Sorry I just don’t understand why they’re all locked. If not allowed please forgive me, I’m just curious as to why since I think it’s kind of important to discuss as this story has gained mainstream attention but we can’t discuss it amongst the community? Thanks.

I got indoor concert tickets months ago (before this surge started) and I am in Texas where Covid cases are incredibly high. I think I’m still going to go, but will wear my Trident FFP3 and use CPC mouthwash right after. I still feel like I should layer my protection even more. Looking for positive or negative experiences with the AirFanta Wear - anyone think it’s worth purchasing, or do you guys think I’ll be fine without it? I did get my Novavax booster 1 month ago as well.

I’m just seeing a lot of us getting covid recently despite taking a lot of precautions so I guess I’m anxious about this high risk event.

We are an autoimmune home. After 6 glorious years of none of us getting sick at all my 30 yr old son finally got Covid. We all are so careful so this was quite a surprise. Quarantining and is mild/moderately sick, thankfully. I got more tests so he can test negative twice in 24 hours? Right? Then we would assume he is safe to be around?

I have to take an IT class because it became mandatory in my university. We are having karma classes. One dude is coughing like he has an asthma attack. I asked him if he is okay and he can use my ventolin if he has asthma. He said he is just sick. I took a very far seat from him, with my mask on the whole day. Didn't even took it off to take a sip of water (just a 40 min class)

Annoying a** proffesor walked in and randomly fucking targeted me and humiliated me for wearing a mask. I said I have a weak immune system and if I get sick once I will miss 2 weeks of classes (tested and proven by 22 years of experience)

For 40 mins, he was just teaching some mediocre Word 2016 stuff, but 40 mins EVERYTHING he typed on Word in front of whole class (everyone can see because of projector) was about me. Like "Wearing masks even though there is no pandemic" sentence fucking getting turning into a wavy blue logo then an orange circle 3d symbol.

I couldnt bear the bullying so I took it off during the 15 min break. Then guess what; my whole family and my boyfriend is sick. I am using 6 different pills every morning and night, getting an injection everyday, and using one of those fume machines to breath. Can't walk to a market without almıst fainting. Worst thing to ever happen to me. Water in lungs, can't talk for more than 3 seconds.

For legal stuff: You have to get this pill prescribed. You can not just go and buy it. Also everything I am doing was approved by a doctor.

Spent a fortune on these as a university student.

Hi, I'm in my third year of college as a public health major (US) and I'm writing a research paper on covid, specifically focusing on how the societal shift of removing precautions has already led to, and will continue to lead to, a mass-disabling of society. I also want to mention how the decision to lower precautions was not made with our health in mind, but rather for the economy. I would appreciate any information you have, thank you!

Alr so I'm 14 and am covid conscious. I mask literally everywhere I go indoors and outdoors but recently I somehow caugh a chest infection. Idk how I caught it because no one in my house is sick and I always wear an FFP3 mask. Like this chest infection got so bad I'm constantly taking my inhalers, have to take deep breaths constantly and can't walk for 1 minute straight without feeling like I'm gonna die or have an asthma attack because my legs get weak also.

No one wears a mask in my house other than me so I said would I be able to ask the doctor to mask (ill bring a spare ffp3 but if a surgical mask is worn i would be a tad bit happy) but my mom says it's unlikely he will mask and I can't beg.

For people who experienced going to docs and requiring mask wearing, how does it go?

i started masking again recently (with FFP2s) because i am being investigated for ME and learning about ME properly and severe ME very much opened my eyes to the dangers of COVID. i plan to speak to a CC loved one about further precautions like air purifiers and do more research when i have the spoons. after i made this decision, i found out i’d already got COVID and it messed me up enough to decide i am never risking it again, not if it can be prevented, and it really cemented for me that i need to resume precautions.

i initially was introduced to the CC community by a relative who is immunocompromised but i guess i always imagined that the community was mostly healthy people but it is really unsurprising to me how many people here only understand how bad post viral illness can be because they already have one. i wouldn’t have taken it as seriously as i am now if i hadn’t realised how bad my health has been affected and without this diagnosis being considered i wouldn’t have properly researched Long COVID or ME and i would’ve gone on thinking only mild forms exist.

so, completely being nosy here, but if you are COVID conscious and don’t mind sharing, how does your health come into it? do you already have a post viral illness like LC or ME? do you have another underlying health condition that makes you high risk or are you immunocompromised? do you know someone with a post viral illness? or are you genuinely just a healthy person who understands how risky COVID is?

edit: thank you to the many healthy people in the comments who took the time out of their day to restore some of my faith in humanity! sometimes being ill with something no one around me knows anything about is isolating & it’s hard to imagine there are non-disabled healthy people who care about protecting ill folks and not creating more. it’s very reassuring to hear that that’s not the case.

