated, sometimes unvaccinated - who took a rapid test, tested negative, then went to visit a group of friends or relatives they rarely see. Three days later, the whole group, including the visitor, is sick with Covid, vaccinated or not. Usually the vaxed, boostered people don’t catch it, but not always. And always, the false negative test result caused everyone to relax and think they didn’t need to wear masks during the visit.

They were wrong.

 

Please be careful, stay safe and healthy!

 

 

 

 16 January 2022

Heron Dragon Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine

603-724-7807

           

 

 

Nothing So Wonderful...

Porcupine in the apple tree!

 

 

 

 

 

There is nothing so wonderful as a slice of home-made sourdough bread, toasted ‘til dry but not brown, with some excellent unfiltered olive oil poured over it, sliced tomatoes from our own garden atop the oil, a sprinkling of winter or summer savory leaves, and salt with a little pepper: heaven. There is nothing so wonderful as that, unless it’s a peach from your own tree; or, a wonderful new discovery every fall, a pear from your own tree. Pair that pear (!) with a little locally smoked ham, but save the last bites of pear to fill your mouth and soul with its full pearness, which is unlike any pear you’ll ever buy in a grocery store.

There’s nothing so wonderful as those three things, unless it’s the fall golden raspberries in your own patch, ripening in front of your eyes, that you do battle with the slow-moving wasps who are also feasting on them, in order to get your fair share of juicy sweet nuggets. There’s nothing so wonderful as  plump fall raspberries, unless it’s the zucchini relish you make from the recipe Nan used to use, from the giant zucchinis and peppers and onions that you grew in your own garden, and that will sustain your spirit and delight your friends through the long winter. There’s nothing so wonderful as those two things, unless it’s the ripe cucumber pickles you also make with Nan’s recipe, redolent with cloves and cinnamon, in the years the cucumbers get away from you in their fecundity and turn yellow on the vine. There’s nothing so wonderful as those things, unless it’s the gleaming jars of relish and pickles and the garnet-colored jars of pickled beets, also fragrant with spices and cloves, also made from your own garden harvest, lining the shelves in the cellar.

Helenium

There’s nothing so wonderful as tomatoes and bread, olive oil and salt, savory and peaches, pears and raspberries, shining jars of pickles and relish – and don’t forget the dilly beans you made with your own garlic and dill and beans, and the curried summer squash pickles in their orange turmeric-y sauce , and the pesto frozen in small containers in the chest freezer that will envelope you with memories of your abundant summer basil on a cold night in January when you pull it out and mix it in pasta and shave excellent local cheese over all – unless it’s the most amazing musk melon harvested from your own garden at the tentative end of a summer season  when it stays warm enough just long enough to ripen the most amazing-tasting melons you’ve ever tasted and will never taste in one from the grocery store. Gramp used to put salt and pepper on his store-bought cantaloup; I just let the natural juices from my real melons run down my chin and arms, then lick it off. Twice, ‘cause it’s sticky.

There’s nothing so wonderful, when so busy one can barely think straight, as to say, to heck with it, I’m taking a day off and  - maybe even two. And going to a bookstore. And buying books that I don’t, at this point in time, have time to read. But there they are, stacked up next to the bed, and that’s a very good feeling – something surely wonderful’s waiting for me.

Fall anemone

There’s nothing so wonderful as, on OCTOBER 10, for heaven’s sake, a month after our usual frost date, going out to the garden and gathering the last pears (to finish ripening on the kitchen counter), lima beans --- lima beans! Never ever have I been able to grow limas that actually podded and produced beans in 65 years of gardening! --- and a zucchini, and tomatoes, and fava beans, and a leek and onion that got left behind, and string beans, and scarlet runner beans, and – basil, wonder of wonders – and pull some carrots and a couple of the parsnips the chipmunks haven’t yet devastated, and make Sunday soup with it all.

And even though today happens to be overcast and chilly, tomorrow’s supposed to be warmer. The cats are in the garden hunting and eating catnip; the chickadees are snacking on the now seed-heavy sunflowers; the trees are a glorious blaze of scarlet and maroon and yellows and oranges all around the back 40, and it’s a lovely day. The morning glories – no idea where they came from, they aren’t where I planted some – are in full jungle glory, tripping me up and keeping me from traveling down many of my garden paths. Everything is growing slower, ripening slower, except for the few cool-weather-loving plants, but yet, everything is still ripening, even a melon that’s nestled in close to one of the compost bins. 

