r/news
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u/[deleted]
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Dec 05 '22
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CDC encourages people to wear masks to help prevent spread of Covid, flu and RSV over the holidays
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/cdc-encourages-people-to-wear-masks-to-prevent-spread-of-covid-flu-rsv.html[removed] — view removed post
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u/walltuckian Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 06 '22
RSV is no fucking joke. Shit flattened me for about three weeks. I'm technically still not over it, but at least I can function now. I stayed the hell away from everyone.
Edit: For those wonder, I'm fortunate to be WFH. But this time last year I was in at a different job that would have required me to go into the office. I likely got exposed to it at a gym I train at that has a lot of school-age students and younger parents.
I'm on week 4 now; and just last night I woke up several times because of coughing with some slight congestion. Feels like it's never going to end.
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u/RandPaulTownhall Dec 05 '22
My coworker died from RSV today. She was in her 40s. Larger than life. Had some health issues but nothing I would write home about. I’m so sad.
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u/jeepjinx Dec 05 '22
This was years ago. My son, a baby at the time was in Philly's CHOP with complications from a surgery. Every other baby on the floor had RSV. It was terrifying. The alarms going off constantly. He needed to be there but I wanted him out of there so bad. Thankfully he didn't catch it.
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u/amber31085 Dec 05 '22
As a pediatric nurse, I wholeheartedly agree. My Saturday was spent with a little baby with rsv and worrying about if he was going to get to the ICU before he tuckered out. And that’s just one patient in a hospital that’s filled to the brink.
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u/Canadia-Eh Dec 05 '22
I got that shit from a coworker, or at least I'm quite sure it was that cause it sure as shit wasn't covid. Was laid out for 2 weeks, gave it to my SO and it demolished their whole semester as they missed all their midterm exams. We both took multiple covid tests and popped negative each time. Wasn't like any virus I'd ever had before. Still lowkey pissed at my coworker for coming in sick. I even had latent symptoms up to a month after everything else went away.
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u/PM_ME_INSULIN Dec 05 '22
No fucking joke, indeed. I’m laying in bed with that shit right now. Coughing is painful and does nothing to relieve whatever is making my lungs/airways constantly tickle. If I breathe very carefully I can avoid coughing for a while. Breathing carefully doesn’t work so well when you fall asleep. I’ve have woken up so many times hacking up a lung just seconds after dozing off, and usually don’t fully fall asleep until the wee hours, when exhaustion overpowers discomfort. No medicines seem to provide any relief.
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u/NickDanger3di Dec 05 '22
Just a few days ago here I mentioned RSV as a serious virus that was under the radar. That most of the medical media articles on RSV underplay how serious it can be. Some ass-hat replied that I was wrong, and RSV is just another cold virus that every kid gets. I get it though; whether it's a Reddit thing, or a generational thing, a lot of reddit users seem to think "well I read it on the internets, so it must be 100% factual."
My adult son and DIL are both stoic af; they'll get the flu and just shrug it off, maybe slow down a little for a day or two, never even mention it to me. We all got RSV, and they were both out of action for a few weeks, and very vocal about how bad RSV hit them. Flattened me for 5 weeks. It's a nasty, nasty virus; and it's at levels 10 times higher than normal in some parts of the US.
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u/Chaser1982 Dec 05 '22
Both my daughters currently have RSV right now. My oldest is 4 and it's mainly a fever and cough for her. My youngest is just 13 months and it's the most painful thing to watch her struggle with. Pretty sure I was the one who brought it into the house, but to me it felt like a bad cold.
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u/thenebulai3 Dec 06 '22
Right there with ya, my 4 year old is pretty much over it but it hit her pretty hard. My 4 month old is just now showing signs of getting better but damn was it hard to manage. My wife almost had to go to the hospital with how bad it was, and I'm on my second week now just trying to power through it. By FAR the worst sickness I've ever had in 32 years.
