Coronavirus (COVID-19) MEGATHREAD!

[shiroihana 182]

Man this whole corona stuff is wild. I'm still taken aback by how much it's changed our culture, and how abrupt it all happened. 

 

Yesterday I went shopping at a Japanese marketplace and suddenly found myself encumbered by a very long line of people waiting to enter the store. We had to spend almost an hour on line to enter the store as they were admitting a small handful of people at once.  Of course, no one was actually social distancing. I had to travel to a different store real quick to use a restroom to which I could only be admitted if it was an emergency. I answered yes and  he allowed me in, gave me hand sanitizer, and told not to touch anything or something. I appreciate these safety protocols, but as a person generally fascinated by society and culture I was pretty intrigued by how suddenly this societal shift has happened. Feels like I'm in the midst of a some apocalyptic dystopian scifi movie scenario and it's absolutely fascinating, yet weird as hell and terrifying. 

 

And I remember before this all happened, one particular friend of mine had followed the story in china since its inception and during that period it didn't even enter my mind that the virus would escalate into the pandemic that it is today which would significantly alter everyone's lives. My friend knew since the very beginning that it would, and he was right. Sometimes you can be so used to seeing other people drastically exaggerate things — which is in part why I think so many people took this for granted. But this isn't just some ephemeral mishap that'll be easy to forget in a decade from now. This is a very sudden global catastrophe with far reaching consequences that hardly any of us anticipated.

 

It's also a good example of how being paranoid rather than being overtly optimistic is sometimes the better option.

 

Also some food for thought. A very significant chunk of people taking surveys have said they either wouldn't plan to get a corona vaccine, or declined to state. In some polls, this number reaches about half. I think that's terrifying. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/just-50-americans-plan-get-covid-19-vaccine-here-s-how-win-over-rest

Edited August 6, 2020 by shiroihana

[platy 3018]

Being honest, if a vaccine came out anytime soon I would wait a while before getting it. Of course I'd wanna get it, but I'm scared about the side effects as much as I'm scared of covid. 

[Rahzel 110]

Actors making memes about how they've been feeling make me calmer bc it's all so relatable. Good to know celebs are getting fucked over just as much as me, I mean it's bad but it's good to know they're ALSO trying to make things work through creativity and just trying to have some fun amidst the mess yknow. Speaking of which, bandomen should do that too. (they won't but those would be... possibly the best.)

Edited August 6, 2020 by Chell
POSITIVITY. Positivity. breathes

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

Ten years ago when we had the pig flu epidemic they rolled out a vaccine that ended up triggering narcolepsy on kids who had a genetic predisposition for it. So with that in mind, the chances of me getting a vaccine that they're just dying to put out there in the market in order to keep capitalism functioning for fat rich people and and save a few old folks from dying, is, quite frankly, 0.  Under no circumstance would I get it.

[libertine 125]

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Edited December 18, 2020 by libertine

[Ikna 1225]

You know, I can understand why people are worried about the vaccine. It usually takes many years for a vaccine to be developed and also to be so tested and refined that it does not cause any harm. On the other side, there are some good points for why it's worth to take the risk.

 

The way it looks, Covid will become endemic like the Spanish flu, meaning it cannot be eradicated and remains circulating in populations. It will ravish global human populations until eventually natural herd immunity will be reached. Once there, it will not vanish, but continue to infect people, albeit in smaller numbers. However, that is only if there really is any long-term immunity against the strain. We know people build immunity against H1N1 influenza fairly quickly and that it usually suffices for some time. There is no conclusive evidence that an infection with Covid always leads to the creation of antibodies, nor do we know that immunity lasts longer than a few days. It's very much possible that without a working drug or vaccine people will just constantly re-infect themselves and others with the virus. If that's the case we have to hope natural selection will cause only the less deadly mutations to survive, so that the virus gets weaker over time… but that's pretty much nature sorting things out, meaning many people will die.

