• good things come to those who wait?

    From Spectre@21:3/101 to Anybody on Sun Aug 28 20:27:00 2022
    Last time I headed into see my GP, I asked for an extra COVID vaccination but
    I wasn't in the right demographic and they didn't have that would otherwise
    be going to waste that day. She did however talk me into taking a FLU vaccination...

    I don't think I'd had a serious cold in something like 5 years maybe more...
    on the trip to Queensland I ended up with whatever the family had. And now I 've come in with something much harsher... Throat feel like razorblades.. in fact the throat has been so bad I resorted to taking some of left over heavy duty pain relief just to make it manageable. Otherwise not a lot, its in my nose doesn't seem to be getting into my sinus though (cheer) I'm running some kind of temeperature, but I don't feel hot or cold and I'm getting headaches.

    Sigh, upwards and onwards..

    Spec


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  • From claw@21:1/210 to Spectre on Mon Sep 12 07:30:31 2022
    On 28 Aug 2022, Spectre said the following...

    Last time I headed into see my GP, I asked for an extra COVID
    vaccination but I wasn't in the right demographic and they didn't have that would otherwise be going to waste that day. She did however talk
    me into taking a FLU vaccination...

    I don't think I'd had a serious cold in something like 5 years maybe more... on the trip to Queensland I ended up with whatever the family
    had. And now I 've come in with something much harsher... Throat feel like razorblades.. in fact the throat has been so bad I resorted to
    taking some of left over heavy duty pain relief just to make it manageable. Otherwise not a lot, its in my nose doesn't seem to be getting into my sinus though (cheer) I'm running some kind of temeperature, but I don't feel hot or cold and I'm getting headaches.

    Sigh, upwards and onwards..
    Spec

    Yeah sorry to hear. I really wish they wouldn't call them vaccines. They are immune boosters. The difference is they don't always work. They are a best guess how to get ahead of the sickness and prepare your immune system for it. If they are off even a little with it then it will do nothing for you and if you happen to get sick while your body is still fighting off the fake version of the flu you will be even more sick than you would have been.

    Wish they were more honest about it.

    Feel better my friend.

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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to claw on Mon Sep 12 21:57:33 2022
    Yeah sorry to hear. I really wish they wouldn't call them vaccines.
    They are immune boosters. The difference is they don't always work.

    Hopefully this won't become political (COVID stuff has a tendency to go off
    the rails, so I'm really hoping to tread lightly, here), but I'll point out that none of the other vaccines always work, either.

    Yeah, some work better than others, especially when the nasty thing doesn't mutate too much, but vaccines basically provide weapons and training for
    melee fighters in the human body.

    It's not a ranged attack, keeping viruses from entering the body; it's a trained fighting force ready for a given sort of attack.

    If the body doesn't keep up the fighting force, or it's an overwhelming
    attack, or it's a variation on that attack that the fighting force isn't
    ready for...

    But, yeah, things like the flu vaccines are oftentimes terrible on efficacy
    -- way worse than something like polio. Which still has recorded instances of breakthrough cases.

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  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Adept on Tue Sep 13 08:27:00 2022
    Hopefully this won't become political (COVID stuff has a tendency to go off the rails, so I'm really hoping to tread lightly, here), but I'll point out that none of the other vaccines always work, either.

    Nothing to see here... or hear here... move along :) Definitely right
    though, nothing is perfect, and not every human body is the same... so
    efficacy is variable... hopefully working more often than not.

    But, yeah, things like the flu vaccines are oftentimes terrible on efficacy -- way worse than something like polio. Which still has
    recorded instances of breakthrough cases.

    To be honest I've never had much faith in flu vaccines for that reason. There has long be cases of the flu backing the wrong horse and being virtually
    usless for the season that arrives... However given some other issues it
    didn't seem to have any real downside.

    It seemed somewhat ironic to me, that the first time I ever have the current flu vax I end up sick as a dog for a couple of weeks followed by a quick
    break and then have another go at it.

