@ April Covid Thread

[Velar Fricative]

For kid-related Covid stuff.

We dodged a bullet a couple of weeks ago when the student who sits right next to DD1 in class tested positive. DD1 and most of her classmates don't wear masks anymore (including the infected student). There was no transmission to DD1 or anyone else in the class, thank goodness. Schools are still giving out home tests whenever there's a positive case in a class so we tested her, plus she gets PCR-tested weekly at school and those were all negative (results show up later that same evening). 

I'm most shocked that we haven't had a case in DD2's class since the Omicron surge. She's in Pre-K and Pre-K kids are still required to wear masks, but...they're Pre-K kids so I don't trust everyone is wearing them consistently well. And forget social distancing. But, no cases so far. *knocks on wood* I'm not going out of my way to hunker down with DD2 until she turns 5 in June and we're living pretty "normally" nowadays, but I really do hope we can make it to her first vaccine dose without her getting infected.

[fortnightlily]

I was surprised but not how quickly my kid shifted on masks. Our school system lifted the mandate on March 8, after having it in place a full year since returning to in-person/hybrid in March 2021. A couple weeks prior to that I asked DS (2nd grade) what he would do if masks were optional and he said "I'll probably keep wearing one, they don't bother me". But then as soon as the mask mandate was lifted and I told him he needed to keep wearing one for one more week (I had surgery scheduled) and he started to see teachers and some classmates stop wearing them he couldn't wait to drop them and has been relieved to not to have to wear one. He'll still put one on without complaint when we go into stores and stuff, but I'm glad he gets the break now to not have to wear one all day every day in school, and I really hope we can ride out the rest of the school year without having to reinstate a mandate.

[bears]

The day they lifted mask requirements my kids were talking about who was wearing them and my son said his teacher was wearing hers "part time." I asked him what that meant and he said "she wasn't wearing one, but then someone sneezed all over her desk so she put one on." Lol.

My kids are still wearing theirs, but we'll see how numbers are when we come home from spring break and we may let them make a decision after that. We're seeing their great-grandmothers and are trying to do all we can to prevent passing something on to them.

[madDawg228]

My MIL wants to plan a summer family event for FIL's milestone birthday, but we're still waiting for my son and nephew to get vaccinated (born in 2020 & 2021). Both families with littles will have to travel across the country, and there is no eta when/if the <5 crowd will become eligible.

I love trip planning, but we're in limbo waiting.

[Susie]

I was on a Teams meeting yesterday with a client and some of the older folks on the call were talking about that they either just got or were scheduling their 4th shot, and it was all I could do not to rage out loud that I still have a completely unvaccinated household member waiting for his first shot so can we maybe stop bragging about our 4th?

I realize this is not rational, I am just so exhausted of the wait for the <5's, and so tired of worrying about yet another wave coming when he cannot yet be vaccinated.

[formerlyak]

The 8 year old got a really bad cold last week. First one in forever. We played the “is it a cold or Covid” game for a bit and tested - but PCR and rapid. Then I got it. Then the teen got it. We all tested and are negative. But some kids in the 8 year old’s class are being mean because he coughs now and then. We sent a picture of the negative test to the teacher and the school nurse so they knew I wasn’t sending my kid to school with Covid. Our schools just dropped the masks less than a month ago, so the rapid spread of colds is not surprising. But I do look forward to the day when I don’t feel the need to swab my kids’ noses for every cold.

[wanderingback]

I posted this in the non @ thread (sorry for the duplicate), but…

I’m supposed to go to a conference in Florida in a few weeks. I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy and would be right about to start my second trimester for the conference, so I’m second guessing whether or not I should go. If I weren’t pregnant I’d be a yes….but Florida, potentially rising cases and pregnancy make me want to err more on the side of caution and not go. Decisions decisions!