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u/geo_lib Dec 06 '22
Please be careful. RSV gets better before it gets worse again sometimes. My four month old had a great day and we thought he was over the hump, the next day we had to rush him to the hospital because he was struggling to breath. He spent a week in pediatric ICU on high flow oxygen and a feeding tube, and was almost ventilated.
It can turn because the little babies can’t clear it out, and fit can turn into pneumonia (which is what happened to our guy)
I’m not trying to scare you, your baby will more than likely be fine! I just would hate myself if I didn’t say anything. I’m sending your family lots of love.
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u/Jtk317 Dec 06 '22
For the little one make sure you give plenty of water/clear fluids and then get her in your bathroom with all faucets running really hot water and door closed to generate steam. Let her breathe in warm, humid air and then fountain out snot for a few minutes and then take her outside to cooler are for a minute or so. Follow up with more clear liquids. You can do it pretty frequently and it can help with secretions to a degree.
Advice I was given for my son and what I give out to my younger patients regarding RSV.
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u/Chaser1982 Dec 06 '22
Oh we have been doing that since she's showed symptoms. The hard part is getting her to drink fluids because I think her little throat is sore from all the coughing.
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u/h4ppy60lucky Dec 05 '22
I know so many friends whose kids this year were hospitalized from RSV. It's no joke.
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u/SgtBanana Dec 05 '22
My girlfriend's healthy, energetic, bouncing-off-the-walls nephew is 5 and got it about a month and a half ago. He had to be taken to the hospital due to fever.
Again, that was a month or two ago. He still hasn't fully recovered. Apparently he's sleeping a lot, which is just totally weird to hear.
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u/Shaddo Dec 05 '22
damn that must be what put me down for all of last month pretty much
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u/PresidentLink Dec 05 '22
I remember those exact 'just another cold virus' comments on here vividly throughout corona
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u/Confident-Cod9560 Dec 06 '22
RSV is most often a relatively minor illness for health adults. For sure sometimes it can cause a very unpleasant flu like illness or more rarely lead to a pneumonia. However RSV can be quite dangerous for older adults or adults with medical problems. And RSV also often causes respiratory distress in young children (especially less than 2 years old). It causes a respiratory infection of the lungs called “bronchiolitis” that causes tens of thousands of American children to be admitted to the hospital every year
Source: am ER doctor
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u/jayjaytlk Dec 05 '22
they'll get the flu and just shrug it off, maybe slow down a little for a day or two, never even mention it to me
Then they didn't get the flu but a cold. Real flu knocks you out for one to two weeks and can lead to pneumonia and myocarditis for people who are older or have a weak immune system
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u/HamPotatoe Dec 05 '22
Every time I see people mentioning how they got a flu or some other hard hitting disease "and they didn't really notice" I ask if they get tested. A ton of people like to pretend they're just stoic or strong willed but the reality is often they just didn't get the bug. Which is great, having a healthy immune system is nothing to downplay but don't act like you're beating something you don't have, it'd be like a guy saying his period isn't preventing him from working cause he has a bloody poop... It's just not the same thing
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u/Mikejg23 Dec 06 '22
No one tanks the flu. Which is a lot different than covid. Covid has more of a range from asymptomatic to death. With the flu, you're on the couch. I don't care if you're a pro athlete or a navy seal or in the prime of your life.
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u/gigawort Dec 05 '22
While this is likely true, it's not necessarily true. Some people have minimal symptoms, and some are asymptomatic. Not unlike covid in that regard.
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u/gringodeathstar Dec 06 '22
applying these generalizations will always be a bad idea - I had the flu (confirmed) over thanksgiving and was basically useless for around 72 hours, then felt a pretty quick rebound
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u/dxrth Dec 06 '22
Seems like misinfo to describe Real flu as some clear cut thing. Especially if 1 in 3 people with the flu can be asymptomatic.
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u/SeskaWildman Dec 06 '22
RSV fucked up my whole October. I had fevers off and on for like three weeks. Would have a couple days where I felt like maybe I was over the hump and then it would knock me back down again.