    Spec


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  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to Adept on Mon Sep 12 18:33:12 2022
    Re: Re: good things come to those who wait?
    By: Adept to claw on Mon Sep 12 2022 09:57 pm

    But, yeah, things like the flu vaccines are oftentimes terrible on efficacy -- way worse than something like polio. Which still has recorded instances o breakthrough cases.


    Yes, but it kind of sucks when social advertisement promotes something as The Best Invention Ever in the early stages (to the point of making it mandatory in a number of instances), and then you compare it to something like the vaccine to Equine Herpes Virus and realize The Best Invention ever is lightyears behind what the advertisement made it to be in comparison.

    The big drama comes when people equips themselves with The Best Invention Ever and walk into the battlefield believing they are invulnerable, just as how the advertisements made it to be at the begining.

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  • From claw@21:1/210 to Adept on Tue Sep 13 07:57:00 2022
    On 12 Sep 2022, Adept said the following...
    Hopefully this won't become political (COVID stuff has a tendency to go off the rails, so I'm really hoping to tread lightly, here), but I'll point out that none of the other vaccines always work, either.

    Yeah, some work better than others, especially when the nasty thing doesn't mutate too much, but vaccines basically provide weapons and training for melee fighters in the human body.

    It's not a ranged attack, keeping viruses from entering the body; it's a trained fighting force ready for a given sort of attack.

    If the body doesn't keep up the fighting force, or it's an overwhelming attack, or it's a variation on that attack that the fighting force isn't ready for...

    But, yeah, things like the flu vaccines are oftentimes terrible on efficacy -- way worse than something like polio. Which still has
    recorded instances of breakthrough cases.


    Yeah I completely understand all the immune booster shots like the flu shot are attempts to force mutate the virus early so they can get an idea on what the next version of it will be. When they are wrong it does nothing for you.

    I just wish more instead of this form of control we could get more people the just wash their hands and clean surfaces more often. I'm in MN so in the winter everyone is inside most of the time and closer together, so the flu really spreads quickly. Precautions would go a long way to reduce it considerably.

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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to Spectre on Tue Sep 13 13:09:50 2022
    It seemed somewhat ironic to me, that the first time I ever have the current flu vax I end up sick as a dog for a couple of weeks followed by
    a quick break and then have another go at it.

    I'm glad that I've been lucky on that sort of thing. As it is, I don't recall _ever_ having influenza, though it's quite possible, either when I had a bad cold, or various points as a kid.

    And I've gotten flu vaccines from time to time, without really noticing anything. I mostly just like the idea of doing immune system training, I
    think.

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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to Arelor on Tue Sep 13 13:15:45 2022
    The big drama comes when people equips themselves with The Best
    Invention Ever and walk into the battlefield believing they are invulnerable, just as how the advertisements made it to be at the begining.

    ...yeah, it'd be nice if people understood science more, whatever it takes to get people there.

    And it'd be nice if there were more truth in advertising -- it's hard to be informed on making decisions if you can't get information. But if a company, oh, uses child labor, they have an incentive to not mention that bit. (and
    lots of various other less-obviously-bad things that people would frown upon)

    But with vaccines... I suppose I am somewhat biased on the COVID vaccines, because by the point I was getting one in my arm, I had read a ton of things about their efficacy rates and various other science-y info about them. So, whatever the advertisements said were somewhat irrelevant, because I knew the objective data and was aware of many of the weaknesses of that data.

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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to claw on Tue Sep 13 13:21:40 2022
    I just wish more instead of this form of control we could get more
    people the just wash their hands and clean surfaces more often. I'm in
    MN so in the winter everyone is inside most of the time and closer together, so the flu really spreads quickly. Precautions would go a
    long way to reduce it considerably.

    Indeed.

    I do kind of wonder how the sanitizing levels will affect how much the next generation of kids get allergies, but I'm hopeful that, as an adult, my
    immune system has been exposed to enough that it's really just better that I continue to spray alcohol and try to keep things washed.

    I also live in Europe, and am wondering if this winter, it might make more sense for me to, oh, hang some extra curtains in my room and keep myself warm in a cozy little space heated by my computers.

