One Year since WHO's COVID tweet

[danwasd Pronounsthey/them]

So it's been, officially, more than a year 

Discuss your experience, hope that you are all safe and healthy and as Gags herself said

Edited January 5, 2021 by danwasd

[little legend]

[danwasd Pronounsthey/them]

3 minutes ago, little legend said:

It's a virus, not a cockroach 

[little legend]

2 minutes ago, danwasd said:

It's a virus, not a cockroach 

Spoiler

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by little legend

[lavenderblondee PronounsShe/her]

So many things from this moment.

All the memes people were making back in December 2019 about how they want the roaring 20's back but not the plague that came with each 20's moment  

All the people who made fun of me for being cautious back in early March when my state only had like 5 known cases (safe to say at that point though it was still in the thousands and thousands) and those people are now the ones who don't even leave their house to grocery shop.

I had covid back in November and I'm thankful I had mild symptoms. I'm actually shocked I made it as long as I did since I work with the public and no one likes to wear a mask in my office. 

I thankfully haven't lost people due to covid, but I still have lost important things in my life such as being able to participate in my hobbies/places I cherish that are no longer reopening. It's heavy on all of us in some capacity.

My only hope is that we can BEGIN to regain some sense of normalcy beginning later this year and that by the end of 2021/start of 2022 we're mostly back to normal~. I hope that we never take for granted a packed bar/restaurant, or being able to be around people without masks. I really need summer to pull through this year 

[danwasd Pronounsthey/them]

10 minutes ago, lavenderblondee said:

So many things from this moment.

All the memes people were making back in December 2019 about how they want the roaring 20's back but not the plague that came with each 20's moment  

All the people who made fun of me for being cautious back in early March when my state only had like 5 known cases (safe to say at that point though it was still in the thousands and thousands) and those people are now the ones who don't even leave their house to grocery shop.

I had covid back in November and I'm thankful I had mild symptoms. I'm actually shocked I made it as long as I did since I work with the public and no one likes to wear a mask in my office. 

I thankfully haven't lost people due to covid, but I still have lost important things in my life such as being able to participate in my hobbies/places I cherish that are no longer reopening. It's heavy on all of us in some capacity.

My only hope is that we can BEGIN to regain some sense of normalcy beginning later this year and that by the end of 2021/start of 2022 we're mostly back to normal~. I hope that we never take for granted a packed bar/restaurant, or being able to be around people without masks. I really need summer to pull through this year 

You don't know how much I understand you... I miss like crazy being able to feel confortable in crowded places. Literally the other day I left a café because I felt there was to many people around me, even though there wasn't at all 

[Gone]

23 minutes ago, lavenderblondee said:

So many things from this moment.

All the memes people were making back in December 2019 about how they want the roaring 20's back but not the plague that came with each 20's moment  

All the people who made fun of me for being cautious back in early March when my state only had like 5 known cases (safe to say at that point though it was still in the thousands and thousands) and those people are now the ones who don't even leave their house to grocery shop.

I had covid back in November and I'm thankful I had mild symptoms. I'm actually shocked I made it as long as I did since I work with the public and no one likes to wear a mask in my office. 

I thankfully haven't lost people due to covid, but I still have lost important things in my life such as being able to participate in my hobbies/places I cherish that are no longer reopening. It's heavy on all of us in some capacity.

My only hope is that we can BEGIN to regain some sense of normalcy beginning later this year and that by the end of 2021/start of 2022 we're mostly back to normal~. I hope that we never take for granted a packed bar/restaurant, or being able to be around people without masks. I really need summer to pull through this year 

F*** this ptsd trip! 

[Dean Judaster]

We had a patient from China around this time last year but he wasn't from Wuhan nor was he sick with respiratory symptoms. Still, it wasn't until February that people would pay attention.

That said, I'm getting my second dose of vaccine today!

[lavenderblondee PronounsShe/her]

1 hour ago, danwasd said:

You don't know how much I understand you... I miss like crazy being able to feel confortable in crowded places. Literally the other day I left a café because I felt there was to many people around me, even though there wasn't at all 

Isn't it weird? I am so used to being in crowded places, it's going to take some time to adjust once it happens again. Work is accumulating me to it, but it's still weird and feels foreign 

[danwasd Pronounsthey/them]

1 hour ago, DeanClownchester said:

We had a patient from China around this time last year but he wasn't from Wuhan nor was he sick with respiratory symptoms. Still, it wasn't until February that people would pay attention.

