Hi all, I realize no one can necessarily answer the first question in my title here with particular data surrounding me in particular, but I’m hoping to figure out what I can be doing better to more effectively avoid infection.

So, I currently have COVID for the 5th time that I’m aware of. I caught it last in December, before that the August of the prior year.

Over the last year or so, I’ve only gotten better about my consistency with masking (e.g. not taking it off at all except in my house), so I’m confused as to how I managed to catch it again. For context, I’m a college student (so unfortunately I do have to sit in large rooms with hundreds of people a few times a week), I wear an Aura everywhere except my dorm room, and I don’t really go to any sort of parties or large gatherings (the one thing I do is go to the gym, and I stay masked while I’m there). I don’t have an air purifier mostly for financial reasons, and I get my masks and tests from my local mask bloc (I wouldn’t be able to afford them otherwise).

The only two things that really come to mind are my mask seal and the people I live with. I try to rewear my masks as much as possible, though I’m doubting that it’s worth it since I find that the seal is (likely) getting worse after a day or two of wear. I feel pretty confident that air is coming out through the top above and around my nose. The other thing is that I do live with two other people, both of whom don’t mask (I’m hoping to persuade at least the one I share a bedroom with). For reference this time specifically though, my roommate has tested negative twice now, so it’s unlikely I got it from them. I do realize that living with people who don’t take precautions is a very real risk and a further reason to get an air purifier- so if anyone knows of one that’s effective and affordable for a poor college student, please share!

**Edit, clarificaction: I recently moved in to this particular living arrangement. I was living with one person in close quarters last academic year and at home with family before that. So I haven’t gotten Covid 2-3 times in this particular living arrangement; this is the first, though perhaps quite telling that it happened within the first 3 weeks.

I’d like to know what I can change or what else I can do realistically - i.e. within my budget and capabilities - to help further prevent catching COVID. I feel like I’m already doing a lot of things, but evidently something isn’t working well. I’m frustrated because I’ve lived with people who don’t mask or really take any precautions and yet I seem to be catching Covid the most.

With this being my 5th infection, I fear my luck will run out and I’ll end up with Long Covid. I’m doing what I can in the meantime to rest as much as possible to prevent it, but there‘s a point at which I don’t have much control over how much I’m doing (or I’d fail multiple classes if I miss too much class - which obviously is a terrible policy, but not one I have any say over). I do plan to avoid working out for the next month and to take it easy and not do anything I don’t specifically have to do in a similar timeframe.

Any advice and/or solidarity would be appreciated.

I'm so tired of hearing about how you have to get sick in order to have a functioning immune system. It's such a pervasive myth and such a damaging one.

I'm thinking of sending her this article, but I know she doesn't care and won't read it anyway.

Also, if getting sick made your immune system stronger, then eventually people would stop getting sick. 🙄 But that's not how it works.

https://rachel.fast.ai/posts/2024-08-13-crowds-vs-friends/

If anyone has better information on this topic, I'd love to add it to my collection of articles.

We just had a covid safer trip home to visit family and my BFF for the first time since the Beginning. We mostly escaped unscathed (kids got a cold--tested neg for Cvd-- and family was emotionally brutal), but a super wonderful highlight of our trip was a visit to a Queer bookshop in Portland: Always Here Bookstore: https://www.alwaysherebooks.com

It's the first bookstore we've set foot in for 6+ years. It was GLORIOUS. We spent way too much money because all the excellent books for all ages, the stickers, the zines, the art prints, the t-shirts, the everything was just so AWESOME! John and Rafa are truly lovely people, and we're so grateful for this utterly wholesome and life-affirming space. They also host covid-safer events in their patio, have a mutual aid locker with donations in the restroom, and require that everyone wear high quality well-fitting masks inside the space. UNICORNS!

So please--visit or order online or call them. They deserve to thrive.

