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Michael McLeod

You might be sore by the time you see this Joe. Then a little tired in a day or so.Or maybe not. That's just how I reacted to the same vaccine. Second shot sometimes provokes a stronger reaction. In the end it's all good.

Ten percent of the u.s. population has now been vaccinated.

David Mitchell

I woke up this morning with a buzz on my phone. I picked it up to see a text message from my Charleston VA website with another round of appointment openimgs for the shot. This was the second time - I had gotten it once last week and did not respond. By the time I sat up and put on my glasses to type in my choice for a time of day in the little reply space, it was closed. 

James Hamilton, M. D.

A  Request,

 To those of you who have been fortunate enough to have received the vaccine, I would ask, if you are willing, that you send me a "Private Message" through my  "Classmate Profiles" section about whether you have had any side effects - other than a sore arm, fatigue and a mild fever - that you attribute to the vaccine either the first or second shot. Also, which vaccine you got.

Thanks,

Jim 

David Mitchell

One of the things I have missed most during this Pandemic is going out to the Movies - I mean to a real movie theater. I love the big screen, the popcorn, the whole works. But I have not done this even as the theaters have re-opened - yet.

And there have been a few I really wanted to see. So tonight, my best friends - the Cobra pilot/ homebuilder/ Catamaran sailboat builder - and his wife, invited me over to watch a film on Netflix. It was wonderful!

I urge you to watch "The News of the World", with Tom Hanks and this magnificent little German girl. 

Michael McLeod

pandemic era med-trivia from a story in The Atlantic about why we get shots in the arm:

Targeting shots to the deltoid muscle hits a perfect sweet spot for vaccines, distributing their contents quickly, without diluting or destroying the important ingredients. Muscles are rife with blood vessels, which disperse the vaccine’s contents throughout the body and provide a conduit for immune cells to move back and forth from the injection site. They are also naturally chock full of “messenger” immune cells, which can quickly grab hold of the bits of the vaccine that resemble the coronavirus and carry them to the rest of the immune system. This baton pass kick-starts the production of antibodies and other disease-fighting molecules and cells.

Injecting a vaccine directly into the blood would water it down too quickly, depriving immune cells of the opportunity to learn from it. Spiking it into a fattier tissue, such as the buttocks, would slow the process down too much because fat isn’t laced with as many blood vessels, and is also lacking in many of those crucial messenger cells.

Savor that upper-arm shot: It might ache for a bit, but only because your immune cells are already hard at work.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Mike, 

And aren't we glad that the deltoid muscle works better for those drive through injections than does the gluteus maximus! 

Jim 

David Mitchell

Ahem!   

Hey guys, i hate to break your rules but I have received several shots "in the the buttocks" as Forrest would say.

Michael McLeod

Jim: I thought that was just the name of a famous gladiator. But then, most of what I know about ancient Rome comes from Monty Python skits.

Dave: Remind me not to be anywhere near the car line when you go to get your Covid shots.

John Jackson

NYT had a spectacularly good article today entitled “Covid Absolutism” that discusses how counterproductive it is to take Covid precautions too far.  I live in a small town of a couple thousand people and in a half hour walk you’re likely to pass half a dozen other single walkers (or groups of 2-3) usually on the other side of the street, and most are wearing masks.  From everything I’ve read, masks are overkill in this situation unless you stop and engage in conversation in close proximity for 10-15 minutes or more.

Although I think Trump’s attempt to minimize the seriousness of the pandemic, and his encouragement of his cult followers to avoid mask wearing as a gesture of support for him, was criminal, I also worry that so many of us have been in the crouch position for so long that it’s going to be hard for a lot of people to relax and resume semi-normal lives again after they’re vaccinated and it’s (relatively) safe to come out - many of the people I know, including my kids, fit this description.  

And if people don’t start resuming normal activities when appropriate, it’s going to have very bad consequences on our collective mental health, the education of our kids, and the health of the economy.