That said, I'm getting my second dose of vaccine today!

Enjoy your immunity 

[Battle For Your Life Pronounshe/him]

It was such a surreal moment in history. It makes me emotional that so many lives were lost because of this pandemic (and it will keep doing so for many more months). Healthcare workers had to sacrifice themselves to save people yet some still refused to mask up. 2020 was a year where you can see those who are selfish and those who aren't. I am thankful and grateful I made it this far (and I hope I don't jinx it ). I am thankful that none of the people I love caught the virus. 2020 was a humbling year. COVID-19 is already a highlight in this decade.

Edited January 5, 2021 by Daylight Oreos

[Franch Toast PronounsShe/her/hers]

This time last year, I was on a cruise with my family (I personally am not the cruising type, but it was to please my parents), and just before then, I'd been in Vegas for a couple of Gaga shows. Now, I sit here cringing at the travel I was doing while covid was already out there. My stepdad got really sick on our cruise, and then so did my sister, and the symptoms match covid to a tee; we are wondering if they got it back then. 

Anyway, the last travel I did was late February (for work), and even though covid wasn't yet confirmed in my state, I wore a mask in the airport and on the plane, only taking it off to eat or drink. I was the only non-Asian person in the airport with a mask. I remember on my work trip, which was to a certain university, how faculty members were discussing that they might have to cancel summer programs they had in China. 

When I came back from that trip, I had a few medical appointments, and I remember wanting to wear a mask to one of them, but I was afraid I would be reprimanded for taking PPE away from medical professionals, so I didn't, but I had to ask the doctor NOT to shake my hand and to keep his distance. I was supposed to have an endoscopy to check for GERD on March 17. The facility assured me it would be safe, but I wasn't so sure. Meanwhile, I made the choice to stop participating in group exercise classes on March 12. On March 16, I got the phone call that my endoscopy was cancelled, as it was a non-emergency procedure. (I still haven't done it because it's really not an emergency, and I would at least like to wait until our numbers are better here.) From mid-March through the end of May, the only time I left the house was to ride in the car to get a break from being homebound, or to pick up takeout. All groceries were delivered. When I did visit a grocery store again in June, I was shocked the first time to see all the arrows designating one-way aisles and stickers on the floor telling people to stand six feet apart. I dressed like I was going into a war zone, and when I came home, I put every single item of clothing in the laundry and then jumped in the shower. 

Now that we have a better sense of how the virus is transmitted, and the efficacy of masks, I am not so paranoid when I go to the store. I still clean the groceries, but I don't change my clothes when I come home, and I go to the store now, though we also occasionally use delivery. 

I am fortunate that I work remotely anyway. Alas, the pandemic hit during a transitionary period in my life, and I am riding it out with my parents. I am glad to be here for them, especially as my mom had some health problems last month, but I am also eager for the pandemic to move on so that I can get on with my life. 

I haven't lost anyone to covid, knock on wood, but it has impacted us in other ways. My sister's husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer the day before American Thanksgiving, and due to the pandemic, those of us who would like to visit him can't. Meanwhile, he was briefly hospitalized, and he wasn't allowed any visitors in the hospital. As such, he doesn't want to go back to the hospital even if needed. We still don't know if he'll be taking the chemo or hospice route, and if the latter, I know that many family members would like to see him in person to say goodbye, but we don't want to risk spreading covid to him or vice-versa. It really, really sucks. 

[NotDoctor PronounsHe/they]

It's so wild to think of where we were then and where we are now.  I went to Disney World at the end of February and I remember seeing a few people wearing masks in the airport and my husband and I remarking how ridiculous it was At that point most medical professionals we knew were insisting that they weren't a big deal but man were we wrong

The people who live around me (suburbs of Philly) have been pretty terrible about keeping distance and wearing masks so I basically haven't done anything in the better part of a year.  I think I've gone to a grocery store like 5 times since March but even then I only went after 11 PM on a Sunday when there would be like no one there.  As stuff has kicked up again, I'm back to staying away.  Haven't been inside another building.  No shopping, no restaurants, no nothing.  My entire family lives in another state and it kills me not being able to see them but I'd rather none of us get COVID or die.  My dad got COVID a few weeks ago and was completely asymptomatic but I'm still pretty p*ssed at him that he let his guard down at all.

