Life After COVID-19

[Hereware]

We have dealt with a lot of changes this year, and things everywhere are stressful. Wish we can go back to the time we didn't know we'll have things worse.

But hey, I'm optimistic about 2021. I don't think the pandemic will be over by then but I have a feeling that it will be better.

How about you guys? How have you been? What are your thoughts?

[kristina]

Hello Hereware (... what an unusual name ...)

... My thoughts are, that with a bit of luck there might be soon a Covid-19-jab available, similar to our yearly flu-jab ... and we might all "queue up" to get it a.s.a.p ? I keep my fingers crossed ...

... I also do my very best to protect myself as well as I can and it also helps me personally, to stay away from all the latest frightening and shocking news about the latest Covid19-victims etc., mainly because I feel that I urgently need to keep my mind as clear as is possible to make sure and put on my protecting face-mask and I also make sure to keep disinfectant wipes in my hand-bag at all times and I just generally try my very best to be as careful as I possibly can be.

Sometimes it is also important for me to take my mind away from it all and watch on youtube some interesting documentaries about old civilisations etc., interesting countries and/or an occasional interesting "old" fun-movie like the old UK-classics from the 1940/50's and/or  some of the old "Carry On" movies etc. That never fails to cheer me up a little.

Take great care and I send you my good luck-wishes  from Kristina. 

[PrimeTimer]

I think it's safe to say that the panic, fear mongering and financial devastation is far from over. My husband and I already cherish any good that comes our way and practically ecstatic when something goes right. Meanwhile, when we aren't putting out any Covid-related fires, going to doctor appts and applauding ourselves for paying the rent, we watch a lot of film noires, chihuahua videos, James Blackwood the Racoon Whisperer and nature shows.

[iolaire]

I'm feeling more positive about the vaccine for COVID actually doing something for me as transplant recipient.   I assumed that I would not be able to receive it due to the transplant  - but I'm reading on the IHD Facebook group that various people are being asked to participate in the trials by their transplant centers.  So it sounds like it may not be a live vaccine and will be usable for the at risk population.

But I'm still worried about the huge spikes in deaths' and infections.  I can not understand how and why certain people have been lead to believe that the virus is not real or not important.  I'm doubtful that things will be back to normal until years pass.

 But I am happy that this virus is something my wife and I can protect ourselves from.  I'm glad that the choices others take/don't take have more limited effect on us.

[Simon Dog]

It will be interesting to see where transplant recipients fall on the vaccine priority list relative to other groups, and how good a job the centers will do in getting us an allocation.

My wife is an RN in an infectious disease clinic.  I wonder if she or I will get to go first.

[kristina]

It will be interesting to see where transplant recipients fall on the vaccine priority list relative to other groups, and how good a job the centers will do in getting us an allocation.

My wife is an RN in an infectious disease clinic.  I wonder if she or I will get to go first.

Hello Simon, I am sure there is no doubt that transplant-recipients fall into the category of vaccine-priority.

However, my own question is : how protective are these vaccines in the first place?
After all, when the flu-jabs were first developed and "came along", many people had lots of medical problems after getting their flu-jab and it took quite a few years until they were developed enough to become quite safe to take ...
So ... I just wonder how safe it might be to find oneself in this very first category to receive the very first Covid-jabs ? I mean, the people in this first category are medically very vulnerable already, so, if after their vaccination they are developing great medical difficulties, it might be very difficult to point out and diagnose the reason ...?

[Simon Dog]

The shot will be a crapshoot like transplant.  You trade one set of risks for another.  I wonder if our suppressed immune systems will make the shot less effective.

There will be two parallel tracks to priority - medical need and "importantness".   What I am really wondering is not if we will get medical priority but how we will fare against(*) police officers, state officials, city councilmen - all of who can use the "vital to tell people what to do" as justification for priority allocation.   As proof, if one accepts the premise that POTUS will get priority based on his position, the only question is not "do you get better allocation if you are important" but rather "how far down the food chain does importance based allocation go?".

* - Yes, "against" since it is a competition for a scarce resource allocated by factors other than supply and demand.

[MooseMom]

I've read that the Oxford vaccine has been found to be safe for older people and has also been proven to trigger an immune response.  So, I am making a leap in logic by thinking that if it is effective in older people who tend to have a weaker immune system, then it follows that it might be safe and effective in tx patients.  But that's just an educated guess on my part.

As for who will/should get it first, well, there's a question.  I'd hope that doctors and nurses would get it first.  Then, maybe teachers and all those who look after children in daycare facilities, along with those who work looking after elderly people in nursing homes.  It will become a moral morass, but I personally would be willing to wait as I am happy enough to hang out here at home for a while longer. 

[iolaire]

Today I met with my nephrologist (who also works with the transplant center) for my regular zoom appointment.  He mentioned that my next appointment in January should be Zoom because the virus is peaking again, but by February or March it should start getting better with the vaccine out.  We talked about about how he expects me to get the vaccine - its still all up in the air as far as how the US federal government will manage distribution and prioritize who gets it first, but he felt I would be getting it fairly early.  I asked about if the transplant clinic would be involved and he didn't think so.  He said that he didn't even know how or where he would get it despite that GW Hospital being involved with the Moderna vaccine.  He felt that most likely I'd be getting it at a CVS or similar, with far later in the year there being an option to do it at his Doctors office.  We did not talk about his view of the safety of the vaccine etc.. but that presumption was that I'd get it.  I have to assume if use transplant recipients can receive the vaccine than a good portion of the people on dialysis should as well.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Thank you for sharing about the vaccine!

[frugallyzing]

2021 will be better for sure, or I hope. That's the only thing we can do for now, hope for the better. As for the vaccine, I'm of two minds about it. Maybe I would wait for a couple of months and just keep the precautions I'm doing right now. I'm a bit scared that there are some side effects or whatnot. I mean, they have tested it for sure, but it could still be different with every individual especially those who have existing health issues. I've read this article about heart patients, http://buffaloheartgroup.com/2020/06/10/heart-disease-patients-and-things-they-must-know-about-covid-19/ I like how it says "Do not lose sight of your long-term health" as we tend to focus on CV that we forget of the serious risks we also have to face. I mean CV is here and so are other illnesses. So we must focus on our overall health, with or without the virus.

[LorinnPKD]

For me, what's heartening to know is that corona viruses in general have been around for a while, and the new vaccines are built upon years of that previous research to address this specific one.  Had they started from 0 just ten months ago, I'd be shaking in my boots!

I was surprised to discover that I really don't mind the whole holing-up-in-seclusion thing, but it'll be such a relief to be able to have a level of freedom again, whenever a vaccine is available to us.