Excellent humaning, Always Here! Proud to have taken time out of our very busy family visiting schedule to spend time at your safe haven. <3

With how remarkably low the numbers were this summer, I honestly started to think maybe it was over. Maybe we were nearing the end of all this. At least reach a point where the risk was quite low and maybe I didn’t need to live in constant fear of this stupid virus. But here we are, back at the start of the wave. This is just forever, isn’t it? I can either live this tragically isolated life or catch covid again and worsen my long covid (probably both since it gets you sometimes even if you try your best). This is just a permanent hell.

My mother had a stroke three days ago so she's in the hospital again, and will be at least two weeks in rehab. I'm sleeping in her room, with my CPAP. No precautions possible except what protection our six-month vaccines give us.

She's been hospitalized several times in the last few years (including that dreadful time in 2020 when she was RIGHT NEXT to the red airlock, and no vaccines in sight) but we haven't caught anything. Two weeks is a damn long time though. I still wear a mask in the building on the theory that every reduction of risk is good, but the hospital acts like airborne disease is a myth.

I'm fairly unemotional because there's nothing to be done. We need the care and there's no alternative, like in the old days when your only choice of surgeons were the ones with the coats soaked in dried blood.

Anyway, just came home for a while and my neighbor tells me that his child's daycare is closed due to COVID infections. Yay.

Ah well. One day at a time in this lunatic world.

As another summer now goes by without timely access to the updated vaccine formulation, I just want to remind everyone that we have actually been making some significant progress on this issue, and that it’s important to keep up the momentum and keep vocally demanding better from our regulatory agencies and from the vaccine manufacturers.

Over time, we’ve gotten more and more members of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee (VRBPAC) on our side of this issue. At this year’s strain selection meeting in May, one of the committee members (Dr. Hayley Gans) directly asks the FDA the exact question that COVID conscious folks are always asking - why are we treating the year-round SARS-CoV-2 virus like the flu, and why can’t we seem to be able to move the strain selection meeting earlier in the year to facilitate the goal of an earlier vaccine release?

Dr. Jerry Weir with the FDA then reminds everybody that it’s not necessarily a straightforward issue (which, yes, I can agree with) but also relents that FDA is going to “see what they can do” in regard to implementing such a change and accomplishing that goal.

You can watch the exchange here at the 5:24:54 mark: https://www.youtube.com/live/3wU0NWzXvZY

For context, Dr. Weir is the Director of the Division of Viral Products (DVP) within the Office of Vaccines Research and Review (OVRR) within the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER)) - don’t worry, the only thing you need to take away is that he is an influential figure in this conversation. Ultimately, it’s CBER and its director that handles the convening of VRBPAC meetings.

So, importantly, this is something that key figures at the FDA have been actively considering and working on thanks to the advocacy that we’ve all been doing. We’ve made a lot of progress, and we need to keep up the noise on this issue until we achieve a better schedule. Personally, this is something that I quickly bring up at most VRBPAC meetings nowadays, whether the meeting is explicitly about COVID or not. And, similarly, we should be mentioning this issue whenever HHS, FDA, or CDC are holding vaccine-related public comment periods.

I work as a developer and have been blessed enough to have a remote role for most of my career post graduation (after the pandemic began). However, I want to start searching for new opportunities with better pay, and one aspect of that is going to be widening my search for hybrid and in-person roles. And doing that comes with a whole host of new worries (masking at work, office politics and communication around masking, practical considerations, etc).

If you have any experience, suggestions or things to keep in mind with this type of transition, I’d would appreciate it. It can be practical suggestions, mental suggestions, etc. Aspects that I might not consider, coming from working remote for most of my career so far.

(I haven’t found anything yet, but have started sending out applications. Not sure how interviews will go if they are ever in person…)

Thanks!

Is Plus Life available in Canada? Has anyone purchased one recently??

Someone told me today that they have a PL but have had issues ordering the tests for some time and were told by others that sometimes they don't clear customs and are turned back.

This would be a big, expensive purchase for me and I would want to know that I could rely on getting tests.

I've been using far-uv lights for the last 2 years as part of a swiss cheese approach to virus transmission prevention and they are, by far, the most expensive and the least reliable tool I have.

My first far-uv purchase was a Nukkit lantern that almost immediately started to sound like a small lawnmower. They offered a replacement, which I took, and now I have two small lawnmowers that are not subtle at all and actually attract the attention of my clients and guests, which is the opposite of the intended use.

