Daily Check-in

[starwatcher]

 
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Tuesday, September 13, to midnight on Wednesday, September 14. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #27529 Daily Check-in

This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 35

How are you doing?

I am OK.
22 (64.7%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
11 (32.4%)

I could use some help.
1 (2.9%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
15 (44.1%)

One other person.
15 (44.1%)

More than one other person.
4 (11.8%)

Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
 

Comments

[mecurtin]

Goddammit. OK, I'm going to lay out the timeline here, see if you guys can give any advice.

Friday August 26: Mr Dr Science takes a plane from Philly to Las Vegas, rents a car & goes to Zion National Park for his brother's 70th birthday party. His business partner Debbie drives him to the airport.

Monday Aug. 29: he flies back to Philly, I pick him up because Debbie isn't feeling too hot. He's feeling just fine.

Tuesday Aug 30: he has a business meeting & dinner with Debbie

Weds Aug 31: He takes a home COVID test, negative, so he goes to teach fencing in the evening

Friday Sep 2: We both wake up feeling a bit under the weather & sniffly. Late in the afternoon he takes a COVID test & it's positive. I don't test because I figure it's too early to get a good result but assume I'm infected. We keep sleeping in the same bed but mask around our daughter.

Saturday Sep 3: He has a video appointment with his doctor, who starts him on Paxlovid (risk factors: over 65, heart disease, diabetes). Debbie tests positive.

Sun Sep 4: I test negative

Tues Sep 6: It turns out that Debbie's entire family (school-age grandkids, son, mother) have COVID. I wonder if Mr Dr got it from her, not from flying. I test again, still negative.

Weds Sep 7: Last day of Paxlovid. Mr Dr is feeling all better.

Fri Sep 9: he tests positive.

Sat Sep 10: he goes to teach fencing but leaves early

Sun Sep 11: Debbie's whole family + Mr Dr go to Wildwood for the day.

Mon Sep 12: he tests positive.

Today, Sep 13: he tests positive again. I just tested negative.

Somewhere in there Beth also tested negative, she also hasn't had any symptoms.

It *looks* as though vaccination kept me from getting infected, which was not what we expected. It also looks as though the combo of masking during Mr Dr's symptomatic stage & vaccination/good luck kept Beth (who's young & hasn't had as many boosters as we have) from getting it.

The question! WTF do Mr Dr's continued positive tests MEAN?!? Should he get a PCR test?

[kathmandu]

The positive tests mean he is still contagious. The timeline you've given is about two weeks, which is an entirely reasonable time for an active covid infection.

There have been a number of articles on "Paxlovid rebound", but some people were reporting 'test positive, feel better, test negative, then test positive again' even before Paxlovid came out. It seems to be partly an Omicron-lineage thing.

PCR is more sensitive. Any time you test positive on rapid, you can expect to test positive on PCR. Once the rapid tests turn consistently negative, a negative PCR would be useful to confirm that he was truly virus-free.

If you're wondering whether the rapid tests are somehow wrong, I'd recommend trying a different brand of rapid test than what you've been using. If one batch is off, others from a different manufacturer are unlikely to have the same problem.