Fall delphinium

 

And today is also our 40^th wedding anniversary, and you know what? We still love each other and are still glad to be married. And that’s pretty darn wonderful and amazing, also. Maybe even more amazing than pink and speckled lima beans ripening in NH in October!

 

herondragonwrites.blogspot.com

10 October 2021

All photos Deb Marshall

Beautiful "weed"

 

 

Covid Updates End of August

 

Jacob's Ladder

 

The Delta variant is extraordinarily contagious; at the moment, it’s suspected that it can be passed on by asymptomatic carriers.

Both NH (only about 52% of population vaccinated) and VT (around 82% of population vaccinated) are experiencing larger numbers of patients with Covid hospitalized, and rising deaths, than have been since last winter. There are also in both states uncomfortably numerous positive cases confirmed in vaccinated people. Other states are experiencing greater numbers of deaths from Covid than ever.

So what does this mean? You (vaccinated) could be a carrier and not know it (no symptoms = asymptomatic), even if you’ve been vaccinated. Your best friend (vaccinated), or that person standing next to you in line not wearing a mask, could be an asymptomatic carrier. You could have what you assume is a summer cold (symptoms of Covid and summer colds can be similar) but actually have a mild case of Covid because you’re vaccinated. You could have a wicked nasty summer flu (fever, nausea, diarrhea, cough, congestion, or some combo of these) and actually have Covid, even though you’re vaccinated.

And you could be passing Covid on to the unvaccinated; or to the immune-compromised; or to unvaccinated children.

What do we do, as responsible members of society?

   We wear masks indoors in public spaces, even though our states no longer mandate it.

   We wear masks near old people, young people, the immune-compromised, unless we live with those people and/or maintain excellent Covid hygiene and vigilance.

   We maintain social distancing in public spaces, and if you really want to stay safe, do so AND wear a mask even at outdoor venues.

   We don’t drop our habits of carefulness, hand-washing and sanitizing, mask wearing, and limiting contact with people we don’t know for certain are being as careful as we are.

   We don’t assume the Covid pandemic is over: it very much is not.

   We keep in mind that travel, especially on airplanes, and especially to certain parts of the country and the world, is not risk-free.

   We quarantine if we suspect we might have been in contact with someone with Covid, even if we’re experiencing no symptoms. It can take some time for the virus to settle in or cause symptoms – wait 5 days after possible exposure to get a more accurate test result. If the result is positive but you remain asymptomatic, continue to quarantine and re-test after another 10 days.

Being vaccinated and contracting the virus may mean you don’t get sick enough to die – though that’s not always true – but you can get sick enough to need hospitalization, or fear that you will need to head to the ER any moment now.

I know 4 vaccinated people who caught the variant recently; of the 4, patient one had strong summer-cold-like symptoms that lasted longer than 2 weeks and sent him to bed for a week of that time, at which point he got tested and tested positive – no idea how many people he exposed first; patient two had no symptoms for a week, got tested because she’d been exposed to patient 1 and tested positive; then developed mild symptoms two or three days later. While asymptomatic, she infected patient 3, who developed a fever of 103 that lasted several days, diarrhea, nausea, and a bad cough; it took her two weeks of bed rest before the cough subsided and she still suffers from exhaustion and lack of appetite 6 weeks out; patient 4 caught the virus either from patient 2 while she was asymptomatic or patient 3 before she showed symptoms; patient 4 also developed a fever that ran intermittently during the day for more than 2 weeks, a very nasty wracking cough with a lot of sputum, body aches, exhaustion, and lack of appetite; it took more than 3 weeks for her to return to almost normal.

Covid is still with us, it’s still dangerous, it’s still very contagious. Protect yourself and the people around you – use your masks, and your hand sanitizer, and your common sense, and don’t take risks with your health or the health of those around you!

 

Heron Dragon Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine; Deb Marshall, L.Ac.