NYT allows free access to five articles per month (although I think they may have removed the paywall from Covid articles) but if you can’t access the article here are some great quotes:

"These days, there is a new absolutist health fad: the discouragement — or even prohibition — of any behavior that seems to increase the risk of coronavirus infection, even minutely".

“People do not have unlimited energy, so we should ask them to be vigilant where it matters most...Telling Americans to wear masks when they’re unnecessary undermines efforts to persuade more people to wear masks where they are vital"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/briefing/trump-covid-chick-corea-olympics-president.html

Joseph D. McCarthy

Second day after receiving my first Covid-19 vaccine, Pfizer, and I notice only a slight (only when I think about it) discomfort in my left arm.  DISCLAIMER:  I took to Equate (Walmart brand) Acetomenphine (sic) tablets before I went to sleep.  Overall, so far at least, there have been no problems; Jim can you prescribe something for this third arm I just grew.

Joe

Janie Albright (Blank)

John, great article. I'm in agreement. But I will say I've found walking with a mask in cold weather really keeps my face warm and my lungs are better off for not breathing in all that cold air. Maybe it's bc of my heart condition. And on another note, I've read regular flu and colds are way down. So keep up the masking when around others!  

I'm wondering if I should post a survey to see how many have had the vaccine yet. Maybe we will hear from some who don't post on here. Any thoughts on questions I should include? Want to keep it short. 
 

Michael McLeod

Nice idea Janie.

I'm two weeks away from my second shot.

I'll continue to wear a mask indefinitely although I'm skeptical - and I think there is new research to back me up - that I would be of any danger of transmitting the disease. I'll wear a mask in part out of solidarity and to remind people to stay safe and be responsible. 

Julie Carpenter

Have been trying to get signed up for Covid Vaccine, to no avail. Will get it as soon as I can--I usually check on-line once a day. 'Til then, I continue to wash hands, stay home (mostly), and wear a mask when out! Buckeye Groundhog says spring will be here early--we can only hope!

James Hamilton, M. D.

John, Janie, Mike, et al.,  

In my opinion the masking thing got out of hand when some wanted them used out of doors. There may be some exceptions to not being masked outside but they are few.

There has definitely been a decrease in the prevalence of influenza and other respiratory illnesses in the past year that seem to be a result of observing some of the measures instituted to slow the spread of COVID-19. The new guidelines to "double mask" wearing a cloth or earlobe mask over a surgical mask bothers me a lot. I think that is way over the top for the vast majority of the population. Also, if one has difficulty with breathing, this could be a real problem.

As for wearing a mask after being vaccinated and having built up immunity, it still willl be necessary. The main idea for a mask is to prevent droplet spread of the virus from the masked individual to someone else, not primarily to protect the mask wearer. Although an immunized person is much less likely to get the disease, that person is not protected from acquiring virus in his or her nose or mouth. Thus they can pass that on to another person. Once herd immunty is established then we can go maskless. The question is what is the percentage of people who need to have been vaccinated to reach herd immunity? That goalpost seems to be moving!

As I said, this whole thing is very confusing... 

Jim 

Michael McLeod

Thanks for the clarification, Jim. That's the first time I've see that possibility of being an asymptomatic carrier clearly explained. 

John Jackson

I plan to wear a mask (indoors in public places, but not outdoors) even after I get my second shot in ten days – from what I read the risk of being an asymptomatic carrier after vaccination is much lower (but maybe not zero). I will also wear a mask out of respect for the people I encounter because they have no way of knowing I’ve been vaccinated and I don’t want them to think I’m an a**hole.  

But I plan to resume most/all of the activities I’ve done in the past.  Not to be a downer, but I/we don't have all that much time left and I don't want to spend that time being afraid of my own shadow.

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Now who would ever have thought John J, the NYT and I could come to agreement on a subject?!  Hope springs eternal!

David Mitchell

Just reading some of the details of the phone call - that turned into a screaming match - between  House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump during the (Jan 6th) riots is mind boggling!