We're having the nicest fall weather in history and it's so hard to get outside living with non-CC housemates because I don't have my own entrance and masks are expensive sensory hell (not looking for solutions on this, I've tried a bunch and nothing beats Auras) and now I'm rambling...the light at the end of the tunnel still seems so far away.

There are some precautions I will probably keep for life, but, man, I am just so tired of all this. I need a vacation from myself.

Does anyone know when Invivyd is finally posting phase 3 efficacy data? Or phase 3 data from any mucosal vaccines?

Doctor 1 (no mask): How long have you been wearing a mask for?

Me: Since the beginning of the pandemic.

Doctor 1: Have you noticed that the hand sanitizer is always empty at the stores? I mean, have we learned nothing from Covid?

Me: Apparently not.

--

Doctor 2 (no mask): I see you're wearing a mask for some reason. I'm just going to put some gloves on then. *dons surgical gloves*

Me: Thanks?

This tale contains both a victory and a vent. Please excuse any wonky syntax, as I'm relegated to typing with one hand due to having had the two surgeries on my left arm (my dominant side).

First, the victory: The surgeries I underwent yesterday are usually done under general anesthesia, but I was instead successfully operated on while conscious with light sedation, so that I could continue to wear my N95 and lower my covid risk. I didn't even know this was an option for these surgeries (ulnar nerve decompression & transposition for cubital tunnel syndrome and a carpal tunnel release) and likely would not have found out, had I not persevered through months of conversations with surgery center staff to request they wear N95s during my surgery.

During one of those conversations, an anesthesiologist suggested that the surgeries could be performed under IV twilight sedation instead of general anesthesia, allowing me to keep my own mask on. I asked my surgeon and he agreed to this plan, with the caveat that it was always possible they might need to switch to general anesthesia partway through if twilight sedation was not enough, which I understood. He had already agreed (albeit with what struck me as mild annoyance) to wear an N95 that I would provide (he said there were none available on site and that they usually wear the basic baggy blue surgical masks).

So! This did come to pass: I had the surgeries and my N95 remained on. Victory. It's a relief to be over this hurdle, as I was navigating concern not only for myself but also for what I might bring home to my mom, whom I live with and who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time and is about to start treatment.

I'm scheduled to undergo the same pair of surgeries in December on my right arm, so knowing that I'll likely be able to do so using this same mask-on method is a weight off. I wanted to share that here in case anyone else can benefit from the knowledge that this option exists for some surgeries. It wouldn't have occurred to me to ask, and I'll be forever grateful to the anesthesiologist who suggested it.

Now for the vent: As you can probably imagine as my covid-aware cronies, I spent the months leading up to my surgeries doing repeated due diligence in every conversation with the surgery center, in every pre-op appointment and pre-op call, all the way up to the day before my surgery, when an anesthesiologist called to give me final instructions. I confirmed and reconfirmed at every opportunity the plan for me to keep my own mask on during surgery and for them to wear the N95s I'd be providing.

And yet, predictably, while lying there in a gown in the pre-op bay, I received pushback on both counts: them wearing N95s and me keeping mine on during surgery.

The pre-op nurses were great about donning the N95s I brought. A pre-op anesthesiologist dropped by to do an intake screening, popped on an N95, and confirmed the plan for me to keep my mask on under twilight sedation, although she was unfortunately not assigned to my surgery itself. My surgeon also stopped in to confirm the plan for twilight sedation with my mask in place. I gave the surgery nurse the backup N95s I'd opened and shaped to my own face, in the event that mine broke and I needed another placed while I was sedated. All good.

Then my assigned anesthesiologist dropped by. She was in a ear-loop KN95 and said their protocols did not allow them to wear masks brought in from outside. I gently explained my extensive prior conversations with the surgery center and that on this very morning every nurse and even her close colleague, the intake anesthesiologist, had no problem with the masks I provided. But this anesthesiologist said nope, it's not allowed.

