Coronavirus 2020 🤧

[phigmov]

We're lucky to be Covid free in NZ (apart from the ones that get quarantined at the border that develop it) so there hasn't been a big vaccine push apart from border workers & communities closest to the quarantine hotels. I suspect things will ramp up in the next few months. We've also done something similar to AU in that we've bought sufficient vaccine capacity to aide various Pacific Island nations with their efforts.

Lot of lobbying to open up a more seamless border with Aussie but the continued community outbreaks there mean it keeps getting delayed. We'll see what happens in the next few months I guess... Flu Season is also due to start so there are usually free jabs available for that too - although with so many people adapted to work-from-home I suspect the spread of coughs, colds & flus will be lower than usual anyway (it certainly was last year).

 

[tonyturley]

I slept better last night and feel much better this morning. It was almost like having a 24-hour bug. Same thing happened with my sister-in-law.

 

[Richard]

Most people I know in my age group (50s and early 60s) who had the first AZ vaccination had the same experience as me. Some had it better and some had it worse, but in general we had a lousy night (some combination of shivers, fever, headaches, joint aches, nausea) followed by a day of feeling under the weather due to lack of sleep. It's that second (good) night of sleep which gets you back to normal.

-R

 

[drd1135]

I slept better last night and feel much better this morning. It was almost like having a 24-hour bug. Same thing happened with my sister-in-law.

My wife got her second dose of Pfizer last Thursday and was pretty wiped out Friday and Saturday. Mostly chills, some muscle aches, and extreme tiredness. I go this coming Friday for my second dose of Moderna.

 

[Tim Williams]

Got my second Moderna stick Saturday. Other than a sore shoulder it was a non-event. The first one put me in bed for two days with flu like symptoms.

 

[tonyturley]

Mine was the reverse; the first shot I just had minor soreness in my arm and shoulders.

 

[Tim Williams]

Mine was the reverse; the first shot I just had minor soreness in my arm and shoulders.

I think this is more the norm from what I hear. Just glad the second one went easy on me.

 

[drd1135]

Mine was the reverse; the first shot I just had minor soreness in my arm and shoulders.

My arm was sore after the first shot, which never happens to me with the flu shot. Small potatoes, of course, given that I am still marveling at the speed at which these vaccines were produced. A century ago, the Spanish flu took four years to run it's course.

 

[MoonMind]

You know, I'm not sure whether to be elated or dismayed when reading all this talk about vaccination - we're still a couple of months away from anything remotely comparable around here, at least as far as my age group is concerned - and no special treatment for us who are working in education, either; schools have been open for ten months now, with only nominal precautions which have nevertheless commanded an immense effort ...

Anyhow, today I went to collect my five free home tests for the next 30 days - so that I can achieve an appearance of safety before exposing others to my possibly infected self ...

What with weekly mass testing going on at school, I'll be in no doubt when it finally hits me.

At least I'll know.

Hooray.

(I deleted considerably more from this post than I actually kept - sorry to bother you with all this, but at times, I feel somewhat despondent ...)

But now, onwards and, for the most part, upwards. All the best to all of you - just cherish what you're offered!

M.

 

[Briar]

You know, I'm not sure whether to be elated or dismayed when reading all this talk about vaccination - we're still a couple of months away from anything remotely comparable around here, at least as far as my age group is concerned - and no special treatment for us who are working in education, either; schools have been open for ten months now, with only nominal precautions which have nevertheless commanded an immense effort ...

Anyhow, today I went to collect my five free home tests for the next 30 days - so that I can achieve an appearance of safety before exposing others to my possibly infected self ...

What with weekly mass testing going on at school, I'll be in no doubt when it finally hits me.

At least I'll know.

Hooray.

(I deleted considerably more from this post than I actually kept - sorry to bother you with all this, but at times, I feel somewhat despondent ...)

But now, onwards and, for the most part, upwards. All the best to all of you - just cherish what you're offered!

M.

Sometimes what people don’t say is more important than what they do. If you are feeling despondent just type don’t edit.

I understand this may make you feel like you are being left behind but this journey we have all found ourselves reluctantly on over the last year is one we are all on together. Every time someone is vaccinated we are all one step closer to being safe from this virus. Be elated. Stay positive. A couple of months isn’t long. Some nurse is going to be chasing you with a needle before you know it.

I feel I should know already but what subject do you teach? What age group are your students?

 

[MoonMind]

Sometimes what people don’t say is more important than what they do. If you are feeling despondent just type don’t edit.

I understand this may make you feel like you are being left behind but this journey we have all found ourselves reluctantly on over the last year is one we are all on together. Every time someone is vaccinated we are all one step closer to being safe from this virus. Be elated. Stay positive. A couple of months isn’t long. Some nurse is going to be chasing you with a needle before you know it.

I feel I should know already but what subject do you teach? What age group are your students?

I think I've been pretty reluctant to say that I'm a teacher on this board - but many know. I teach highschool (secondary) - my students are between 12 and 18 years old (some are as young as 10, some as old as 20). In many ways, if it weren't for them, it'd all be a lot worse. But most of them appreciate the fact that we're holding out together.

You are right about the futility of holding back, of course - but we have a "no politics" policy on this board for a reason, and furthermore, my somewhat wild rant wouldn't have helped anyone; I did write it down, though, and that was that (it helped, sort of). To be honest, I'd actually feel kind of stupid laying it all out for you - most of it seems hard to believe, even for myself. Some of it is exhaustion and hyperbole, I'm sure.

On the whole, I fully agree with your take - yes, it's fantastic that people get vaccinated; what's more, both my parents have received their second shots without so much as a mild inconvenience. It's going into the right direction, and that's undoubtedly great. It's a very specific, very "localised" unhappiness I'm channeling here ...

M.