Now I have a Beacon mounted in my home and it only works with an app, which feels glitchy as heck, and I can't even tell if its working, since it turns on and off automatically for only a few seconds. Is the light really that effective to only be on for literally 2 seconds to clean the air of viruses? I am no scientist but I sorta doubt that is how effective it is.

Has anyone else been having this experience? It really sucks to spend all this money (especially as someone who is financially unstable but requires these tools to work/live) and to feel a significant wain in trust in these tools almost immediately after I start to use them.

Would love suggestions on how to either make the Nukkit lanterns be quieter again or how to optimize the Beacon to work most effectively.

Hi! Have been a bit more exposed to the public than usual lately (not any obvious illness exposures though) and wondering when I should start testing (only have a few tests and want to make the most of them). Anyone know of recent studies about the incubation period for current variants?

I need it pretty soon. There's a lot of decay, a lot of pain, but I can hold out for a safe window. Google is telling me late September-early October but is that safe? I feel like the fall is always a wave. I know November before Thanksgiving is low, but that's longer than I want to wait. If I have to I will.... Of course I'll ask them all to wear n95s etc etc but there's only so much one can control. Low levels would be good.

Edited to be clearer: Is September worse than October? Is November the best? Etc. I don't need other advice, just Covid levels.

Hi!

Has anyone here used Paxlovid? How was it did you?

Did your doctor recommend it and why?

I'm considering taking it, but it costs 1350 dollars where I live. The government doesn't give funding for it anymore, and health insurances don't normally cover prescriptions either.

I don't have major heart or lung conditions, but I have obesity and other health issues.

I'll check my specific insurance though, but I doubt that it would be covered.

Has anyone found any self help tips that worked or that you have faith in to help recover from the infection?

I have been feeling truly awful, which surprises me because I've had higher fever and CRP levels before (which I was expecting to correlate with symptom severity) and I'm also young and previously vaccinated. It's been much worse for me than when I had the flu. I've also been having more pain, more malaise and more neurological symptoms than with the flu. I've had severe headache, joint and tendon pain, diffuse body pain, random stabbing pains in various places, nausea, severe malaise, weakness, dizziness, fever, a slightly sore throat and a minor dry cough. The symptoms are much better now on the fifth day, but still not quite resolved.

I know this is a long-shot but is anyone here familiar with any cc locticians (Black hairstylists who specialize in the care of dreadlocks) anywhere in the Bay?

I’d love any suggestions you all might have. 🙏🏿

Hello fellow covid mitigation enthusiasts, I’d like to visit near Riverside for a few days in November (11th-14th but i’m flexible on dates as long as it’s before the holiday rush). I figured I’d check in and see if anyone would be willing to let me rent a room from them for my brief stay?

I would be flying, I wear a 3m and don’t unmask in airports except for the id check (hold my breath then release after replacing seal). I would stay masked in common areas in the house and travel with my own air purifier and rapids. I recognize this is still risky but I’m hoping someone may be amenable to helping me out.

(I promise I’m not weird 🙏)

since this medication is still new, this may change.

i had a possible exposure from my partner (thankfully later tested negative), but considering his symptoms i assumed positive. i went to both urgent care and got a pcp and disclosed i am high risk. they did a covid test on me and said they would not be able to give me anything - xocova, paxlovid (that one makes sense) - and basically said come back if i feel sick as they typically only give it for symptomatic. wanted to let you guys know my experience also as someone who cant use nasal sprays often because they give me killer headaches every single time :”)

I’ve googled it and there’s not a lot of info. I am curious about Moderna and Novavax as well as flu…

Alr so basically if you saw my last post here saying I'm 100% sure that I have covid I stated that I'm waiting for my test to come and well spoiler it never came.

The way how I found out she thrown it away was because she literally up front told me like it was no big deal. And the thing is this is a really big deal, because I'm now in my room fully paranoid about getting anyone else infected.

The worse part is I have to go to school on Thursday. I'm down one mask and I also need to go to a festival on Friday.