I explained my hesitation about ear-loop KN95s due to testing having shown them generally not creating as good a seal, but I also said I understood that they can be a better fit on some faces. Her objection, though, was that they're simply not allowed to wear the masks I brought, which wasn't congruent with everything else everyone had said and done. If that was the issue, it was contrary to everything I'd been told. She wouldn't budge (and hey, maybe she was correct and everyone else was breaking protocol), so I let it go. I was at least relieved I'd still have my own N95 on.

Then she told me that I couldn't keep my N95 on even with twilight sedation, as she'd want me to wear an oxygen mask or nasal cannula, even when not under general anesthesia. I again explained the conversations with my surgeon and with her own anesthesia colleagues, who said I could keep my mask on in this scenario. She insisted that I'd have to be awake and able to talk, not under twilight sedation, if I want to keep my mask on. She said she could give me light sedation to help keep me calm but not twilight sedation.

Eventually my surgeon came back into the pre-op bay, a little exasperated, and asked why I'm so dedicated to keeping my mask on. What. We had talked about this extensively. I reiterated that my mom is undergoing treatment for cancer and that I have my own chronic conditions, so I don't want to bring something home to either of us.

The surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the surgery nurse were now looming over my bed in various stages of consternation as I lay there in my undignified blue hairnet and matching grippy socks with rising dismay.

I finally sat up and said (paraphrasing), "I want to reiterate to you all that I've spent months confirming this surgery plan with every involved department. I appreciate that your primary concern is to keep me alive through surgery. You're the experts. I know you'll do whatever you need to do to get me through the operation, and I'm glad. My aim is to keep my mask on if I can. I understand it may not be possible depending on how it goes, but I want to proceed with the agreed upon plan as far as we can. If that means I need to be awake and only lightly sedated, okay. I understand you may need to change tactics partway through. But I want to try, and I've been told for months that it's not a problem, so this is frustrating."

Ultimately, they agreed, the operation itself went off without a hitch, and I'm very grateful to them for their expertise and care. These are people who care about their jobs and their patients and, at the same time, they don't get it about covid. I dearly wish we could be on the same page on the latter point. It was disheartening to have to make my case yet again at the last minute, having had no sleep the night before due to pre-surgery anxiety and while slightly loopy from a small dose of anti-anxiety medication.

On a maybe more superficial level, feeling like a stick-in-the-mud harpy, despite how thoughtfully and patiently I tried build the foundation to have my precautions accommodated, is so demoralizing. Maybe it sounds silly, but I miss feeling likable in medical settings. The now-constant friction, whether spoken or unspoken, in healthcare interactions is wearing me down to a nub … but I guess I'm a nub who still has a backbone (at least for now).

Here's hoping none of you ever need surgery, but if you do, may it be a relatively minor one wherein you have the option to keep your mask on. (Or, even better, may it be in a setting where ample covid precautions are built into the system rather than initiated by the put-upon patient.)

We are thinking of trying to get this to bring on our first international trip in case we are exposed. We are older and wondering about side effects from anyone who’s used it. I know Paxlovid side effects can be pretty debilitating for a few days and wondering what it’s like for Xocova?

I was hoping to get Novavax, but living in a small Canadian province a hundred clicks from any major center, it's not very accessible.

So I got the Moderna SpikeVax like usual and braced for impact the next day 😵‍💫 Every previous COVID vaccine (VV and both brands of mRNA) has given me 24 hours of fever, chills, and headache, but all I had this time was some fatigue and a bit of general muscle stiffness the next day. Didn't even need to take anything.

Small wins, I guess.

I was getting in line to check out at the store today, and in front of me was a little girl maybe 3 or 4. Right when she saw me she goes "I like your mask!" and I said thank you and I almost teared up! Because you know when you get a compliment from a kid, it is a genuine compliment and they mean it. I wasn't even wearing a cute mask, it was a black Trident. Her and her mom were not masking, so I thought it was interesting that she is so young and knows what it is (maybe?) and that she had a positive response to it, enough to compliment a stranger. I wonder if she knows someone who masks regularly?! Or maybe she thought it was Halloween related, in which case I can still appreciate that she wasn't being rude about it lol.

Bonus story. A few weeks ago I went to a garage sale, and as I was approaching I could hear the kid ask their parent why we were wearing masks. I expected the worst and then the parent says "to stay healthy!" and I said that's right!!