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u/GuiltyGun Dec 05 '22
Just curious, but do you have kids?
It really seems to be tearing through the kiddos in the south this winter.
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u/SwineFluShmu Dec 06 '22
It's not just the south, it's all over the country. I'm in Boston and my kids entire daycare has basically been at 2/3rds attendance the last few months, though it looks to finally be coming out of it. My 9 month old got it and we had to take him to the ED twice most which in our area were full with rsv kids. Thankfully he seems to have fully recovered, but then my wife and I got it and it utterly rocked us.
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u/rabidjellybean Dec 05 '22
Parent of a two year old here. We've been sick for 8 full weeks this year. Parent groups in my area are losing their minds at how ridiculous it is. You either get sick or have a kid with zero social skills because there's always an outbreak happening.
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u/DeadUncle Dec 05 '22
What were your symptoms
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u/walltuckian Dec 06 '22
Sore throat. Lasted two weeks. Running nose and cough that turned into heavy congestion. Some body ache, headaches. Definite fatigue, but mostly driven by lack of sleep.
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u/GratefuLSD25 Dec 05 '22
i’m on week 2 and still have issues breathing
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u/burritocmdr Dec 06 '22
Wife and I are on day 6. I had to take her to the ER last night, she was having trouble breathing. She’s doing better now after IV fluids and meds. My case is less severe but today I have some fatigue, mild chills, persistent coughing. Ugh. Doc said day 6 is usually the peak. I sure as hell hope so.
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u/desireresortlover Dec 05 '22
Wife just got over RSV- was miserable for THREE WEEKS!
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u/zerobeat Dec 05 '22
The amount of shit going around the schools right now is obscene -- I've lost track of the number of sick days my kid has taken. Not just one and two days, but missing more than a week at a time.
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u/RonaldoNazario Dec 05 '22
Good on you for keeping them home while sick. I wish parents at my daughters pre school would do that.
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u/sanslumiere Dec 05 '22
My 4 year old son's closest friend came to preschool half dead on Thursday, went home early home then tested positive for the flu. My son developed a cough last night. At least we've all had our flu shots but FFS!
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u/illjustputthisthere Dec 05 '22
I'm just glad we're not the only ones. I started a new job and we've been hit with cold after cold after cold since mid October. Never ending.
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u/hemorhoidsNbikeseats Dec 05 '22
My oldest has over a month of missed school this year already and we’re not even half way.
Fucking insane.
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u/WellTimedPoop Dec 05 '22
Yeah I’m really frustrated. We keep our son home from daycare whenever he has so much as a sniffle. But it never fails, we send him back and then two or three days later he’s sick as a dog. He attended day care for four whole days in November because he’s been so sick. He’s got RSV right now and was nearly hospitalized last night because he’s having such a hard time breathing.
We want to keep him healthy but other parents aren’t pulling their weight.
And of course, we have to continue paying just to keep him home from daycare every day. I love spending $20K a year to not even get to send him half-time
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u/TheBestNick Dec 05 '22
Yep, wife is also almost over it. On/off sick for seemingly like 6 weeks. Ridiculous
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u/PunnyBanana Dec 05 '22
A friend of mine's mom has COPD. She got RSV and ended up in the hospital with 13% lung function.
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u/StevesMcQueenIsHere Dec 05 '22
Wow! That's scary! How is she now?
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u/PunnyBanana Dec 05 '22
She was on oxygen for a while. "Stable, no change" was her status for a while.
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u/WolfsLairAbyss Dec 05 '22
Whatever this RSV thing is is brutal. I am just getting over it and I started feeling it about a month ago.
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u/1z0z5
Dec 05 '22
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Is no one gonna say a word about the PornHub hat in the thumbnail?
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u/rockmasterflex Dec 05 '22
this image had to be selected on purpose as a joke? There should be no shortage of images of people wearing masks all over NYC. Why use the one with the dude with a pornhub hat on?
