Covid in the House: What's Next?
Jun. 22nd, 2022 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerEarlier today I wrote about how Hawk tested positive for Covid last night. As soon as the second red line appeared on her at-home test we started discussing What next?
What's next? Five Things:
1) Notify and stay home.
First, Hawk alerted her boss and people she's met in person the past 24 hours. She's working from home this week and next. That wasn't a given as her boss otherwise expects her to be in the office 4 days a week.
2) Get a PCR test & line up treatment.
Second, I urged Hawk to get a PCR test at her doctor's clinic. They're more accurate. And starting the process with the clinic now is important in case the symptoms become severe and she needs treatment in a few days. But unfortunately since the rise of at-home rapid tests have become prevalent, clinics have clamped way down on PCR testing. She's got an virtual screening appointment this afternoon. To get further care she may need to press the issue. Hard.
3) I'll stay vigilant, too.
Although my test this morning was negative I'll keep watching for developing symptoms. My negative result is not proof of safety. A, tests are not 100% accurate; B, I may have been infected later than Hawk and not able to trigger a positive result yet. C, I'm still in a house with an infected person. I'll test again if I develop worse symptoms than the normal, allergy-related aches and pains I experience. I'll test again in a few days regardless.
4) We accept the inevitable.
In my blog earlier today I talked about the question, "Is it inevitable that everyone will get Covid?" We have never accepted it as inevitable that we'll be infected. We've been careful for 27 months not to be! But one thing we decided 27 months ago, right at the start of the pandemic, is that if one of us gets Covid there is no practical way for us to isolate from the other. That means we're mostly keeping on at home. We've stopped co-sleeping but we're not doing much to isolate from each other beyond that. If that means one of us gets it from the other, that is inevitable.
5) But me getting sick is not inevitable.
Despite what I wrote above, me getting Covid is not a foregone conclusion. At least not right now. I've had a total of 4 vaccine shots. That may be enough for my body to resist infection entirely, even with an infected spouse in the house, or at least to fight it off ably enough that if I do get sick my symptoms will be minor.
What's next? Five Things:
1) Notify and stay home.
First, Hawk alerted her boss and people she's met in person the past 24 hours. She's working from home this week and next. That wasn't a given as her boss otherwise expects her to be in the office 4 days a week.
2) Get a PCR test & line up treatment.
Second, I urged Hawk to get a PCR test at her doctor's clinic. They're more accurate. And starting the process with the clinic now is important in case the symptoms become severe and she needs treatment in a few days. But unfortunately since the rise of at-home rapid tests have become prevalent, clinics have clamped way down on PCR testing. She's got an virtual screening appointment this afternoon. To get further care she may need to press the issue. Hard.
3) I'll stay vigilant, too.
Although my test this morning was negative I'll keep watching for developing symptoms. My negative result is not proof of safety. A, tests are not 100% accurate; B, I may have been infected later than Hawk and not able to trigger a positive result yet. C, I'm still in a house with an infected person. I'll test again if I develop worse symptoms than the normal, allergy-related aches and pains I experience. I'll test again in a few days regardless.
4) We accept the inevitable.
In my blog earlier today I talked about the question, "Is it inevitable that everyone will get Covid?" We have never accepted it as inevitable that we'll be infected. We've been careful for 27 months not to be! But one thing we decided 27 months ago, right at the start of the pandemic, is that if one of us gets Covid there is no practical way for us to isolate from the other. That means we're mostly keeping on at home. We've stopped co-sleeping but we're not doing much to isolate from each other beyond that. If that means one of us gets it from the other, that is inevitable.
5) But me getting sick is not inevitable.
Despite what I wrote above, me getting Covid is not a foregone conclusion. At least not right now. I've had a total of 4 vaccine shots. That may be enough for my body to resist infection entirely, even with an infected spouse in the house, or at least to fight it off ably enough that if I do get sick my symptoms will be minor.
no subject
Date: 2022-06-23 06:16 am (UTC)