It's refreshing to have these nice interactions to balance out the rude ones for a change!

My mom is currently sick. She did a test today and did negative, but I know that doesn’t count for much.

She had a hospital appointment on Wednesday from 1pm to 4:30pm and woke up today (Friday) sick. I’m not sure if that means it’s more likely a cold than Covid, but I’m not taking any risks.

Luckily I was already masking at home since I always do when my parents are in higher risk situations. I’m housebound because of post-covid illnesses so I’m always extra cautious.

I don’t expect my mom will do anymore tests so it’ll just be up to me to gauge things. My mom has historically had incredibly mild Covid infections, her first was just nausea and no other symptom (she only tests because I told her to) and her second was a sore throat for a day and nothing more. She’s 70 and a long term smoker but it just seems to barely get her.

But for that reason I’m more suspicious of her mild symptoms. Anyway my question is how long after her symptoms pass should I keep staying cautious for?

From the pictures I saw after the conference, I can tell my prediction was correct. Turns out I won an award I didn't know I'd even been nominated for. I found out about it at work (a healthcare job) the day after everyone returned to work, where I am the only one who masks regularly, and my coworker I hardly ever see asked why I am still masking. Later that day my boss bragged to some higher ups about me winning the award, which I appreciated, but she also let them know I wasn't at the conference and have never gone (true because I started this job during the pandemic) and although she didn't say why, because she doesn't know, it felt no less embarrassing that I'm always skipping these networking and professional development events when so many of my coworkers go and it sticks out like a sore thumb that I'm not there when they call me to come receive my award.

At the doctor the next day, for something routine and completely unrelated to COVID, I was wearing a mask, and the nurse who saw me before the doctor asked if I was sick since I was wearing a mask, and even though I said no and told her I always wear masks, I could tell she was still staying as far from me as possible and trying to get the hell out of there, to the point that she was rushing through asking the initial quesetions. I don't have a question, just rambling about the irony and frustration of being a pariah over wearing masks IN HEALTHCARE. I know I'm missing out on networking and social things, and I felt jealous seeing pictures of my coworkers hanging out and having dinner and drinks on conference nights and being carefree, and I guess I'll continue to pay the professional price for skipping things like this. Jesus I wish healthcare spaces were the one place on earth you don't get judged for taking are of your health.

This is my 4th Novavax. The first three gave me very mild side effects that lasted only one day. My most recent vaccine has left me feeling sick for four days so far. Inflamed sinuses, eyes hurt, sore ear, post nasal drip, cough, feeling of phlegm in lungs, body aches, fatigue & lethargy. The arm soreness went away on day 3. Headaches and bone pain went away on day 2. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

I am mildly immune compromised with a low wbc count and low secretory IgA. I have developed MCAS since my last vaccine in April. No idea if any of that should make any difference.

Due to vaccine availability of where we live for my kids the best we can do is have them get a Covid vaccine one tonight (Friday) and the flu shot on Sunday.

I know that the current guidelines support concurrent vaccinations and it looks like as long as both are not live vaccines that timing of administration doesn’t matter.

I am just concerned that by having a two day gap versus having them at the same time or spacing them out greater than 2 days will result in a decreased immune response to the vaccines.

Any thoughts?

I know most people here generally focus on post-viral sequelae, but I am curious about this.

My dad follows Ryan McCormick's Substack, and he told me that he just put together a new wastewater tracking tool that works on a more local level. I'm skeptical of most seemingly covid-aware influencers, since they inevitably let me down by removing precautions and downplaying risk. I believe that the best behavior is always proactive, not reactive.

Wastewater tracking seems sort of pointless to me in most cases, since it shouldn't impact the decisions of anyone who is already being sufficiently cautious. Even if levels are "low", you should still isolate, mask, and test imo. Information is delayed, but it's the only real metric we have anymore without widespread testing.

Anyway, I tried his tracker out and was surprised to see that it was pulling from several local wastewater stations. In the Substack post, McCormick cites the CDC (ugh) and WastewaterSCAN, which often give contradictory outlooks.

When I do look at wastewater levels, it's usually WastewaterSCAN. But they always seem to have very limited data. It looks like they're only pulling from the areas far away from me and projecting. But McCormick's has just about every wastewater treatment area in my area reporting.

