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Tag Archives: coronavirus

plus ça change

24 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by azahar in change, chemo, coronavirus, covid

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Tags

coronavirus, covid

novel-coronavirus

I guess it was inevitable that after “getting over” my first Covid infection I’d be expected to stop being so… so… careful? As in, I was asked on Twitter why I would still be doing weekly antigen tests (what’s the point unless you do them every day??) and it has been assumed that I am now “safe from Covid” until I can get my second booster vaccine, now pushed forward 4-5 months (flatmate Peter got his today). So no more need to “live in fear” as I have been accused of doing in the past.

Truth is that the main thing that has changed for me is that I got fucking Covid after being as careful as possible without totally shutting down my life. But everything else remains the same, except maybe a bit worse, and possibly a lot worse. Time will tell.

You see, what happens when you get Covid is that there is an initial acute phase, mostly respiratory, which these days has been largely mitigated by vaccines, so that hospitalisations and deaths are lower than in pre-vaccine times. Lowered. Not eliminated. People continue to die from Covid every day and many who don’t die continue to suffer from Long Covid. But we don’t hear about that any more because governments the world over stopped testing and publishing information related to Covid hoping that this would make us feel like Covid has disappeared. That, along with the big lie that Covid is now “just like a bad cold or the flu” and continued use of phrases such as “mild Covid” have done irreparable damage.

Covid is not “like the flu”, and there is no such thing as “mild Covid”. Since early 2020 much has been published about this novel coronavirus affecting both the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, as is actually quite common with many viruses. Blood clots, strokes, heart attacks were being reported after people had “gotten over” Covid, but we didn’t hear a lot about that. Instead it was spun by anti-vaxxers that it was actually the vaccines causing blood clots, etc. Covid became political very early on in the pandemic.

A pandemic that is still not over.

How this affects me personally in that I am now feeling a bit nervous about the next few weeks coming up since I’ve “recovered”. Because getting over the acute phase is just the first stage and as I’ve suffered from POTS since I was 25 and have some other health issues, like compromised immune stuff from previous chemo, yeah I’m concerned. No, it won’t stop me living my life, but I will continue to live it as I’ve been doing since March 2020. Taking sensible precautions.

For me nothing has changed because – guess what?? – nothing HAS changed. Also guess what? It hasn’t changed for you either, no matter how much you wish it to be so. Covid is not over.

doctor’s note

13 Thursday Oct 2022

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, covid, health & happiness, home, sevilla

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

coronavirus, covid, doctors, sevilla

doctors note

Since Covid almost all of my medical appointments have been done online or by phone, with the exception of physical tests of course. It’s easier in some ways, frustrating in others. For example today was not just frustrating but maddening. By chance I had a pre-arranged appointment with my GP this morning and so, rather than cancel it, Peter went and took along a doctor’s note. The note stated that I had just tested positive for Covid (it also included a photo of the test) and that I wanted to get a prescription for Paxlovid. I also asked about the upcoming jabs and when I should book them. So when he called me and said “what is it you want?” I already knew this guy was an asshole.

I asked if he’d read the note, then asked him to read it, and then asked about the prescription. He said I didn’t need Paxlovid, muttering something about not doing prescriptions for that, and said he’d write one for Paracetamol mixed with something else. Clearly he had not read my history and knew absolutely nothing about me. Then he said that I should just rest at home and not worry because it was JUST LIKE A BAD COLD. I mean, seriously WTF? An actual doctor is going around telling patients Covid is just like a cold??? We are doomed.

Meanwhile resting doesn’t really seem to be an option as I can barely stay out of bed. Yesterday I went to lie down at 3 pm and didn’t get up again until 11 this morning. Now I’m annoyed with myself that I didn’t press the stupid doctor harder and make him look up my history, etc, but I felt so deflated by his tone and assholyness, and I was still so tired, that I just gave up. Anyhow, back to bed.

fuck

12 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by azahar in casa azahar, covid, health & happiness

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

casa azahar, coronavirus, covid, covid-19

fuck covid

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

today’s the day

20 Wednesday Apr 2022

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, covid, sevilla, spam

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

coronavirus, covid, masks, sevilla, spain

mask mandate ends

Honestly, if not for masks still being required on ALL public transport I would be so fucked. As it is, I will keep wearing a mask when I go out, and inside all shops and restaurants. You have to wonder about the timing… I mean, immediately after Semana Santa when thousands upon thousands of maskless people were crammed together for an entire week. And then we have Feria coming up in two weeks, when thousands of maskless people will be crammed into small tents for another week. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to at least wait 2-3 weeks after Semana Santa for the case results to come in? Oh right, not testing any more. And no more mention of Covid anywhere in the media. Fuck.

breakthrough covid

13 Friday Aug 2021

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, covid

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

breakthrough, coronavirus, covid

breakthrough

When first reading about the breakthrough Covid infections it didn’t sound too scary as it seemed like it was something bound to happen, especially because of unvaxxed anti-mask assholes, and I thought maybe this was part of the process of attaining so-called herd immunity. That people would get sick, but not in a life threatening way, or so we’ve been told. And living in Spain, I’ve felt grateful that so many people here WANT to be vaccinated, and also want their kids vaccinated. They can’t wait.

But recently I’ve heard from fully-vaccinated UK friends of mine who were travelling abroad to visit family (being super careful, staying in their “bubbles”). They wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t been travelling and required a test to return home and then – bam! – they tested positive with no symptoms whatsoever and had to go into quarantine.

And so now I’m scared. Again. I mean… no symptoms whatsoever. BUT they could still be contagious and spreading the virus (usually these days the extra contagious Delta) far and wide. And who knows if they got infected just before travelling, or on the plane, at the airport, or during their trip. And not everyone is just getting off as lightly as my friends… once again ICUs are at capacity, hospital staff are overwhelmed and frankly worn out. And yet people are acting like it’s all “back to normal” now. I truly despair.

I have a few tapas tours lined up for September and I have made it clear that I am only doing private tours with fully vaccinated people within their own group. But with Delta. and now Delta-Plus, is being vaccinated enough? A friend suggested I should also ask clients to take a lateral flow test before the tour. I honestly don’t know what to do any more. But I can’t help but think that if everyone would just stay the fuck at home for a few more months then maybe we’d have a chance at beating this thing.

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azahar on twitter

  • sunday song – isn’t it nice to be home again youtube.com/shorts/98qMVLb… azahar.me/2023/02/05/sun… 1 day ago
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  • Wordle 599 6/6 phew! 😅 🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨 ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 1 hour ago
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