    I hope it doesn't get too bad, but I'm rooting for a standard, non-cold
    winter.

    But, yeah, not sure how much I'll get to stay away from crowds of people this winter, regardless.

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  • From Vk3jed@21:1/109 to Adept on Wed Sep 14 20:32:00 2022
    On 09-13-22 13:09, Adept wrote to Spectre <=-

    I'm glad that I've been lucky on that sort of thing. As it is, I don't recall _ever_ having influenza, though it's quite possible, either when
    I had a bad cold, or various points as a kid.

    I _very_ rarely get the flu, and when I do it's always much milder than everyone else around me (like a couple of days instead of a few weeks). As I've got older, I seem to be getting _more_ resistant to the flu.

    And I've gotten flu vaccines from time to time, without really noticing anything. I mostly just like the idea of doing immune system training,
    I think.

    Covid got me into the habit of getting the flu shot as well. No change noticed for me either, but I did sail through what was supposedly a bad flu season unscathed.


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  • From Vk3jed@21:1/109 to Adept on Wed Sep 14 20:39:00 2022
    On 09-13-22 13:15, Adept wrote to Arelor <=-

    But with vaccines... I suppose I am somewhat biased on the COVID
    vaccines, because by the point I was getting one in my arm, I had read
    a ton of things about their efficacy rates and various other science-y info about them. So, whatever the advertisements said were somewhat irrelevant, because I knew the objective data and was aware of many of
    the weaknesses of that data.

    I've been following the science and knew the COVID vaccines were far from 100% effective, especially against the newer strains of the virus. But I still figured the vaccines were worth getting, as far as preventing the worst effects of the virus.

    So far, I seem to be one of those who's highly resistannt to COVID-19. Despite one well confirmed and multiple suspected exposures, I've avoided it *fingers crossed*. Sure the vaccines probably helped, but it's a combination of vaccination status, innate factors and often dumb luck that determine who catches COVID.

    And I know I have at least one known risk factor for long COVID - prior Epstein-Barr infection, so I'm definitely not wanting to get COVID-19.


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  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Vk3jed on Wed Sep 14 07:41:00 2022
    Hello Vk3jed!

    ** On Wednesday 14.09.22 - 20:39, you wrote to Adept:

    So far, I seem to be one of those who's highly resistannt
    to COVID-19. Despite one well confirmed and multiple
    suspected exposures, I've avoided it *fingers crossed*.
    Sure the vaccines probably helped, but it's a combination
    of vaccination status, innate factors and often dumb luck
    that determine who catches COVID.

    Probably more due to fingers sanitized as opposed to fingers
    crossed. :D Add more mindfulness to distancing from people
    coughing and spitting, too. ;)


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  • From Bex to Spectre on Tue Sep 13 13:09:00 2022
    Spectre wrote to Adept <=-

    To be honest I've never had much faith in flu vaccines for that reason. There has long be cases of the flu backing the wrong horse and being virtually usless for the season that arrives... However given some
    other issues it didn't seem to have any real downside.

    And for the most part, the flu vaccine is most effective at reducing how
    severe the infection gets. It primes one's body to be able to fight off the virus, not necessarily prevent infection.


    -+- Brightening your day. -Bex <3

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  • From Bex to Spectre on Tue Sep 13 13:09:00 2022
    Spectre wrote to Adept <=-

    To be honest I've never had much faith in flu vaccines for that reason. There has long be cases of the flu backing the wrong horse and being virtually usless for the season that arrives... However given some
    other issues it didn't seem to have any real downside.

    And for the most part, the flu vaccine is most effective at reducing how
    severe the infection gets. It primes one's body to be able to fight off the virus, not necessarily prevent infection.


    -+- Brightening your day. -Bex <3

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  • From Adept@21:2/108 to Vk3jed on Wed Sep 14 20:55:04 2022
    avoided it *fingers crossed*. Sure the vaccines probably helped, but
    it's a combination of vaccination status, innate factors and often dumb luck that determine who catches COVID.

