Cormac
1611
Excellent, congrats!
I know most of the Americans here are quite a few steps ahead of us Europeans and focused on the next phase (ie how to get the rest of their population vaxed and / or when does herd-immunity set in), but for us over here, its still great to see the steady progress of people getting any vaccinations at all!
Spent a few months there. Gorgeous but super expensive.
When I was in the military, the LTs who were going to weather finishing school there had to live 3 to a studio apt because it was so expensive.
Scuzz
1613
My daughter had a boy friend who spent a year at the language school there learning Farsi for the Air Force.
JD
1614
Got my first Astra jab earlier today. Looking forward to things potentially go funky a few hours from now.
Is it the neighborhood or just he food? : )
orald
1616
My wife got the J&J vax. This article prompted her to asking her doctor whether they recommend her getting the Pfizer vax as a booster as she will be traveling to Guatemala next month. To our knowledge the Delta variant is not widespread in Guatemala but if there are Pfizer vaccines going unused and there’s no harm in her getting it as a booster we wonder why not do it? Will report back on what we learn.
Please do, my elderly in-laws got the J&J and we’d really like them to be better protected.
My feeling is it probably isn’t necessary but won’t hurt anything so why not? But certainly listen to your doctor.
FIL has some pretty severe respiratory and cardiovascular issues - I don’t know that he’d weather any symptomatic version of COVID very well. As you say, not going to have them do anything with doctor say-so, but it warrants looking into.
Finally got 2nd shot in Toronto - was lucky, or weak and pathetic enough, to be in the first 7% to get both shots. That was almost 2 weeks ago and our vaccination program is finally hitting on all cylinders so we are now more than 19% double jabbed.
I’ve been pretty sick so I’m happy to be able to soon explore some more normal life. We finally opened outdoor dining, for the first time since Sept or so, and we are going to open barbers etc. next week for the first time in over a year. Although we are no doubt going to have mask mandates for the indefinite future here, I plan to go back to normal as much as possible immediately.
I would suggest still being cautious, as you’re immunocompromised, right? Sometimes the vaccines don’t provoke a response and you might need a third shot.
Two weeks after the second shot, sure, eat outdoors. But I wouldn’t go any bars, gyms, or indoor dining until the third shot or your area has very low case counts.
If the second shot provoking an immune response is how we measure our immune system strength, I can only conclude that I am now immortal.
Lantz
1623
Careful broadcasting that or Christopher Lambert is going to try and duel you.
Good points, thanks. Yeah, you’re right that I probably shouldn’t be so eager, at least unless I can get an anti-bodies test to confirm the vaccines worked for me. I didn’t have much of a reaction from either shot, I don’t think (pfizer).
Cases are really low here now, and dropping to under 30 a day in a city of 3 million, so I’ll probably open up my activities at least a little - like going to barber and using outdoor pool (which are capacity limited for distancing) and patio eating, but would still probably stay away from theatres (still not open here any away) and indoor dining (ditto) or the gym. Have created a pretty solid home gym during covid anyway.
stusser
1625
Lack of side effects doesn’t mean the vaccine was ineffective, in people with normal immune systems. I just had a sore arm myself. But yes I would talk to your doctor about getting an antibody test in two weeks.
Indonesia now has the highest level of active cases since the pandemic began. This isn’t a second or third wave, we’ve never got out of the first wave; this is just another spike.
The Federal government won’t order a lockdown as (a) they become legally obligated to feed the population & they can’t & (b) there would be widespread civil disobedience & probably rioting.
To illustrate how things are in Jakarta, the daughter of my wife’s friend is in hospital with covid - she was lucky to get a room at all as they are now putting people in tents outside. Anyway the other 3 occupants of her room all passed away on the same day and she had to spend a night with the dead bodies still in their beds, albeit “wrapped up”, as there was no room in the hospital morgue. How ghastly.
Yes, Indonesia vaccinated with Sinovac which may help a bit with severe outcomes (although people fully vaccinated with Sinovac die of covid all the time) but probably doesn’t do much if anything to prevent communicable symptomatic disease.
In the end I think the Chinese will have saved lives with their vaccine, but it’s a shame it isn’t more effective.
Scuzz
1628
Yea, it seems the response to the second shot varies from person to person for no apparent reason. Some are down for 2-3 days, others get nothing but a headache. Some get nothing at all.
Well we (Northern Territory of Australia) just went into immediate 48 hr lockdown due to four cases of suspected delta varient getting out into the wild. It’s a worry because other than a brief initial 2 week lockdown in March 2020, our lifestyle here has been as if nothing ever happened (other than being unable to travel etc). Which means nobody is used to wearing masks at all, but it’s mandatory during this lockdown now.
I was at the store doing my weekly shopping when the in-laws rang and warned me it was coming, so I went the extra mile and did some extra stocking up just in case. It was fascinating to see phones start ringing shortly before I left, people realising what was happening, and gradual panic-buying spreading through the store (overheard “Oh shit, you grab the toilet paper I’m going to buy some tins of beans!”). I went outside and cars were racing in, hurriedly parking and people dashing out with empty bags. It was zombie apocalypse stuff! I had to go get some beer supplies, was second in line, by the time I drove out 30 seconds later there were at least a dozen cars behind me.
I was half expecting full-on Dawn of the Dead style car crashes and burning wrecks littering the highway on the way back, but just a steady stream of worried looking people. Crazy stuff!
That was Murrica in March 2020. :)
Hope you have a few months worth of toilet paper!
