Frank, aka PCGuy, has published another one of his Truthful Tuesday posts. This week Frank, who tested positive for COVID-19 and has been quite sick, wants to know…
How closely has COVID-19 impacted you? Do you have first-hand experience, or has anyone in your family or immediate sphere of people you meet or see in person been diagnosed, or is it still something that hasn’t breached that third degree of separation for you?
My daughter and her live-in boyfriend, both of whom were fully vaccinated and boosted, each tested positive in December and I was sure, having spent some up-close and personal time with them shortly before they tested positive, that I would too, even though I am also vaccinated and boosted.. But somehow, I didn’t. They both got what appeared to be bad colds, but they subsequently tested negative.
I also tested negative. That said, I did come down with a bad cold at the beginning of January and it’s still lingering. But I’ve taken the home test three times since getting sick, and all have been negative, so it seems I merely have a bad cold.
I personally know of no one else in my relatively small sphere who has contracted COVID-19. But interestingly enough, I was reading a New York Times article that showed up on my newsfeed this morning, the headline of which was, “Two COVID Americas.”
A new poll of 4,500 adults conducted by the Morning Consult for the Times showed that there’s a remarkable disconnect between perception and reality about COVID and vaccines between Democrats and Republicans. What a shocker, right?
In this question about how people are dealing with the highly contagious omicron variant…
Many Democrats say that they feel unsafe in their communities; are worried about getting sick from COVID. They believe the virus poses a significant risk to their children, parents and friends. Most Republicans couldn’t give a shit. They, as a group, have decided that downplaying COVID is core to their identity as conservatives, even as their skepticism of vaccines means that the virus is killing many more Republicans than Democrats.
And then there’s the perception of vaccinations for COVID. For those who are vaccinated, the chances of getting severely sick are extremely low. Even among people 65 and older, the combination of the vaccines’ effectiveness and the omicron variant’s relative mildness means that COVID appears to present less danger than a normal flu.
For the unvaccinated, however, COVID is worse than any other common virus. It has killed more than 865,000 Americans, the vast majority unvaccinated. In the weeks before vaccines became widely available, COVID was the country’s No. 1 cause of death, above even cancer and heart disease.
But look at Americans’ level of worry about contracting COVID by vaccination status:
A majority of the boosted say they are still worried about getting sick from COVID, while a majority of the unvaccinated say they are not particularly worried.
These poll results suggest that Americans, particularly Republicans, have adopted some irrational beliefs about COVID. In our highly polarized country, they are allowing political partisanship to influence their beliefs and actions at the expense of scientific evidence and the health of our nation.
WTF, Republicans?
I apologize to Frank and to all of you for going off on this rant, but I just felt it had to be said. And I’m glad you’re feeling better, Frank.
This, That, and the Other 
Thank you for writing this. I believe there’s much more going on than false numbers, suppressed and misinformation as well as why we can’t beat this thing.
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I’ve had Covid-19 – March of 2020 (no vaccines available and no tests around). Significant. Symptoms never experienced before, clearly Covid-19. Not extreme. Got over it just fine. I can say more if anyone is curious [have also said more at the time here on this blog, within comments, but I’m not going to look for that right now]. Somone related to somone I know died, the night before this very day; today is her birthday. Even though I know this person’s father (the person I know), he’s more of a colleague of someone else I know. So I wasn’t involved in direct conversation. We wondered if his daughter was vaccinated, but didn’t want to ask. There was a rumor that he, himself, had not gotten vaccinated when he could — early on in the rollout due to his age. Yet, he did let people talk him into getting vaccinated. He actually got infected at the same time his daughter did, even though he’d been in Arizona for months and was still there while she had been in Missouri the whole time hard at work (something computer-related it seems). She, then, was hospitalized while he (her father) monitored his oxygen. He was eventually hospitalized for low electrolytes due to drinking too many fluids without electrolytes. His oxygen was still fine. He got intravenous electrolytes (and I don’t know what else), then went to see his daughter. He says she wasn’t vaccinated.