    I'm one of the silly people still wearing masks when I don't have to, but I think me not getting COVID (or, rather, having any idea that I had it, if I did) is really mostly in the dumb luck category.

    I expect my luck will run out eventually (e.g., was the person coughing a lot on the train doing that because of COVID? Who knows?), but like most of these sicknesses, we're probably talking about getting things, on average, every couple of years.

    So, "getting it less" or "getting it in a way that's not so bad" are probably the goals.

    Like with the flu, or colds, or really any other unpleasant thing.

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  • From Irish_Monk@21:4/184 to Vk3jed on Wed Sep 14 20:36:32 2022
    I _very_ rarely get the flu, and when I do it's always much milder than everyone else around me (like a couple of days instead of a few weeks). As I've got older, I seem to be getting _more_ resistant to the flu.

    I dont think I ever get the flu or even sick much. Usually when something is going around and everyone is sick I just feel more tired and worn out.

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  • From Bex to claw on Fri Sep 16 14:40:00 2022
    claw wrote to Adept <=-

    Yeah, some work better than others, especially when the nasty thing doesn't mutate too much, but vaccines basically provide weapons and training for melee fighters in the human body.

    It's not a ranged attack, keeping viruses from entering the body; it's a trained fighting force ready for a given sort of attack.

    I just wish more instead of this form of control we could get more
    people the just wash their hands and clean surfaces more often. I'm in

    It takes both to be most efficient. Washing hands and cleaning surfaces
    reduces exposure vectors, and the vaccine increases immune response when a person does get exposed.

    The influenza vaccine isn't really used to keep a person from getting the
    flu, but to drastically reduce the strength of symptoms when a person does catch the flu. The flu shot can be the difference between staying in bed
    for a couple days or ending up in the ICU. The older I get (I'm in my 50s),
    the more cognizant of that fact I become.



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  • From Bex to Adept on Fri Sep 16 14:44:00 2022
    Adept wrote to claw <=-

    I also live in Europe, and am wondering if this winter, it might make
    more sense for me to, oh, hang some extra curtains in my room and keep myself warm in a cozy little space heated by my computers.

    I wish you lots of warm thoughts this winter! If you have any old Amigas around, keep one or two going at all times once the freeze starts, that'll
    help you beat the cold!


    -+- Brightening your day. -Bex <3

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  • From Vk3jed@21:1/109 to Ogg on Wed Sep 21 19:22:00 2022
    On 09-14-22 07:41, Ogg wrote to Vk3jed <=-

    Probably more due to fingers sanitized as opposed to fingers
    crossed. :D Add more mindfulness to distancing from people
    coughing and spitting, too. ;)

    Seems to be more to it than that.


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  • From Vk3jed@21:1/109 to Adept on Wed Sep 21 19:27:00 2022
    On 09-14-22 20:55, Adept wrote to Vk3jed <=-

    I'm one of the silly people still wearing masks when I don't have to,

    Not silly at all. :)

    but I think me not getting COVID (or, rather, having any idea that I
    had it, if I did) is really mostly in the dumb luck category.

    Over time, the probabilities are leaning towards "high resistance" and "dumb luck", as by now, there's lots of multiple exposures likely.

    I expect my luck will run out eventually (e.g., was the person coughing
    a lot on the train doing that because of COVID? Who knows?), but like
    most of these sicknesses, we're probably talking about getting things,
    on average, every couple of years.

    I'm hoping high resistance is a factor for me, because I do have at least one risk factor (previous infection by the Epstein-Barr virus) for long COVID, which would be the next best thing to a death sentence. :/

    So, "getting it less" or "getting it in a way that's not so bad" are probably the goals.

    Less and less severe would be very nice.



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  • From Vk3jed@21:1/109 to Irish_Monk on Wed Sep 21 19:28:00 2022
    On 09-14-22 20:36, Irish_Monk wrote to Vk3jed <=-

    I dont think I ever get the flu or even sick much. Usually when
    something is going around and everyone is sick I just feel more tired
    and worn out.

    I'm a bit similar it seems.


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