 

We seriously don't know enough about the virus yet, so who knows how bad it will be, but I can understand why scientists try hard to find a vaccine. Covid def isn't "just like the flu" and even influenza is very dangerous and can cause long-term problems (including triggering auto-immune diseases). The Spanish Flu, which was a very comparable disease (no vaccine or working drug) killed millions.

 

However, I agree that no one should be forced to take the vaccine if they don't want to, for now… I usually don't hold this view when it comes to vaccines that are very old and therefore mostly safe - in most of the cases it's better to tale that polio or measles vaccine and not endanger everyone else - but a covid vaccine certainly will be very early and experimental. Also there is no guarantee that it will work (longterm). However, if it does help and if they can improve its safety, then sure, maybe in a few years I will take it. In good vaccines there are still potential side-effects, but the likelihood of getting them or that they are worse than the alternative is low, so it's usuallly always a better choice to vaccine than to catch a preventable disease.  It's a matter of personal risk assessment - do you want to risk getting the side effects or do you want to go through the disease (that might kill you)?

 

If we are lucky the virus mutates quickly into a weaker strain and we may not even need a drug or vaccine. In the worst case scenario it will just be like described above and many people will die the next years. Still too early to tell…

[platy 3018]

19 hours ago, libertine said:

If this one was as mild a disease as the swine flu appeared to be, I might agree. However, considering the relatively high infectiousness of this virus and the potential damage caused by having the disease, I'm not so sure the odds of getting away from this perfectly healthy without taking a vaccine are that great either. There are young, otherwise healthy people who got the virus months ago and recovered, but still can't fully function, because of the damage it caused. Narcolepsy is scary, but so is heart, lung and neurological damage.

I can't be sure that I got covid19 but back in February I had just arrived from a trip abroad and also in the city where I work there had been many cases of covid19.  I got extremely ill around that time and found myself taking long breaks laying in the bathroom floor inhaling Vic's VaporRub  cuz I really struggled to breathe. This came and went for about 2 months - I'm fairly healthy and active person but suddenly walking to the train station left me gasping for breath, my sense of taste and smell were turned upside down. Now I'm better, but it feels like my lungs aren't the same as before, it's hard to describe. Thinking that I might have to go through this again or maybe an even worse scenario is terrifying. Do I want narcolepsy or some unknown fucked up side-effect? I don't want that either. 

 

A documentary has just come out on British TV looking at people who ''recovered'' from COVID but have been left with lasting consequences and honestly, I only watched a little because it's just too scary to fathom.

 

Will we ever be able to go clubbing again? Festivals? Cons? Travelling abroad to see family? Thinking about how long lasting the effects of this disease are in our society is so fucking depressing. This is a time where focusing on the now will save your sanity because thinking about the future is just enough to throw you into a deep hole.

[Rahzel 110]

Yeah honestly the timeline of events is fucking me up. Why? Oddly Enough, I've been having respiratory symtoms I never had before for a while now. Like mid-late 2019 ?? At first I thought it was stress getting the best of me and I was developing psychosomatic breathing difficulties on top of everyday rhinitis. But around Feb ... I used to do meditation/exercises and found myself not being able to hold air for the same amount of time during a "flu", then it got better but I kinda gave up on exercises because I feel unable to hold my breath for so long and it frustrates me ... Again thought that was anxiety but eventually I realized they'd been hiding COVID-19 cases for a month so from "welll, there's ebola in Africa and I'm alive ..." I went to "AM I alive ???". Worth noting I was That Girl who goes to every Asian music live/event/etc I can while living ridiculously close to the biggest seaport in Latin Am and working in a slum ... so if it turns out it'd been roaming the world I'll be mad as I struggle with my brain when it's not lacking oxygen nevermind when it is. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Chell

[nekkichi 6043]

 

tag urself luvs x

[sleepy coffee 1476]

53 minutes ago, nekkichi said:

 

tag urself luvs x

I'm the laugh emoji

[anadentone 478]

No one in my family takes shit seriously so to them Covid-19 is just some "Snowflakes getting the sniffles". Anyone they know of who said that they have it also claim to have gotten the flu shots/always sick around this season (due to the janky South Georgia weather).