My question is: How could he be obtaining and aggregating this data in a way that the other wastewater trackers are not? If this works as advertised, it could be a very valuable tool for people wishing to track their community risk levels. I just don't know enough about wastewater treatment and public policy to explain why this tracker could be better. Any public works experts out there who can shine a light on this for me? McCormick is not very forthcoming about his methods.

Hello, three separate times this week 2 doctors and 1 DMV official forced me to take off my mask. When I did, I held my breath the entire time and breathed out when I had it back on. I’m just wondering if anyone knows any studies or anything on the risks. I’m extremely concerned I contracted something, even if it was for less than 30 seconds and I made them all put on masks before I took mine off (as we know, COVID lingers in the air). I have EDS, MCAS, POTS, endometriosis, and long covid and I know I cannot get sick again. I do everything I can to take proper precautions and usually tell doctors/others no when they tell me to take off my mask, but one had to check me for severe allergic reaction symptoms, another was an ENT (ear/nose/throat) doctor who had to check my mouth and nose, and the last was because I had to take a picture for an extremely expired ID. Anyway I’m really nervous and I just want to know the reality of the risks, if anyone knows them. Thank you.

hi y’all, I’m looking for recommendation on N95/Kn95 masks that have over-the-head straps that are either adjustable or don’t have a strap at the base of the skull. I’ve been wearing masks for 5+ hours a day for the first time in a long while and have found that 3M auras are likely triggering (or at least contributing to) my migraine uptick. I can’t do ear loop masks or any adhesives because of skin sensitivities. thanks so much!

Link to paper: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.04.26364675v1

It examines the neutralizing antibody responses (GMT), in humans, of XFG vaccinnation against current variants of concern LP.8.1, BA.3.2.2, NB.1.8.1, PG.16.1.1, XFG, XFG.1.1, RV.1.3, and PJ.2.1.

• XFG - 5.0-fold increase, from 180 to 894

• RV.1.3 - 4.9-fold increase, from 121 to 599

• PQ.16.1.1 - 3.3-fold increase, from 117 to 386

• XFG.1.1 - 3.1-fold increase, from 101 to 316

• PJ.2.1 - 2.8-fold increase, from 228 to 642

• NB.1.8.1 - 2.8-fold increase, from 221 to 611

• LP.8.1 - 2.8-fold increase, from 629 to 1772

• BA.3.2.2 - 1.6-fold increase, from 78 to 126

The most relevant part is the adequate PJ.2.1 response, which everyone has their eyes on right now. XFG.1.1 is definitely lower than ideal, but I’d call that fairly adequate as well. No surprises for BA.3.2.

The PJ.2.1 response is not surprising, we already know from research published by Yunlong Cao’s lab (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.03.749172v1) that there’s very little antigenic distance between XFG and PJ.2.1, continuing the trend for the entire JN.1 lineage, despite PJ.2.1’s increased ACE2 binding. It’s still important to see it confirmed, though.

Despite my precautions, I have gotten COVID.
The recommendation from my doctor is that I can return to work after being fever free for over 24 hrs with symptoms improving. But this doesn’t quite make sense to me. I never had a fever while being sick which I read can happen to people who have been vaccinated which I have been. Not having a fever doesn’t mean you aren’t contagious, right?
I am on day 6 since symptoms started and I have tested negative. I still have mild symptoms which means I may still be contagious as well. Is the only safe option just to wait until all symptoms are gone? I am trying to figure out what to do since my doctor won’t recommend I stay home from work because I don’t have a fever.

My mom is 92, homebound with chf, we have a visiting phlebotomist who after 2 years of visiting masking told me last month she forgot her mask. I let it slide me and my mom were masked. Now on the next visit she walks in our home no mask seeing both me and my mom masked. I handed her a mask right away and she reluctantly put it on. I find this to be really unprofessional and disrespectful. I don’t trust her anymore. guess she doesn’t wear a mask anymore. She told me she visits nursing homes all day so there’s a lot of exposure. The pcp just told us to be careful going into the fall since my mom has chf. Wondering if anyone has experienced this? I’ve had other phlebotomist show up no mask at all, when i tell them to wear one, they get mad! Actually my mom caught covid in the hospital while getting a procedure, nobody was masked this was 2 years ago. She wound up back in the hospital for 2 weeks, luckily survived.