To Vaccinate or Not---The Rat Flu Odyssey Continues

[babybear]

I did that last season and got shit from an employee at Canyons. I had to walk under a rope when it was low tide and walk on dirt to a tree and the little prick still took my pass info and gave me a warning about going out of bounds.

I don't usually condone violence, but you probably should have slapped that kid

[Nobody Famous]

A friend of mine and his family who live in town, and who I have invited to my house for X-mas dinner, will be traveling from SLC to NY on Dec. 18, then to Toronto on Dec. 20, then back to SLC on 12/24. I think that I may cancel. OTOH, they will all need to pass a COVID test w/in 24hrs. of returning to the USA, and my son works at a very busy local bar 5 days/wk, and he will be dining with us.

The least risky thing to do is cancel. Seems you already know this.

Other notes:
1) I will return to last year's protocol and wear a mask when skiing;
2) On Wednesday, my sister's in-laws, who live in Germany and are in their late '80s, finally received their first vax. On Friday, both were diagnosed with COVID. My bro-in-law's bro., who is an anti-vaxxer, is blaming the vax for the diagnosis. They are doing very poorly and they can't receive hospital treatment because of overcrowding. +++VIBES+++

1) I'm expecting to do the same. Really don't want to but what's more important, skiing without a mask or one's long term health and well being. My reminder of why:
I was walking on a sidewalk in a retail shopping area this weekend. It was a sunny clear day, no wind. Three high school aged girls passed me walking in the opposite direction. After I got a few feet beyond I could smell their perfume. If you can smell airborne perfume particles then certainly exhaled respiratory particles are in the mix, but you can't smell exhaled respiratory particles.

2) Your bro-in-law's bro's head-up-his-ass beliefs is the root cause of hospital overcrowding and no capacity to treat the late '80s in-laws. Vibes.

[muted reborn]

I don't usually condone violence, but you probably should have slapped that kid

Or peed on his leg.

[dunfree]

Marking territory?

[John_B]

Marking territory?

Establishing dominance.

[schwerty]

Much better after the antibody infusion. Lungs are still tight when I wake up, but after meds they feel mostly normal.

I felt like shit for a solid week. Can't imagine what it would have been like if I wasn't vaccinated.


I have to say, I pity the folks who aren't getting vaccinated. Whether you're latched on to some conspiracy theory, or compelled by a deep need to demonstrate some sociocultural affiliation, it's a steep price to pay. It's a fascinating, but depressing example of our human capacity to dismiss the obvious in a vain effort to preserve a fragile sense of self or belonging. I hope you fuckers don't die.

Great to hear!

I’ve been asthmatic for 45 years or so and go figure have been kinda freaked out about Covid, (lost my dad to the shit a year ago too).


Do you take a daily steroid control med? Just curious. I only use ventolin inhalers as needed. had a physical last week and my doc mentioned Covid hasn’t been hitting folks with asthma that hard, (unless the patient is in immunosuppressive drugs), as the disease affects the small air sacs more so than the bronchial tubes. I believe him but thought it was interesting to hear you really had trouble. Heard it from others too. I’d rather avoid it but doesn’t sound like that’s an option unless I hide in a hole for the rest of my days.

Sounds like you’re gonna clear the infection fine! That’s awesome!

I’m still pretty damn careful these days, even after being PFE boosted. One good thing about always masking….can’t smell farts. Crop dusting at the grocery store isn’t as fun though.

[klauss]

...One good thing about always masking….can’t smell farts. Crop dusting at the grocery store isn’t as fun though.

That's why I can't support the use of masks. nothing like the smell of freedom waltzing around walmart

[bobz]

Shouldn't make much of a difference with farts, whose odors are carried as gas rather than tiny particles. Hey, we're starting to tackle the big issues here.

And really glad to hear of your improvement, Black Diamonds. Super glad you're vaccinated; as you imply, might not have gone so well otherwise.

[jono]

That's why I can't support the use of masks. nothing like the smell of freedom waltzing around walmart

The people of Wal-Mart still appreciate your contributions, whether they've gone dick-nose or just skipped it.

My wife was a little offended last Wednesday when an unmasked friend of ours saw her masked at Wal-Mart, turned quickly and headed the other way. I tried to console her with the fact that half the effectiveness probably comes from scaring off the covidiots. By astonishing coincidence, yesterday our friend announced she'd tested positive, along with her husband. Not having a good time, asking for prayers, the whole deal. Both about 70ish, moved here for the freedumb, staying for the cold showers, Ivermectin and vitamin D overdoses.

[riser4]

Masks made me realize I needed to up my dental hygiene game.

[skaredshtles]

By astonishing coincidence, yesterday our friend announced she'd tested positive, along with her husband. Not having a good time, asking for prayers, the whole deal. Both about 70ish, moved here for the freedumb, staying for the cold showers, Ivermectin and vitamin D overdoses.

I am *stunned* by this turn of events. Who ever could have predicted?

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Do you take a daily steroid control med? Just curious. I only use ventolin inhalers as needed. had a physical last week and my doc mentioned Covid hasn’t been hitting folks with asthma that hard, (unless the patient is in immunosuppressive drugs), as the disease affects the small air sacs more so than the bronchial tubes. I believe him but thought it was interesting to hear you really had trouble. Heard it from others too. I’d rather avoid it but doesn’t sound like that’s an option unless I hide in a hole for the rest of my days.