[fernweh]

Apr 6, 2022 9:48:11 GMT -5 fortnightlily said:

I was surprised but not how quickly my kid shifted on masks. Our school system lifted the mandate on March 8, after having it in place a full year since returning to in-person/hybrid in March 2021. A couple weeks prior to that I asked DS (2nd grade) what he would do if masks were optional and he said "I'll probably keep wearing one, they don't bother me". But then as soon as the mask mandate was lifted and I told him he needed to keep wearing one for one more week (I had surgery scheduled) and he started to see teachers and some classmates stop wearing them he couldn't wait to drop them and has been relieved to not to have to wear one. He'll still put one on without complaint when we go into stores and stuff, but I'm glad he gets the break now to not have to wear one all day every day in school, and I really hope we can ride out the rest of the school year without having to reinstate a mandate.

Honestly I’m not surprised. The same thing happened with me (me personally not a child) work dropped the mandate and I was like ‘eh I’ll keep wearing them, they don’t bother me’ I have been in person all along so 2 years of wearing them (in un air conditioned buildings in summer) I was thinking it NBD. I’m sure it was a psychological reaction but as soon as the requirements dropped suddenly they made my face unbearably hot and itchy and I just couldn’t deal anymore. I still keep some with me and wear during meetings etc when we have a lot of people in close quarters but that’s it.

[erbear]

Apr 6, 2022 10:51:41 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I posted this in the non @ thread (sorry for the duplicate), but…

I’m supposed to go to a conference in Florida in a few weeks. I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy and would be right about to start my second trimester for the conference, so I’m second guessing whether or not I should go. If I weren’t pregnant I’d be a yes….but Florida, potentially rising cases and pregnancy make me want to err more on the side of caution and not go. Decisions decisions!

Did we know this? Congratulations!!!!!

Are you asking for opinions on this?

[abs]

wanderingback, what..?? Did I miss an announcement?? Either way CONGRATULATIONS!!

[Velar Fricative]

Congratulations wanderingback!!!!

[macmars45]

My DS(almost 6) wants to wear his mask at school but doesn't mask on errands (unless it's in a medical building where it's still required). In stores he doesn't have to be in such close proximity to other people but at school they're basically on top of each other all day. We're just letting him do whatever he's comfortable with.
H and I have basically completely unmasked unless required. Cases are so low right now that we are riding this wave. Once cases trend upwards we will mask again and have DS do the same.

[meganew]

wanderingback !!!! Congrats!! I’m so happy for you!

[pugz]

wanderingback eeek congrats!!!

[Deleted]

I must've missed the announcement too, congrats wanderingback!

My kids school dropped the mask mandate just recently and so far no issues, no known exposures. Our district has had pretty low numbers since they came back to in person learning, so we've been lucky. I am nervous now though, because my Dad is in the hospital and isn't doing well, so I really, really can't afford to get sick with Covid. As it was, I had to miss a few days visiting him last week because I had a stomach thing which was probably just nerves, but I stayed away just in case.

[hermione]

Apr 6, 2022 10:51:41 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I posted this in the non @ thread (sorry for the duplicate), but…

I’m supposed to go to a conference in Florida in a few weeks. I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy and would be right about to start my second trimester for the conference, so I’m second guessing whether or not I should go. If I weren’t pregnant I’d be a yes….but Florida, potentially rising cases and pregnancy make me want to err more on the side of caution and not go. Decisions decisions!

Congratulations! 

Tough choice. I like to think I'd go taking all appropriate precautions but I jut don't know.

[breezy8407]

wanderingback many many congrats!

[StrawberryBlondie]

Congrats wanderingback !!

[calamity]

Congrats wanderingback !!

I felt like crap during the first trimester and even into the second so I would say not to go for that reason alone.

[formerlyak]

wanderingback, I know you were trying but missed the announcement! YAY YAY YAY!!! Congrats!

[InBetweenDays]

Congratulations wanderingback!!!

[wanderingback]

Sorry I did not mean to turn this in to an announcement! There was a post on ML about what’s going well in your life so I posted a few things, including pregnancy. But clearly not everyone is on ML And I posted in the Trouble TTC as well.

Anyway, thanks all!! Taking it day by day

And yes erbear will take any advice about going to FL hehe.

[noodleoo]

Apr 6, 2022 10:51:41 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I posted this in the non @ thread (sorry for the duplicate), but…

I’m supposed to go to a conference in Florida in a few weeks. I’m in my first trimester of pregnancy and would be right about to start my second trimester for the conference, so I’m second guessing whether or not I should go. If I weren’t pregnant I’d be a yes….but Florida, potentially rising cases and pregnancy make me want to err more on the side of caution and not go. Decisions decisions!