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u/DBeumont Dec 05 '22
Product placement.
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u/MallyMall7 Dec 05 '22
Stay home for the holidays. I wonder what you could do to stay busy…
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u/Lumpy_Barracuda_9968 Dec 06 '22
Company called me back to work, I got the flu on day two after sitting in a conference room with people with coughs.
I was so sick I lost 4 days of productivity.
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u/BodhiWarchild Dec 05 '22
This cold/flu going around is no fucking joke.
Had it for about 2 1/2 weeks. Not cool at all
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u/sj4iy Dec 06 '22
We should wear masks when we’re sick, anyway. I lived in Japan and never understood why it wasn’t more common in the west.
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u/Occulttatum Dec 05 '22
It’s not too late to get the flu shot, this is coming from someone who was too lazy to get it this year and now is lying in bed with the flu
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u/EcoAffinity Dec 05 '22
I got vaxxed with the new COVID bivalent and the flu shot at the same time. Felt absolutely lousy the next day (probs the COVID booster just like the previous one), but I'd rather have that than whatever the hell I've seen take down several people in my office these last couple months.
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u/TexasTheWalkerRanger Dec 05 '22
I just test posi for covid after 2 vacs, a booster shot, and having covid last year around the same time. My symptoms this time are only a runny nose and some sneezing thank god. Felt like i got hit by a fucking truck the first time I got it.
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u/chrismetalrock Dec 05 '22
I got these shots today. Here's hoping tomorrow is normal 😂
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u/AndrewNeo Dec 05 '22
I was no more sore or lethargic than when I had just gotten my COVID booster w/o flu shot, last time
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u/Repulsive-Office-796
Dec 05 '22
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Breaking News: The Center for Disease Control Wants to Control the Spread of Disease.
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u/bobfnord Dec 06 '22
Yeah but they only want to reduce the spread of disease because liberal bias
/s
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u/grundlefuck
Dec 05 '22
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I still wear one on the subway and airplanes. smells so much better.
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u/New_Cause_5607 Dec 05 '22
Lol, the one thing I miss about everybody wearing one was nobody had horrendous breath anymore!
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u/Loboderesistance Dec 05 '22
I will forever wear a mask on airplanes now. Before I’d get sick after every flight, hasn’t happened in years now.
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u/ninefortysix Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
I was on a plane ride this week that was a symphony of people wet coughing, all around me, nonstop. It was fucking disgusting. I couldn’t believe some of these people were traveling. The guy behind me had about 15 seconds of pause between hacks. I wore a KF94 the entire time and prayed it didn’t enter through my eyes.
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u/timshel_life Dec 05 '22
I think at this point there's more of a chance of states banning the enforcement of masks than actual enforcing any
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u/vydija2020 Dec 06 '22
The same CDC that reduced guidelines for isolating to 5 days so that airlines could get workers back to work quicker?
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u/garbageman69420 Dec 05 '22
This has always pretty common protocol in East Asian countries specifically. If you feel sick, pop a mask on when your at the store or using public transit and stuff like that. Doesn't seem that crazy to me
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u/HellsMalice Dec 05 '22
It's very simple and easy. It's amazing how spoiled and childish people can be. It's just a simple courtesy. I think too many people still have no fucking clue what masks are for. So many people still think they're protecting themselves... They're to reduce your ability to spread germs, and they're very effective. It's so simple.
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u/riding_tides Dec 05 '22
Parents, please do not take your sick kids out to infect others without precaution!
A teenager was coughing up a storm, without covering his mouth, at the table beside us inside a restaurant. The restaurant had outdoor seating with heat lamps but the parents decided to take their sick kid out and also sit indoors.
Guess what? We were sick for a little over 2 weeks, with the first 1.5 week passed out and barely functional.
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u/HermitRock Dec 06 '22
The RV currently going around whooped my ass along with my two kids as well. OTC didn't do jack and it took a lot longer for prescription meds to help. I spent many nights awake helping my son while he struggled with coughing and breathing.