With me, I just think it's something some people get but others don't : like the aforementioned Spanish Flu. No one on either side of my family ever got it. We have died in car wrecks, Titanic, homicides, suicides, being "severed by a misguided wagon" , and having a semi truck land on top of them. so , yeah, it's kinda like "we never died normally!"

[BrenGun 2261]

Well, hospitals are full of covid19 people here. Medical people are burned out, the army is helping out.. 

 

And yet people think its just fake news and that it is just a simple flu. 

 

Yes for most people its just a simple flu,  but for the 1% who ends up in the hospitals it isnt just a flu. 

Also many young people get very sick and not all do recover well and a bunch even fly to heaven. Here a guy in his. 20ties dies and his brother survied with luck, but might never be able to functional normal because of his lungs damage. 

 

 

Right now, there is too less known about the virus,  little kids don't even really get it, might its. Because of some other vaccine? Or is it really due their immunesystem? 

 

 

I didn't catch covid19 yet... I still did catch the normal flu more times than normal.. 😅 But never was short in breath. 

 

 

 

But the most thing what angers me is... 

 

Whats the big deal of wearing a mask? 

Why do so many people refuse it. 

 

Even if you think everything is fake, why will you be such...... To not wear one? Since it doesn't harm your self or anybody around you. And even might helps out to at least not pass the normal flu... 🙃 Why bring so egoistic? 

 

 

[Furik 832]

Just some random COVID ramblings:

 

I got pneumonia TWICE this year. TWICE and I was terrified both times it was COVID. Fortunately it was not and i've been tested for it three times and got the antibody test done too and it was negative. I've been so sick this year and I don't understand why. I rarely get sick.

 

And there's no reason to be sick.. I literally don't do anything. Ever since COVID, my job has become permanently remote so I just work from home. I do go out to get groceries, maybe some clothing, recreational shopping every once in a while but I rarely come in contact with people if I don't have to.

 

I am so over this year, the pandemic and the politics. I've lost three people close to me - my step-grandmother, my grandmother-in-law, and my brother-in-law's father. Some countries are doing so damn fine while there are some who are doing horribly worse since after lockdown. Why can't people just use their brains?! It's really not that hard. People fighting over masks. I don't care - just wear as mask. I don't care if they work as good as they do or not - better safe than sorry. People thinking COVID is a hoax. Then explain the 1.x million dead. People thinking COVID will just go away. It won't go away. It's not going to go away. We're almost at the ONE YEAR mark with this disease. It's changed our lives - how we act, how we do things outside of our homes, how we handle ourselves in public. For better or for worse. I'm still undecided about the vaccine. I honest to god don't think Trump got COVID. And I don't think he was given a vaccine. I think it was a ploy to publicly hype up getting a vaccine. Do I think the majority of his administration got COVID? Definitely. But last month just played out so weird for me.

 

Anyway, just random thoughts. I just had to get stuff out of my head.

[Gesu 1537]

As of today, the UK is back in lockdown. I'm sick and tired of all the panic buyers over here, tbh. I get buying things you need that you'd buy anyways shortly before lockdown starts but really, is there any need to buy 18 packs of toilet roll two whole weeks before they're gonna arrive!? Essential stores are still open so it's not like you're gonna run out forever. Selfish idiots like those are why no-one can get any online orders through. There's literally never a free slot because people feel like they have to guess what they're gonna need weeks from now and just buy as much as they possibly can even if they're never gonna use it.