OMG Congrats!!!!  I'm so happy for you!

I saw your other post but didn't realize the reason for hesitation.  That's a tough call, good luck with your decision.  I hope you have a healthy and easy pregnancy!

[lilac05]

wanderingback, I think I congratulated you in the ML thread, but if not, Congrats! With most things Covid-related, if I am second guessing things, I don’t do them. I figure I’d have a really hard time working past that personally if we did something and got sick. Many things, I have deemed worth it. If I get sick seeing family at this point, eh. Worth it. I think the thing I’d consider most strongly is how comfortable you’d feel if essentially no one around you is wearing a mask. If that makes you feel anxious. I’d pass on this one.

In Iowa, things are basically back to 2019. When I go to the store, I might see a very small handful of people wearing masks. Places are packed, no Covid precautions anywhere. My anxiety tells me that Covid must be everywhere…but it just doesn’t look like that’s the case right now. We are, however, on our second round of strep in the house.

[countthestars]

Congrats wanderingback!!

DD woke up Monday morning with a fever and stomach ache. Slept all morning and then woke up feeling like she had a migraine (headache, light sensitivity). I assumed that was what it was but nope, her rapid test lit up like a Christmas tree.

We're a couple of days out now and she is almost totally back to normal. One terrible day and one eh day. I'm so thankful she was vaccinated. Fingers crossed the rest of us stay negative!

[seeyalater52]

I’ve been laying low on the board because I just don’t have much fight left in me these days. I’m exhausted and feel left behind and sad and angry and everything in between. Like Susie I find myself wondering how the heck we got to this place where the littlest kids are being hung out to try and I have a lot of hesitance to trust that the timelines being floated for under 5 vaccine approval are going to pan out.

As most of you know we won the lottery in getting a Moderna trial spot and my son already received both doses through the trial. We made the decision to do antibody testing of him on the side because we have some tough choices we need to make personally (required work travel that by continuing to refuse I could be burning more professional capital than I can afford, my wife’s grandmother and my son’s only living greet grandparent is dying in hospice in FL and hasn’t met him yet…. And so forth.) I recognize that doing the testing is borderline unethical although not technically prohibited by the study itself. Well spoiler alert, this kid has not a single solitary covid antibody 2 weeks post second injection so we are almost certainly placebo group and I’ve completely fallen to pieces. We were so close. It’s such bad luck to be in the 25% placebo group and now we aren’t any closer to being comfortable with doing the things we might have done if the result was different. I feel lost. We will cross over and he will get the real Moderna dose the second an FDA approval happens for his age group and we will enroll in the 3rd dose study if/when that becomes available for the soonest possible official unblinding and crossover but that could be months or even a year away. I feel like I failed him completely even though I’ve done everything (and then some) in my power to get him to the protection he deserves and needs. If this next surge happens and there isn’t a vaccine I’m going to lose every bit of remaining hope left in my being.

wanderingback I am SO so so SO happy for your news! I wont weigh in with any advice about whether to go to the conference because I think my own TTC history makes me a poor judge of what is reasonable for others in their circumstances but whatever you decide will be the right decision. ❤️

[Velar Fricative]

Omg seeyalater52, I am beyond crushed for you and your family. Even when you know there's that possibility, 75% chance is high enough that I would have felt pretty confident of getting the vaccine and to learn that wasn't the case is heartbreaking.

[1confused1]

I’ve been wondering about you seeyalater52 I’m sorry about the trial, many hugs.

[pugz]

seeyalater52 uggh I'm so sorry and I'm angry on your behalf. Not mad at the researchers, just mad that he ended up in that group by chance.

[chickadee77]

Hugs, seeyalater52. You're not alone. I feel so left behind in everything and our eldest is being a trouper, but is missing a lot. Thankfully (?) we're in the process of moving, so she doesn't have friends here anyway beyond the neighbor kids, who are in school all day.

I'm beginning to just not expect anything until age 5, but that's over a year away for us (and longer for others)!.

You're not forgotten. You're not alone, for what it's worth. Hang in there as best you can. A lot of us are hoping for something SOON.