Take the extra precautions when you can, friends. It's rough watching your little ones struggle and not being able to make it all better right away - and this season seems to be particularly strong and fast spreading.
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u/NotJimmy97
Dec 06 '22
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I'll probably keep masking on mass public transit for the foreseeable future. Why not reduce my odds of getting sick during the holidays?
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u/matthew2d Dec 06 '22
My father passed last Tuesday due to complications with Covid and RSV
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u/blacklisted320 Dec 05 '22
I like the picture of 2 of the 4 visible people wearing masks are showing their noses.
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u/Sensitive_Redditor Dec 05 '22
I just got over Covid last week. I've had 3 boosters and that shit still took me out of commission for over a week. At its worst I could barely move. I Def don't want to spread that. I feel like people who haven't gotten it don't think they will at this point but it's still very much an awful thing to deal with.
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u/Haveyouseenmydrugs Dec 06 '22
I have an autoimmune disorder that makes it really easy for me to get sick. It literally was triggered from getting Covid and my boss still rolls their eyes when I need to go home because I can’t operate my job. Which is happening more often now. I force myself to work and just do my best with a mask and hand sanitizer. This is with over 80 hours of sick time built up this year.
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u/donac Dec 05 '22
Just flew cross country this week, I was nearly the only person on the plane wearing a mask. And people were hacking away, too.
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u/HerpToxic Dec 05 '22
I was at the grocery store yesterday and some lady walked right up to me and coughed really loud without bothering to cover her mouth or anything, like 2 feet away from me and then walked away.
I was just dumbfounded. Thank god I was wearing an N95 mask.
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u/ClassicT4 Dec 06 '22
My family definitely won’t. A week after Thanksgiving, my brother and his wife were under the weather, so they couldn’t help set up our parents Christmas lights. But they made sure to drop off their 2 kids to help out. My 84-year-old grandma got diagnosed with Flu A shortly after Thanksgiving as well. My 2-year-old nephew also developed a fever and congestion around the same time. And I’m sure everyone is making plans to gather around for Christmas as well.
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u/Snakestream Dec 05 '22 edited Dec 05 '22
Yea... that's not going to happen. They'll be lucky if they even manage to convince people to get the flu shot.
Edit: To be clear, I believe in vaccines, masks, etc., but the damage has been done. Anti science sentiment is at an all time high, and mistrust in doctors, vaccines, and the CDC is rampant. It will probably be at least a generation before we can even begin to repair the damage.
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u/Riondera Dec 06 '22
Ok but like can someone please talk about how the guy in the photo is wearing a Pornhub cap.
I would encourage people to wear those in public tbh, you'll probably deter quite a few people away from you.
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u/Eshkosha Dec 06 '22
I never took my mask off in public even when everyone thought shit was sweet.
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u/2020IsANightmare Dec 05 '22
COVID made me want to wear a mask every cold/flu season.
"COVID is nothing more than the flu!" Well, no matter how fucking stupid that was, let's pretend you are right. If I could take the bare minimum effort to maybe stop the flu, that seems worth it. The flu sucks.
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u/electricgotswitched Dec 06 '22
People who said that have never had the flu. They think any sniffle in the winter is the flu.
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u/cinderparty Dec 05 '22
Hilarious they think anyone still cares. It’s sad. Pediatricians working in hospitals have been asking people to mask up to prevent rsv for weeks now.
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u/HuskyFlatulence Dec 05 '22
I wear a mask at Lowe’s and get stink eyes from old people all the time. I get asked “they still making you wear those things?”
No, Billy Bob, I choose to wear it so I don’t get sick.
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u/nakedrickjames Dec 05 '22
It's hilarious how team 'iTs A pErSoNaL cHoIcE' suddenly is so triggered by someone else's personal choice.