I'm high risk but my husband and I are both able to work remotely.  I was temporarily laid off in March for 2 weeks but we are very lucky.  My husband works for a hospital system and just got his first vaccine so I'm pretty relieved about that.  With the way PA is dolling out their vaccines, I don't think it'll be too long until I can get mine too.

20 minutes ago, Franch Toast said:

This time last year, I was on a cruise with my family (I personally am not the cruising type, but it was to please my parents), and just before then, I'd been in Vegas for a couple of Gaga shows. Now, I sit here cringing at the travel I was doing while covid was already out there. My stepdad got really sick on our cruise, and then so did my sister, and the symptoms match covid to a tee; we are wondering if they got it back then. 

Anyway, the last travel I did was late February (for work), and even though covid wasn't yet confirmed in my state, I wore a mask in the airport and on the plane, only taking it off to eat or drink. I was the only non-Asian person in the airport with a mask. I remember on my work trip, which was to a certain university, how faculty members were discussing that they might have to cancel summer programs they had in China. 

When I came back from that trip, I had a few medical appointments, and I remember wanting to wear a mask to one of them, but I was afraid I would be reprimanded for taking PPE away from medical professionals, so I didn't, but I had to ask the doctor NOT to shake my hand and to keep his distance. I was supposed to have an endoscopy to check for GERD on March 17. The facility assured me it would be safe, but I wasn't so sure. Meanwhile, I made the choice to stop participating in group exercise classes on March 12. On March 16, I got the phone call that my endoscopy was cancelled, as it was a non-emergency procedure. (I still haven't done it because it's really not an emergency, and I would at least like to wait until our numbers are better here.) From mid-March through the end of May, the only time I left the house was to ride in the car to get a break from being homebound, or to pick up takeout. All groceries were delivered. When I did visit a grocery store again in June, I was shocked the first time to see all the arrows designating one-way aisles and stickers on the floor telling people to stand six feet apart. I dressed like I was going into a war zone, and when I came home, I put every single item of clothing in the laundry and then jumped in the shower. 

Now that we have a better sense of how the virus is transmitted, and the efficacy of masks, I am not so paranoid when I go to the store. I still clean the groceries, but I don't change my clothes when I come home, and I go to the store now, though we also occasionally use delivery. 

I am fortunate that I work remotely anyway. Alas, the pandemic hit during a transitionary period in my life, and I am riding it out with my parents. I am glad to be here for them, especially as my mom had some health problems last month, but I am also eager for the pandemic to move on so that I can get on with my life. 

I haven't lost anyone to covid, knock on wood, but it has impacted us in other ways. My sister's husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer the day before American Thanksgiving, and due to the pandemic, those of us who would like to visit him can't. Meanwhile, he was briefly hospitalized, and he wasn't allowed any visitors in the hospital. As such, he doesn't want to go back to the hospital even if needed. We still don't know if he'll be taking the chemo or hospice route, and if the latter, I know that many family members would like to see him in person to say goodbye, but we don't want to risk spreading covid to him or vice-versa. It really, really sucks. 

I am so sorry about your brother-in-law.  I had a family member dealing with stage 4 cancer up until 2018 and I know how important it was for us to be able to be with her in the hospital and physically being with her at home.  I can't even imagine how hard that has to be.

Having to put your life on hold really sucks and I'm sorry you have to deal with that too

Edited January 5, 2021 by NotDoctor

[StormPulse Pronounshe/him]

My mom is part of the Pfizer trial, she'll find out soon whether or not she got the vaccine or the placebo. If she got the placebo she'll then be able to get the vaccine for being a member of the trial.

[danwasd Pronounsthey/them]

1 hour ago, StormPulse said:

My mom is part of the Pfizer trial, she'll find out soon whether or not she got the vaccine or the placebo. If she got the placebo she'll then be able to get the vaccine for being a member of the trial.

Oh wow that's historic 

[admin Pronounshe/him]

Truly wild what has happened over the past year and that we're at yet another crisis moment around much of the world with cases spiraling out of control, despite the vaccine roll out.

I've been of the most fortunate this past year since I kept my job, worked from home and eventually built a cute bubble of close friends and family. Only three friends of mine have contracted it (mild to asymptomatic) and none of my close family. 

I sorely miss going to events, going out with friends, dating for real and traveling. Let's hope all of these things return by the end of the year (or better yet, in time to go the Chromatica Ball )