I’m not worried.
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I should qualify that. I’m worried about the stupid handling of procedure and protocol and so forth… here in America. One son lives in New Zealand. I ain’t worried about him at all… except that I told him to get the second shot at least a couple months after the first shot (like the Britts instead of like the Americans). He listened.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I think everybody got it (within not only my house but my nuclear family in America not living with me and the oldest one’s wife), minus just the dad of my kids (grown sons).
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Reading this so much later, I wondered what I meant. Oh… everybody got “it” as in the infection, except the dad of my kids. EVERYBODY got the vaccine. My son in New Zealand recently got a booster. We both agree that he should not have.
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I read this in the New York Times this morning. I feel like the natural consequence for anti-vaxers is make them pay for any medical and funeral expenses they incur. Plus make it clear that they can be sued if they make others sick. We shouldn’t have to foot the bill for their poor choices. Since this is the same crowd that doesn’t think we should have health care for all, let them have what they think they want. Freedom needs to come with responsibility.
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So smokers pay for their chemo, radiation and subsequent health care? What about alcoholics and healthcare for them as well as care, compensation for those they murder on the road? COPD? I never smoked a day in my life but grew as a fetus to a chain smoking mother and continued the day I left home at 18. Who do I “sue” for ruining my life? A 31 year old man down the street was vaxxed and boosted and just died due to COVID. None of that matters right now. NO MORE POINTING FINGERS, blaming this person or that. There is a seize on our country … which is being ignored due to profit gains and stock market victories – instead of pointing fingers, let’s clean up our act and lead by example. No more leisure or even non-urgent business travel. Mandatory masks worn CORRECTLY – dedicated shoppers to keep the throngs from the interior breeding grounds of places like Walmart, etc. When we stand up and say HEALTH OVER WEALTH, is when we will start turning the tide of this thing.
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I get it. I’m actually with you about it being time to just do what we are supposed to to stop this thing. Even though fully vaccinated and boosted I’ve been wearing KN95s on the rare occasions when I go out. and I’m just frustrated by the irresponsible crowd. They are about the freedom to ruin others lives. It feels like the only way to reach those folks is through their pocket books.
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They or someone they love will get it and then they will look for someone to blame. I believe everyone will catch and suffer some form of this eventually. I pray it’s not going to reinfect people twice, although I’m told I’m in my second wave of it and there have been moments I truly wanted to die for relief from the pain and coughing. I’m in week four now and still COVID-19 positive.
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I’m so sorry.
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I am so sorry to hear you are ill. I hope you get well soon. It sounds terribly miserable.
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I get your point, but WE ARE for Medicare for all. No exclusion for pre-existing conditions is a major hallmark of Obamacare. Yet, sure… they can be sued if reckless.
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Obamacare is outrageously expensive for anyone in the lower income brackets and is in fact, unaffordable. If one receives $720 a MONTH for disability and your Obamacare is $350 a month with a 20% copay and then you have to pay for a prescription provider, also with a 20% copay; where does money come for food, housing, utilities, etc? I don’t qualify for Medicaid because I own my home and do not have dependent children. Our system is broken and I do not see any relief coming in the near future.
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Yes, our system is definitely broken, which is why I support Medicare for all.
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To me Fan rants are not negative – they’re the opposite…..
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They’re good for blowing off steam.
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Very true Marleen. We all need to blow off steam occasionally. But one doesn’t need to feel guilty about doing it. Apologies aren’t necessary……Not to me anyhow…..
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Well stated. I completely agree.
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My first experience in the family was when my younger daughter got it a couple of weeks ago. She was vaccinated but hadn’t had her booster shot. Her symptoms were mild and lasted 3 days. But the difficult part was keeping her daughter, 2.7 yo away from her.
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That is always a challenge, when someone in a household contracts COVID, to effectively isolate so that others in that same household, particularly young children, don’t get infected.
