Coronavirus - how is it/has it affected you?

[Mudball]

So what’s the latest on Covid. After many months of avoiding going to London, I got onto public transport and went to meet a client (because they insisted in returning to normal). One of my colleagues had just recovered from Covid last week. So all sat in the same meeting. Got caught in a few April showers. Got home and had a cold next day. I thought that was because of the rain.. progressively had some cough last night chills. No fever or loss of taste. Been drinking Lemsip once a day.

LFT has been negative everytime. Today the Mrs asked me to go and get a PCR. I realise that PCR is no longer free in England!! Why? Neither are LFTs? Why? These were first line of defence and now they are gone. Why do the Scots and Welsh have it free? What was the logic to remove these?

More importantly why are LFTs no longer recording an infection?

 

[chellie]

So what’s the latest on Covid. After many months of avoiding going to London, I got onto public transport and went to meet a client (because they insisted in returning to normal). One of my colleagues had just recovered from Covid last week. So all sat in the same meeting. Got caught in a few April showers. Got home and had a cold next day. I thought that was because of the rain.. progressively had some cough last night chills. No fever or loss of taste. Been drinking Lemsip once a day.

LFT has been negative everytime. Today the Mrs asked me to go and get a PCR. I realise that PCR is no longer free in England!! Why? Neither are LFTs? Why? These were first line of defence and now they are gone. Why do the Scots and Welsh have it free? What was the logic to remove these?

More importantly why are LFTs no longer recording an infection?

So if you've negative LFT's surely you've only got a cold.

 

[Mudball]

So if you've negative LFT's surely you've only got a cold.

Apparently it is not confirmatory these days.. PCR only way to go. Mrs seeing more such cases in her clinic … I think I have a cold, she thinks otherwise… either way, I am now locked away and looking fwd to peacefully watching the Masters Sunday

 

[chellie]

Apparently it is not confirmatory these days.. PCR only way to go. Mrs seeing more such cases in her clinic … I think I have a cold, she thinks otherwise… either way, I am now locked away and looking fwd to peacefully watching the Masters Sunday

Well, all care homes and domiciliary care are still using LFT's to see if they are positive....

 

[Ethan]

Well, all care homes and domiciliary care are still using LFT's to see if they are positive....

The policy departed from science some time ago. If an LFT is positive, you have Covid (high sensitivity), but if it is negative, less certain that you don't (moderate specificity).

 

[drdel]

In a busy supermarket yesterday, I and a few others wearing masks but the vast majority not bothered. Its still causing infestations: if slowly declining. How about the rest of you, wearing or not ?

 

[clubchamp98]

In a busy supermarket yesterday, I and a few others wearing masks but the vast majority not bothered. Its still causing infestations: if slowly declining. How about the rest of you, wearing or not ?

Must admit I don’t.
Can’t see a thing without my glasses.
Can’t see a thing if I wear glasses and a mask.

 

[Mudball]

The policy departed from science some time ago. If an LFT is positive, you have Covid (high sensitivity), but if it is negative, less certain that you don't (moderate specificity).

Understandable from a statistical pov. Is there a new strain that is not being picked by LFT … alternatively (as per HiDs hypothesis)…. Her clinical staff was going negative for a few days while they had cold and other milder symptoms.. then bam, suddenly positive

 

[Ethan]

Understandable from a statistical pov. Is there a new strain that is not being picked by LFT … alternatively (as per HiDs hypothesis)…. Her clinical staff was going negative for a few days while they had cold and other milder symptoms.. then bam, suddenly positive

There are new strains of omicron around, differences relatively subtle. Symptom profile appears to have changed a bit, more overlap with a cold now, so that doesn't help sorting them out.

 

[theoneandonly]

In a busy supermarket yesterday, I and a few others wearing masks but the vast majority not bothered. Its still causing infestations: if slowly declining. How about the rest of you, wearing or not ?

No stopped wearing as soon as the rules changed. Don't really see the point anymore.

 

[SocketRocket]

No stopped wearing as soon as the rules changed. Don't really see the point anymore.

Reducing the chance of catching or passing on Covid. Nothings changed in that respect.

 

[SocketRocket]

In a busy supermarket yesterday, I and a few others wearing masks but the vast majority not bothered. Its still causing infestations: if slowly declining. How about the rest of you, wearing or not ?

I was in a shop yesterday and a Woman who looked as if she was 80+ was in the queue behind me with no mask on, She moved up very close to me and I said " You shouldn't get too close, I may have Covid". Her reply was "I won't catch it as you're wearing a mask" ?

 

[Billysboots]

In a busy supermarket yesterday, I and a few others wearing masks but the vast majority not bothered. Its still causing infestations: if slowly declining. How about the rest of you, wearing or not ?

Depends. If I’m inside and a good number of others are wearing them then I will. If few or no people are wearing them then I won’t bother - absolutely pointless being the only person in an indoor setting wearing a face covering.

 

[SatchFan]

I'm still wearing a mask and still social distancing. I shop at Sainsbury's first thing in the morning so there's never more than three customers in the store and should I venture out to other shops and they are busy the I will come back later. Big advantage being retired so I can pick and choose my moment. No doubt COVID will get me eventually but the longer I can hang on the better.

 

[Foxholer]

Depends. If I’m inside and a good number of others are wearing them then I will. If few or no people are wearing them then I won’t bother - absolutely pointless being the only person in an indoor setting wearing a face covering.

H'mm. There's a fairly solid argument that, commitment to 'natural immunity' aside, the above environment is precisely the one where masking up properly does protect you allowing the non-maskers perform the 'natural immunity' policy. That said, if a more dangerous variant arrives, it could be an advantage to have 'natural antibodies' as a defence!

 

[Backache]

The policy departed from science some time ago. If an LFT is positive, you have Covid (high sensitivity), but if it is negative, less certain that you don't (moderate specificity).

Think you have your sensitivity and specificity the wrong way round.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Yes we are still wearing when in shops or if pavement is busy, irrespective of what others are doing. Do have a bit of an issue at the club as mask wearing seems to have been completely abandoned in the clubhouse for when moving around and in general/public areas…would suggest that golfers know best/better.

 

[Ethan]

Think you have your sensitivity and specificity the wrong way round.

No, I don't.

Sensitivity is the probability that a positive test will occur in someone that has the disease. That is very high for LFTs, such that if you test positive, you really don't need a PCR.

Specificity is the probability that a negative test will occur in someone that does not. That is lower. Sensitivity and specificity are unaffected by prevalence.

The real problem, that some true cases get negative tests is captured better in the negative predictive value, which is prevalence-related, so at times of high prevalence, can be an issue.

 

[Slime]

In a busy supermarket yesterday, I and a few others wearing masks but the vast majority not bothered. Its still causing infestations: if slowly declining. How about the rest of you, wearing or not ?

I still wear in my local Sainsbury's, about 75% don't.

 

[Billysboots]

H'mm. There's a fairly solid argument that, commitment to 'natural immunity' aside, the above environment is precisely the one where masking up properly does protect you allowing the non-maskers perform the 'natural immunity' policy. That said, if a more dangerous variant arrives, it could be an advantage to have 'natural antibodies' as a defence!

Having had covid twice, and being triple jabbed, my immediate concern is not really myself, but other people. Which is why I have adopted the stance to mask wearing that I have. If the vast majority can’t be bothered, me not wearing one won’t really make a jot of difference.