Yeah, I take Advair and it works great for me. I don't use the Ventolin much at all if I'm not sick. But when I get a cold my asthma goes into overdrive. And a cold too often turns into bronchitis.

[bodywhomper]

My thought is that perfume is a gas, too.

Don’t you all just piss in your ski pants? It’s almost like when your wearing a wetsuit especially on those soaking wet sleet days. Also, it’s a good conversation starter when you do it on a chairlift and riding next to a stranger.

[jono]

I am *stunned* by this turn of events. Who ever could have predicted?

Certainly expected eventually, but the timing is entirely too perfect. Had to be damn near peak contagiousness that day. Hopefully I can thank her sometime when it won't seem sarcastic.

[bennymac]

Ivermectin and vitamin D overdoses.

I've tested negative for sympathy for these people at this point in the pandemic.

But can we not lump Ivermectin and Vitamin D together? - sure overdosing on any vitamin is dumb, wasteful, sometimes bad for your health etc.

But there is evidence that supplementing with a regular daily dose of Vitamin D could have protective effects against bad outcomes (it does not prevent infection of course)

vs ivermectin which sounds like an idea someone made up as a prank to see if it would go viral

[jono]

If you check more carefully I think you'll agree they're actually pretty alike: if you need either one you should absolutely get it, and it makes a big difference. Other people aren't going to benefit much.

[The AD]

Don’t you all just piss in your ski pants? It’s almost like when your wearing a wetsuit especially on those soaking wet sleet days. Also, it’s a good conversation starter when you do it on a chairlift and riding next to a stranger.

Sounds like a great idea, except my boots are probably already smelly enough...

[bobz]

Every MD I've done annual checkups with for quite a number of years has recommended D3 supplementation well above the official RDA, and more than once my battery of lab tests included checking to be sure I was getting plenty. Definitely not crackpot stuff, and Covid being around is all the more reason to take it. Of course, talking about D as an alternative to taking what has proven to be a remarkably effective vaccine to prevent a horrible disease is idiotic.

[bennymac]

If you check more carefully I think you'll agree they're actually pretty alike: if you need either one you should absolutely get it, and it makes a big difference. Other people aren't going to benefit much.

you could say that about anything if you keep it vague enough

[LongShortLong]

Yeah, I don’t really get all of the fear 2 years into it with widespread availability of multiple vaccines that do pretty damn good job. What are the chances of a fully vaccinated person having serious problems? Basically zero. Maybe I’m in the minority but I don’t really know anyone who is worried about Covid anymore.

For me personally, it's the definition of serious problems. Even the minor problems are incompatible with skiing. For me socially, I don't want to be part of spreading it to others. Hypothetically, say everyone is vaccinated, reducing the death rate by 90%. That's still 60,000 dead Americans per year. "Pretty damn good" isn't good enough. Ofc, deaths are currently way higher. I agree the excess is mostly confused (unvaxxed) people dying, but I'm not ok with that either.

And then there's the morbidity question, that I haven't seen definitively addressed. What percent of the infected are suffering symptoms 6 months out? Those are likely permanent. Sounds like there's a fair bit of brain damage, lung damage, and other organ difficulties. For a society that vaxxes against polio to protect 0.5% from paralysis, it seems we ought to be more careful about Covid.

It's possible I'm missing something, but that's how I see Covid, and why we must do more to stop it.

[bodywhomper]

Well, if you drop trough at the ski hill to piss on a sunny day, might as well do it in a sunny spot, laydown for a minute on you back and soak your glorious perineum in the rays (skis still on), while eating a snack, hydrating, and puffing a little bowl. Increase wintertime vitamin D and feel pretty damn good afterwards.

[bodywhomper]

Sounds like a great idea, except my boots are probably already smelly enough...

It could be an improvement. Especially with asparagus

[jono]

you could say that about anything if you keep it vague enough

I wasn't vague, though, I was talking specifically about Ivermectin. It looks very much like having worms at the same time makes you extra susceptible to bad outcomes with COVID--not unlike vitamin D. (See huckbucket's link a few days back, IMS.)

Of course both can also provide "miracle cure" data if misinterpreted (or faked) but that's kind of a separate problem.

[bennymac]

If you check more carefully I think you'll agree they're actually pretty alike: if you need either one you should absolutely get it, and it makes a big difference. Other people aren't going to benefit much.

with vitamin D deficiency we are talking about 25-40% of the US population that would benefit from supplementation and the risk of that treatment is next to nothing.

I don't think your post proves it's "actually pretty alike" ivermectin in any significant or helpful way

[jono]

with vitamin D deficiency we are talking about 25-40% of the US population that would benefit from supplementation and the risk of that treatment is next to nothing.

I don't think your post proves it's "actually pretty alike" ivermectin in any significant or helpful way

I do love a good proof, but I won't even start without that 3-dot triangle thing. Keyboard is useless. My point was that, despite the meme status, Ivermectin is sometimes more helpful than it gets credit for. But it snot ending the pandemic, despite being very impactful on occasion. Reminds me of some vitamin someone mentioned.

Sadly, I also listed the cold showers, and obviously those are still sulking in a corner, wondering why no one cares. Why is no one talking about why no one is talking about the total lack of conversation around hydrotherapy? Huh?