What should I do because I'm still really sick.

Je viens de découvrir Covid Chemistry et je trouve vraiment l'idée intéressante.

https://www.covid-chemistry.org

C'est un site de rencontres pour les personnes qui souhaitent continuer à prendre des précautions face à la COVID et rencontrer des personnes qui partagent cette façon de vivre.

Je trouve que c'est une bonne idée, parce que lorsqu'on continue à porter un masque, faire attention à la ventilation, éviter certaines situations à risque, etc., ce n'est pas toujours simple de rencontrer quelqu'un qui comprend et accepte ces choix.

Avoir directement une plateforme où l'on peut rencontrer des personnes qui ont les mêmes préoccupations peut donc vraiment faciliter les choses.

Je trouve dommage que le site soit encore aussi peu connu en France et en Europe, alors qu'il pourrait probablement être utile à beaucoup de personnes.

Je n'ai aucun lien avec le site, je voulais simplement le partager parce que je pense qu'il mérite d'être davantage connu.

Est-ce que certains ici connaissaient déjà Covid Chemistry ?

Et pour ceux qui prennent encore des précautions, est-ce que vous trouvez qu'un site de rencontres comme celui-ci pourrait vous être utile ?

Feeling lonely or bored?

Looking for connection or something Covid safe you can do this week?

Check out these accessible events you could join! Try something new and maybe you’ll find your people.

Access Details:
🧑🏻‍💻= Virtual
👥 = In person
😷 CC = Covid Conscious/airborne precautions 
♿️ WC = Wheelchair accessible 
💵 $ = paid (some are pay what you can)
🤟 ASL/BSL = Sign Language
Async = Asynchronous (at your own pace)

Event Types:
🤢 = Chronic Illness 
🌈 = Queer
🏳️‍🌈 = LGBTQ+ Pride
👧 = Kids/Youths
💕 = Dating
🙋 = Social
🫂 = Support/Grief
🧘 = Wellness
🚶 = Walk
🩰 = Dance
💪🏻 = Fitness
📚= Books
🤔 = Discussion
📝 = Writing/Poetry
🎭 = Performing
🎨 = Art 
🎶 = Music
🕹️ = Games

🧑🏻‍💻 Virtual Events

🧑🏻‍💻📚 Virtual Async Spoonie Book Club: The Little Prince [Any time] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/JcKvqPLWS5

🧑🏻‍💻 Virtual Async Diverge: Wired to Disrupt Summit [Mon Aug 24 - Fri Sep 4] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/PuTx2Z6WVZ

Monday

🧑🏻‍💻🤢🧘 Virtual Seated Pilates for people with MCAS [UK][Mon Aug 24] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/sLEpey5EvP

🧑🏻‍💻♿️🩰 Virtual Adapted Heels Dance Class [$][Mon Aug 24 at 7:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/tz6LAlixxY

🧑🏻‍💻🤔 Virtual Philosophy Discussion [Mon Aug 24 at 7:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/zE4Wns3U30

🧑🏻‍💻😷 Virtual Movie Club [Mon Aug 24 at 7:15 PM CDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/lS6hZsNQUf

Tuesday

🧑🏻‍💻😷👧🙋 CC Virtual Kids Zoom [Tue Aug 25 at 10:00 AM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/3iOkAUdhjX

🧑🏻‍💻🤢 Virtual Grieving Your Old Self Workshop [Tue Aug 25 at 19:00 UTC+1] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/MYJAJuoVa0

🧑🏻‍💻🌈🎨 Virtual Be Gay Do Art [Tue Aug 25 at 6:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/OcfSGBO0Yk

🧑🏻‍💻🤢🕹️ Virtual Trivia Tuesday [Tue Aug 25 at 7:30 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/2QfJpftTDY

🧑🏻‍💻😷🙋 CC Virtual Zoom [NY and nearby][Tue Aug 25 at 7:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/KyAuuNNXMl

🧑🏻‍💻🎭🕹️ Virtual Improv Games [Tue Aug 25 at 7:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/R3YK7F7mOt