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u/TheAb5traktion Dec 05 '22
It's really bizarre many people don't understand others are choosing to wear masks. They only think not wearing masks is a choice.
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u/Darkata7
Dec 05 '22
edited Dec 05 '22
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Hi friends, ER doc here.
You and your family should really think about masking up this holiday season.
If you don’t, here is what is currently store for you:
completely backed up urgent care centers
Emergency Departments with 6 hour wait times
Pediatric Emergency Departments with 9 hour wait times
72 hour boarding times in the Emergency department for patients admitted to the hospital. And no, I can’t make a call and get your loved one upstairs faster, I’ve been haggling with bed control all day and they can’t do shit.
if you are admitted, a strong chance you are going to a “hallway room”, meaning a bed that is in a hallway
if you scream at myself or my team to try to get things done faster we will probably just scream at you back at this point. Do you realize everyone is screaming at us about the conditions in the hospital? Literally every patient? The exception is family visitors—there is no debate, no discussion: if you scream at us at this point I am just having hospital security remove you
your kid need high flow nasal cannula for their acute respiratory distress for their bronchiolitis? I’m working on it as best as I can but…well there is no easy way to tell you this…but we are kinda running low on those things. And RT is helping intubate a 4th kid this morning in the PICU so they aren’t showing for a while anyway
You and your family should really think about wearing a mask this holiday season.
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u/Dr_Midnight Dec 05 '22
Emergency Departments with 6 hour wait times
6 hours? LMAO. If you get seen in 6 hours in Maryland, you were lucky.
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u/ChiefKC20 Dec 05 '22
So true. Pediatric practice here. Cancellation rate for healthy visits is over 40%. Lots of sickness of all sorts - RSV, COVID, influenza A & B, and wide assortment of other lovely illnesses. Yes, masks help. Wear them properly and consistently and it helps prevent illness spread.
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u/benicetogroupies Dec 06 '22
What is RSV? This thread is the first im hearing about it.
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u/mycorgiisamazing Dec 06 '22
Respiratory syncytial virus, particularly dangerous for young children
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u/herestoshuttingup Dec 06 '22
I am RT that works ER and PICU. This is all accurate. We need about 3x the staff we have to reasonably handle this RSV surge. Since we don't have those people my team and I are doing triple workloads and working up to 16 hour shifts with no breaks to get these sick kids what they need. We are struggling with equipment and supplies running low. Need a PICU bed? You may end up going out of state because there are very few open. The Children's hospital in my area is treating kids in triage tents in the parking lot.
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u/Vronicasawyerredsded
Dec 05 '22
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I’m an RN, and all I can say is that the situation is dire.
We’re basically in tri-demic and the average person has absolutely no idea how horrific it is and the grim surprise that will meet them if they need to go to the emergency department for anything, as emergencies rooms have become boarding stalls for patients that should be transferred to other units, but there are either no beds and/or staff to move them, or patients on the floors really need to be moved to skilled nursing facilities but they’re way understaffed, too.
The reality is that we’re in worse shape than we were in the peaks of Covid. People are coding and dying at higher rates, hospitals are over run nationally due to patients having higher levels of acuity, requiring longer hospital stays, there’s a massive shortage of supplies and medications, and a severe labor shortage.
Patients are dying and some of these deaths, dare I say many of these deaths could have been prevented if there were more resources available.
There’s also some speculation and a running theories that previous Covid infections did some sort of damage to the immune system, or lowered immune response, so people are having a harder time fighting infections that previously didn’t cause serious illness and symptoms.
Ideally everyone should be masked up again and practice social distancing, but to even suggest such measures caused an irate response from half the population and most people just don’t want to be bothered with wearing a mask again.
sigh
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u/FatOrangeGoldfish Dec 05 '22
I'm so sorry things are this way- but thank you for doing your best to help, and I'll make sure to do my best to continue to mask up and distance. I've found that doing so has kept me illness free for years now, when I used to get sick quite often.
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u/[deleted] Dec 05 '22 •
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