McCarthy pleading with Trump to call off the mob and Trump replying "I guess these people care more about the election than you do." And McCarthy yelling back over the phone with

"Who the f--- do you think you are talking to?"

But maybe this next question will even top that. I'd swear I heard Tucker Carlson pose this question to preview his topic for tonight's show (which I did not proceed to listen to).

"Can you beleive we had 25,000 National Guard troops occupying the Capital building and nobody complained?"

Could somebody please tell me that I either heard that wrong, or just level with me and tell me I am going senile and my mind is playing tricks on me.

Daniel Cody

Waiting for my vax.  Got the appointment yesterday after endless attempts.  Would prefer the 1954 herding us on school buses to Worthington Jr High for the shot.  We were proud first grader ftom St. Mikes. The second graders were the cry babies.  The SOS, Sabine on Sunday was even easier.  Go to the church basement after Mass and take the dixie cup.  I'm next.  Heart pounding palms sweaty! The guy in front didn't bring his Medicare card!  Duh!  
oh btw happy birthday John!

David Mitchell

Dan,

This brings back memories of those polio shots at OLP in the early grade school years.

A certain Allergist in the parrish (that I seem to recall hanging around my dinner table most nights) always volunteerd to give the school kids their shots. For some odd reason he would always start the with my room.

"Now boys and girls, David is going to show you all just how easy and painless this is."  (Liar!)

But up I would go to the front of the room and stand there holding back any expression of the discomfort I felt. I loved showing off, but absolutely disliked having to get the shot it, and dared not open my mouth.   

Michael McLeod

All I know, Dave, is that when the chips were down and character was revealed we saw Trump clearly and consciously throw the man who was arguably his most loyal ally to the wolves because Mike Pence -- gotta hand it to him -- chose to abide by the law of the land rather than the delusional commands of a mentally unstable despot who chose not to.

You could dump all the other evidence out the window, and that solitary and uncontravertible back-stabbing betrayal on Trump's part would be enough for any logical soul to know what kind of human being we're dealing with here; how astonishing it was that he rose to power; and how lucky we are that he did not do more damage than he did to this country.

Though we're far from being out of the woods yet in that last regard.

David Mitchell

Mike,

Exellent point. I'm not sure which describes him more accurately - liar, or coward. But "betrayer" seems to cover it all pretty well. I can't fathom how anyone could not call him dangerously mentally ill after all this.

I'm sure this is not over. Hearing reports of 120 prominent Republicans having a conversation last week about forming a new Center-Right Party sounds interesting.

But Donald's own chatter about comming back again seems quite disturbing. There are an awful lot of us Conservatives who just want this guy and his loyal gangs of disfunctional thugs to disappear. Sadly, it's probably not going to happen. And gangs of anti-government, white supremacists - guys who want to drink beer and beat people up are probably not going away anytime soon either.

Such a waste of energy - our prisons could use a lot more help cleaning the toilets in the cells. Shame.

(But P.s. - please don't mistake any of what I say as praise for Joe B. It's all relative.) 

David Mitchell

Loved a comment by Conservative Republican Senator Ben Sasse from Nebraska (who voted to CONVICT) in his voting remarks;

"Tribalism is a dangerous drug".

James Hamilton, M. D.

Dave M., 

​​​​​It seems that even though he is out of office that you, and many, are unable to get Donald Trump out of your minds.

Hillary called me and those who believe what I do a "basket of deplorables". I guess now you consider me, and others among us, "dysfunctional thugs". I'm not sure which is worse. 

At least we know where you stand.

Have a nice weekend, 

Jim 

Lawrence Foster

These are photos of a Valentine's Day card my great aunt received from her uncle when she was 3 years old. That would have been in 1862.  As it is unfolded it shows a very detailed scene.  The last photo shows you the paper that it was folded up in and a penny to give you an idea of the size of it.  Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day.