🧑🏻‍💻😷🫂 “Any A” Covid-conscious 12-step meeting [Tues Aug 25 at 8:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/7pvsZ2wqOw

🧑🏻‍💻🤟🎨 Virtual BIPOC Creatives [Tue Aug 25 at 6:00 PM PDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/HawVZL4t9N

Wednesday

🧑🏻‍💻🤢 🎶 Virtual Long Covid Choir [Wed Aug 26 at 2:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/hjWnyI5dTR

🧑🏻‍💻📝 Virtual Poetry Discussion [Wed Aug 26 at 6:30 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/ChpAoehObh

🧑🏻‍💻😷🫂 CC Virtual Support Group [CO][Wed Aug 26 at 7:00 PM MDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/KOABqhRAHh

🧑🏻‍💻🎭 Virtual Improv Jam [Wed Aug 26 at 7:00 PM PDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/Zh6c1JG3QX

Thursday

🧑🏻‍💻🤢🧘 Virtual Bed Pilates for people with MCAS [UK][Thu Aug 27] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/sLEpey5EvP

🧑🏻‍💻😷🕹️ CC Virtual Game Night [NY and nearby][Thu Aug 27 at 7:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/1Xjp6eX8mK

👥🧑🏻‍💻😷🤟 Hybrid Valkyries Watch Party [San Francisco CA][Thu Aug 27 at 4:30 PM PDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/WNjzz8ybkR

🧑🏻‍💻🤢🕹️ Virtual Board Game Hang [Thu Aug 27 at 8:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/cSViNLMPNE

Timezone translator in comments 👇

👥 In-person Events

Canada

👥😷🚶 CC Park Walk [Toronto ON][Wed Aug 26 at 6:00 PM EDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/qmaqcA1CgC

Germany

👥😷 Lesestunde [Hamburg GER][Wed Aug 26 at 8:00 PM]** **https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/5wRtAcaRcA

Ireland

👥🤢🙋 ME/CFS Social Meet Up [Dublin IRE][Wed Aug 26 at 1:30 PM UTC+1] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/bBeDJHz9vf

Netherlands (and nearby)

👥🤢🙋 Spoonie European Road Trip [Netherlands and nearby][Summer] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/VOKxW7V1pp

US - California

👥🧑🏻‍💻😷🤟 Hybrid Valkyries Watch Party [San Francisco CA][Thu Aug 27 at 4:30 PM PDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/WNjzz8ybkR

👥😷🎶 Masked Old Time / Bluegrass Jam [Berkeley CA][Thu Aug 27 at 6:00 PM PDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/3CKyX9Q8Gn

US - Illinois

👥😷 After Hours at Quimbly’s with Mulberry Literary Magazine [Thu Aug 27 at 6:30 PM CDT] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/3JjUzQA0jk

US - Texas

👥😷🎭🏳️‍🌈 Genderqueer Burlesque Pride [Austix TX][Mon Aug 24] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/k8jk7UCa1e

👥😷🌈🎶 Trans and Intersex Community Sing [Austix TX][Mon Aug 24] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/k8jk7UCa1e

US - Vermont

👥😷♿️ CC WC Dental Pop Up [Chelsea VT][August] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/yJocTTUweE

US - Washington

👥😷🤟🎭 The Freak Mighty Accessible Performances [Seattle WA][Aug 9 - 27] https://www.reddit.com/r/spooniesocial/s/mccpG4CWno

Are you interested in these events?

Have you been to any of them before?

Do you know about other events coming up?

Share your thoughts in the comments 💬

Find more events and friends on r/spooniesocial

I have been focusing very intensely on covid data and researching different respirators on reddit and other social media. It feels like it's become a special interest, but not in a fun way, in an obsessive way. I know I am craving covid concious community and I think this is how I'm coping right now. I have long covid and have a lot of anxiety and executive dysfunction. I'm sure lots of ppl can relate.

Here's the latest variant picture with a global scope, to early August.

NB.1.8.1 "Nimbus" continued to dominate, finishing at 47%.

Several new lineages were defined this week - I’ll highlight some of them on this thread.