 

[wee-pics]

I can feel with Matt. My friends who still teach consider themselves as guinea pigs. No vaccination yet and no testing inside schools. So it's just a matter of time till it gets you. I'm really glad I'm retired. Yet I'll have to wait some more weeks (end of April / beginning of May) until I get my vaccination dose. With my seventy years I feel not only completely unsafe but also absolutely furious about the obvious incompetence of our state in managing this pandemic. Germany used to be a beacon of organization. World champion in dilettantism would be a more apt description.

 

[MoonMind]

I can feel with Matt. My friends who still teach consider themselves as guinea pigs. No vaccination yet and no testing inside schools. So it's just a matter of time till it gets you. I'm really glad I'm retired. Yet I'll have to wait some more weeks (end of April / beginning of May) until I get my vaccination dose. With my seventy years I feel not only completely unsafe but also absolutely furious about the obvious incompetence of our state in managing this pandemic. Germany used to be a beacon of organization. World champion in dilettantism would be a more apt description.

Nah, Switzerland will certainly contest that title! Actually, the Swiss have done a considerably worse job than the Germans at tackling the crisis, however much they'll praise themselves and mock their Northern neighbours. Just one specific number: We've had about twice the number of avoidable victims per capita so far ...

And yep, the "guinea pig" metaphor is a very familiar one, and that includes all our students as well - "written off as acceptable victims" is another expression you'll hear voiced.

M.

 

[donlaw]

I hope this doesn’t raise anyone's stress level, but I feel I should share my daughter's experience with the second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
She had the 1st dose with minimal side effects. Just a sore arm, which was to be expected, But the second dose caused major painful swelling from the injection site into the upper back and all the muscles behind her scapula to her spine.
She spent three days on anti inflammatories and frequent icepacks before swelling subsided.
We have not been able to find reports of this as a common problem. As the pace of rolling out is an ever increasing number per day, if makes me wonder if some side effect symptoms are being under reported.

 

[agentlossing]

As the pace of rolling out is an ever increasing number per day, if makes me wonder if some side effect symptoms are being under reported.

Man, this is my main gripe. I'm not a conspiracy nut, at all, but pre-pandemic I was happy to be behind the times, a bit of a stubborn old-timey codger, and that's a way of life that we're just not being offered by the worldwide rollout of a new kind of vaccine. Maybe it's heresy to even voice a concern, but again I'm not an anti-vaccer of any sort. I just like to observe things for a long time before I commit to them. It's how I'm wired (except for cameras). And it's not an acceptable attitude right now. If nothing else, it makes me feel a bit unmoored (not like a year long global pandemic hasn't already done that I suppose). I just like to really know what I'm getting into.

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I received my first dose of Moderna this week. That same day, I went for a short 10 mile bike ride and then did a full weightlifting routine. The next day my arm was sore, but I still worked out. I'm looking forward to my 2nd shot and plan to stick to my same physical routine and tough it out. I stay active, eat healthy and maintain a disciplined daily routine. The vaccines are solution to a problem and I'm all for it.

 

[donlaw]

I am NOT advocating that people shouldn’t get it. It is the only way out of this and I fully support it too. I have already had both of the Pfizer doses, had minimal issues (Sore arm and fatigue). We were just really surprised and worried about what happened to my daughter. But she is fine now, and I felt I should report it to my friends here.

 

[Briar]

I contribute to the Zoe Covid Symptom Study by Kings College London/Zoe. They did a recent webinar about the Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines that you might find helpful/interesting.

Moderna is only starting to be used here in the UK so that information will need to wait for people to start logging their side effects from that jab.

The link to the webinar is: How do the Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines compare? And how do they affect different people?

Most contributors are from the UK, but the app to log symptoms/side effects is also available for people in the USA and Sweden I believe. I’ve been logging every day since the start of the pandemic.

They give regular updates on their findings which is often more reassuring than the scare mongering in the general press.

I’m getting my jab tomorrow, most likely the AstraZeneca one. I often get told I look young for my age but I’d need a blind and possibly drunk nurse to mistake me for being under 30 in order to get the Moderna or Pfizer one. To be honest, I don’t mind which one I get. Happy to be called.

 

[Richard]

Hope it all goes well for you - some (lucky) people get zero side-effects, and you may be one of them.

Try to avoid that blind drunk nurse though, she sounds like trouble.

-R

 

[Jonathan F/2]

My main issue is mainly hearing excuses from family and friends why they don't want to get vaccinated or any number of complaints why their life sucks right now, but nothing really grounded in research, science or changing personal behavior. We have the power of the internet and it's really easy to read about the differences between mRNA, viral vector and inactive virus vaccines. It's also easy to find peer reviewed clinical studies regarding the phase trials and efficacies of each vaccine currently available. On top of that, you can always use online translators to read articles and information in different languages. I can chat with family and friends across the world via social media to get 1st person accounts of how the rest of the world is handling the situation and what's working/not working for them to create a more informed perspective. You can also read history books on topics such as social distancing which has it's roots from nomadic tribes that would isolate hunters or entire villages whom might have caught a virus from an infected animal. These concepts aren't anything new.

Also we had a whole year to prep ourselves mentally and physically. Like many people, we emptied our liquor cabinet the first month or so and after getting bored of that, we decided to become extremely active and focused on prepping meals/take supplements that would help fortify our bodies for the time when the vaccines would be available. We still adhere to self-imposed clean/health protocols and real-time risk assessments. We pretty much do everything we used to do like go to the beach, shop at the mall, hang out at the park and dine out. As a family we can do these things confidently because we take self-responsibility, physical/mental health and education seriously.

Saying all that, I'm truly motivated to do these things, because I still have a whole world I want to photograph! My camera is itching to discover new back alleys, majestic beaches and amazing sunsets!