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Indeed. My daughter is very conscious of the dangers of anyone catching the virus from her so she was very careful.
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I am a staunch Republican
(In God I put my trust)
No need to waste time vaccinate
Cos he will save me, just
Sorry….completely
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I am in full agreement with your stand. I am vaccinated, and boosted. I am very worried about getting Covid. I do what I can to stay safe. I am of the age to be worried. I have a multitude of medical conditions that would not respond well to Covid.
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It makes a big difference, age and health issues. I’m 63, Lupus, Type 2 Diabetic, multiple spinal and cervical surgeries and I’m still trying to beat this thing. My symptoms are severe and I’m now COVID-19 pneumonia positive. It’s a terrible disease and I honestly pray you will be spared fighting it. ❤️
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Thank you Ami. At 67 with my issues i stay as safe as possible. I hope you have a quick recovery.
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I know co-workers who’ve had it, one had no symptoms and one got really ill, but has pulled up alrighty. But I have family in the UK, that we and they visited regularly, most of them got it. They’re mostly all fine, but a couple of them still have long term affects. My partner is a teacher, and funnily enough he’s had a couple of close calls outside of school, not in school, lol. All the students and teachers who did get it at his school, he was never that close too. Part of my grans aged care centre is locked down at the moment. So its been close.
I will admit that I’m scared still. It’s a virus, I don’t know how it’d affect myself or anyone else around me. Just like I’m scared of guns. I do what I can to keep myself and others safe. I’m even thinking when it all becomes the norm. I’m still going to wear a mask, they are great at keeping others away from you!lol
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I agree that I’ll probably continue to wear a mask for a long time when it’s “safe” to go out and “play.”
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Wow! That was a really interesting read, Fandango! Its sad that americans are so divided. X
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It touched the lives of my daughter and son-in-law… his brother and uncle tested positive. The two of them got sick but tested negative… I am assuming a false negative result as they were quite sick, but bounced back.
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I think Republicans just don’t want to live in fear as much. Did you forget that Democrats were the ones that accused Trump (no, I’m not a Trumper, lol) of being xenophobic for blocking travel from China, and he push the vaccine through and is a huge supporter of the vaccine? The vaccine has saved a lot of lives. But it’s also temporary and strain-specific. It also has had a lot of negative symptomology, per VAERS. Also, some of us understand that death is inevitable for all of us at some point, and we don’t want to waste our lives away waiting for things to get better. Some people have lost two years of their life living in fear, but they’re still going to die one day. So way to waste your life. Fear is such a useless emotion. So basic. Ugh lol
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I’m a Democrat and I don’t live in fear. I do take being safe and not putting others at risk, so I wear masks and I’m fully vaccinated. As to life, yes, I know that we all die, but I’m in no rush to do anything that will shorten anyone’s life, especially my own.
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I don’t see how your vaccination status impacts the susceptibility of someone else to the virus, but I know that’s a pretty common viewpoint. As long as you’re not one of the Democrats that freaks out at strangers and starts acting like a psychopath. Differences keep us on our toes and moving on!
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No one has ever accused me of being a psychopath. Some people have COVID and are asymptomatic, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t infect others. And even fully vaccinated people, like me, are susceptible when around those who have been exposed but are maskless. So I’m being prudent, not psychopathological.
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That’s good! I think some others on the Left could use a healthy dose of your sanity, so maybe encourage any more radical friends to act out of reason and not a fear that abuses other people. A little more reason and a little more thinking never hurts lol. On both sides, admittedly. The unthinking on both sides become caricatures that somehow represent how we view those we disagree with, even though it’s not fair. Wow! That was insightful. XD XD It is what it is. Haha.
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Let me take this opportunity to say the Novavax vaccine [which is not what anyone in my family had because it wasn’t available yet] for covid-19 has shown 100% efficacy for black people (less efficacy for Hispanic) and a very low rate of side effect problems.
Novavax Efficacy and Side Effects (US and Mexico Trial Results) · Streamed 2 days ago
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