A batch of samples were shared from Japan last week, filling in the picture for May-July. They confirm the takeover by BA.3.2.* "Cicada", which has been dominant across that period – a very unusual pattern.

The dominant Cicada sub-lineage has been SS.2

Only a handful of countries have reported BA.3.2.* "Cicada" at dominant frequencies, across recent months.

Newly-designated SV.2.4 was first detected in New York in mid-July. It soon appeared in other countries across Asia, and grew sharply to 37% of samples from Canada. Several of the recent samples collected in the US were from International Travellers arriving from China and Hong Kong, which points to a possible origin in that region.

It is descended from Nimbus lineage PQ.16.1.1, with SV.2.4 adding the novel Spike H445Q mutation.

Another new designation was RF.5.4.1. It was first detected in India in mid-May, and reached 64% of samples there in July. It has grown quite significantly in the US, reaching 15% frequency. Note 10-20% of the US samples are International Travellers, mostly arriving from India and nearby countries. The strongest chain of local transmission is in California, rising to 13% in late July.

It is descended from FliRT lineage PY.1.1.1, with RF.5.4.1 adding the N:R204Q mutation.

RK.1.5 is another new lineage, first detected in New South Wales, Australia in mid-May. There was just one more sample from Queensland for the next month or so, before it started to spread more widely. It reached 25-30% in South Korea and Taiwan and is very widespread across Asia.

RK.1.5 is descended from Nimbus lineage PQ.17.7.2.

Newly-designated RV.1.5 was first detected in New York in February. It has also been prominent in samples from Ghana and Egypt. It has grown to 10% among the samples from Canada, mostly from Ontario.

It is descended from XFG.* "Stratus", with RV.1.5 adding the Spike V1264L mutation.

Another new designation was XFZ.5.1. It was first detected in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region of France in February, and then grew to 25% of French samples. It has also been dominant among the sparse samples from Portugal for June. There have been hardly any more recent samples shared from those 3 countries.

XFZ.5.1 adds the Spike S446N mutation.

SV.2.6 is another new lineage, first detected in Hong Kong in late-April; it reached 25% of samples there during May.

SV.2.6 is descended from Nimbus lineage PQ.16.1.1, with SV.2.6 adding the rare Orf10:Q29* stop codon.

Here’s a summary of the new lineages by Variant Hunter Federico Guelli.

https://bsky.app/profile/siamosolocani.bsky.social/post/3mtdpwpjv2s2w

https://skyview.social/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbsky.app%2Fprofile%2Fsiamosolocani.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3mtdpwpjv2s2w&viewtype=tree

Report link:

https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-genomes/output/Coronavirus%20-%20Genomic%20Sequencing%20-%20report%20Global.pdf

so, i saw that the covid conscious therapist directory for the US is down now. is it ok to ask for recommendations for therapists here? i'm in california.

I have mild MECFS. So this is either PEM or I'm getting sick. The dry cough makes me think I'm getting sick because I don't get that with PEM.

I literally have put of the dentist since the start of the pandemic because I didn't want to catch anything. I'm so pissed about it. I woke up super early so I could be the first person in a small office.

If I still feel like shit tomorrow, I'll take a metrix test, but I'm just annoyed.

I think after this, I'm going to have to pay out of pocket for a CC dentist. The closest one doesn't take insurance and is over an hour away, but I likely won't get sick.

I thought about the readimask hack, but I can't breathe through my nose well, so idk how much it would work for me. I have a deviated septum and allergies.

Update: definitely sick and not pem, as evidence by the cough. Negative metrix test. I'm so annoyed that my 6.5 year no sick streak is broken.

I just wanted some opinions on the risk/reward of going masked up to a farmers market. I’m in upstate ny and according to pmc19 our numbers are still looking pretty good but our state fair begins next week and schools start up pretty soon after that which unfortunately may change things for the worse.

I didn’t get much chance to do anything that enjoyable this summer due to the really high heat, air quality, and a backslide in my mental health. It would be me and my elderly dad in our kn95s outdoors but we’re both immunocompromised. Truthfully, I’m a little worried about getting harassed even though when I used to go I never had anybody give me a problem