 

Also, schools are still open for some asinine reason. I really don't get why Boris Johnson thought it'd be a good idea to keep them open instead of opting for online classes like before but what are ya gonna do 🤷‍♀️

 

As for Christmas, my close family and I have concluded that none of us are buying presents this year. We're all okay with that given the circumstances (and given that I'm the youngest member of my close family and I'm twenty, so it's not like there are gonna be any tears over no presents), but it's gonna be weird. I hope I can see them this year. My grandma sounded very certain when she said I wasn't gonna be alone this Christmas but... can we really be sure?

 

On 3/21/2020 at 5:15 PM, Gesu said:

My aunt just called and said she's having to work from home for the next twelve weeks. I know it's quite a while but honestly, twelve weeks isn't as long as I had expected. Maybe things will get better sooner than I thought... I hope so, anyways.

Well that didn't fucking happen

[Karma’s Hat 3107]

So I got infected two weeks back. It wasn't bad. I'd rather have rona ten times over than food poisoning or the norovirus I'll tell you that much. 

 

My girlfriend had been coughing for some time and I didn't really pay no mind. She's always sick so that wasn't anything unusual; she reckoned she had a fever but it never actually went up, so the whole thing was easy to ignore. Well eventually I got sick too. I was sore around my chest and back for about two to three days, the feelings of cold fluctuated but I never coughed or got a fever. I found all of this odd, but I didn't care all that much. I decided it was nothing and I tried to go for a trip to a nearby town to visit a place for some photographs. On my way to the train station I was feeling progressively worse the further I got, and by the time I was at the station I saw the next train was due in like two hours. I thought fuck it and went home. I didn't feel like, amazingly bad or anything. Just didn't feel 100%. 

 

Well the lady starts a new job and out of consideration for her colleagues she gets tested and of course a positive result pops back. The entire country is absolutely swamped in cases right now so no cops or sanitation department people show up to the door to check on our quarantine.

 

Basically how it progressed: Two days of aches and feeling of cold. About seven days of minor deterioration of the general physical condition. If I exerted myself by vacuum cleaning or something like that, I'd get a small headache. After the first week my sense of smell went away and it hasn't come back. I can taste somewhat though.  Other than the smell, I was back to 110% in about a week and a half. 

 

If you have any doubts about it being corona, I'm just going to go ahead and say that it wasn't that. This one feels so specific, I've never been sick like this in my life. It's not comparable to influenza, the flu or anything else. But aside from how many old people, nerds and weaklings my droplets have managed to kill already, this wasn't bad at all for a healthy 27 year old. It is however, a very specific feeling when you have it, and I guess there is no guarantee if my sense of smell is going to come back lol

[Furik 832]

2 hours ago, Karma’s Hat said:

If you have any doubts about it being corona, I'm just going to go ahead and say that it wasn't that. This one feels so specific, I've never been sick like this in my life. It's not comparable to influenza, the flu or anything else. But aside from how many old people, nerds and weaklings my droplets have managed to kill already, this wasn't bad at all for a healthy 27 year old. It is however, a very specific feeling when you have it, and I guess there is no guarantee if my sense of smell is going to come back lol

Dang, I'm glad you're okay. I've heard both horror stories and not so bad stories and yours is kind of a relief. But I also heard it affects people differently so you never know. As for your sense of smell like.... What's different about it? Can you like not smell at all or is it faint? I'm so curious. 

[Elagabalus 4]

When this first started and my country didint have any infection case I knew it was already here so I just went to a mall for like an hour with double masks and got infected, I had crystallised lungs and it lasted for a week, the second time I got sick was half a year later but this time the symptoms were different, my eyes would burn, I couldn't move them either, my whole body would feel battered and bruised, but lasted for 3 days

Its weird actually the second time I got sick I knew it was exposure because I was with someone who got sick recently but the symptoms had no relation with the first one, and how I got rid of it was more ridiculous, I would drink alot of bone water, boiling pomegranate peels and drinking (it works but its worse then drinking vinegar) had lots of supplements,

but the second time I got sick I never had rest didn't eat went out alot because of work.