My personal COVID truth.

[Pobeka]

In my circle of family and friends, which is about 100 people:

1. A sister of a dear friend died of COVID.
2. A sister of another friend has long haul COVID.
3. I never knew anyone in my entire life that died of the flu.
4. No one in my circle of family and friends has had or knows a single person that had more than mild flu symptoms from the vaccination.

From those simple facts about the sample of people around me, it's easy to conclude:

COVID is far worse than the flu.

Get vaccinated, the vaccine won't kill or harm you, but COVID sure will.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Damn right, my dear Pobeka! Big thumbs UP. n/t

[panader0]

2. I got the vaccine and soon afterwards, while doing the dishes,

the silverware jumped up and stuck to my forehead. So there's that.
Seriously, I know an anti-vaxer, and when visiting he had a small magnet and asked me to
see if it would stick to me. I tried arm where I got the shot, my head, and my chest. All failed
the magnet test. "Oh, you got the fake vaccine." he said. Then went on to explain that the FBI
organized the 1/6 insurrection. If he wasn't such a great guitar player..... he used to be close
friend. Now I keep my distance.

[Pobeka]

4. We are literally in times of mass hysteria.

It's crazy (no pun intended).

[StatWoman]

11. Can you advise him to get the fake vaccine, too?

After all, the fake one won't hurt him, and he'll get the paperwork saying that he's been vaxxed without committing fraud. Win-win!

[LymphocyteLover]

12. good point!

[catrose]

13. brilliant!

[Liberty Belle]

3. We also had a death in our family.

My son-in-law's father died. He was a chef/caterer and the man he shared a kitchen with brought his unmasked, unvaxed young teens in to the workplace. Our relative was only in his early 50s and left behind five children.

Our son who lives with us also had COVID but thankfully a mild case. We had to quarantine at least four times the past year due to COVID exposure.

I happened to interview the very first person in our county who got COVID, when he was sneezing and didn't yet know he had it. He wound up on a ventilator for a while and survived as a long-hauler. I was mildly ill a few days later but no tests were available back then, the first week in March 2020.

It is a scary illness and even if you don't get sick, the inconvenience of repeatedly having to quarantine when exposed, and now not being able to go places like concerts, foreign travel destinations etc. if not vaxxed or repeatedly tested are all good reasons to get the vaccine, plus having the freedom to not wear a mask most places if you feel comfortable doing so.

Side effects of the vaccine are minor and not long-lasting, with only a handful of exceptions worldwide out of hundreds of millions of doses administered. The disease by contrast is fatal around 2% of the time, more if you're older or have serious condiitions, and of those who survive many perhaps most have at least some long-lasting or even permanent disabilities.

[Pobeka]

6. Thanks for sharing your experience.

My entire nuclear family (though we live in three cities) also did not want to be a vector for transmitting the virus to a more vulnerable person even if we contracted it and didn't get severe illness. Fortunately none of us were infected.

[Siwsan]

7. Two of my former co-workers died of Covid. One was a dear friend

My niece's aunt is going through the 'long haul' process. She's married to a physician. They are both hard core trumpers but not anti-vaxers so I'm guessing she caught it before vaccinations were readily available.

My brother had Covid and said it was the sickest he's ever felt.

The majority of my family - both close and extended - are now vaccinated. The outliers are my conspiracy theory addicted, anti vaxxer nephew and his wife. We've given up on trying to convince them they are wrong. Doesn't stop me from worrying about them, AND their 5 year old daughter. And I have a 2nd cousin, in her late 70's, who refuses to get vaccinated. Again, nothing we say to her makes any impact.

[Pobeka]

16. In the face of uncertainty, some are choosing the path that has bad outcomes.

I don't know why you'd do that, other than to feel somehow smarter and "in the know", despite any factual evidence to support the conspiracy theory.

[IronLionZion]

17. It's a psychological thing to feel in control

and to feel brave instead of weak like a liberal sheep living in fear or something like that. It's similar for the ones who claim God is watching out for them or has a plan or they'll die when it's their time or whatever.

[Siwsan]

18. There are some weird thought processes going on

My nephew has never effectively dealt with the death of his mother. He has always been a little unconventional, by our family standards. He left school and moved to the Asheville area, got a job in a bike shop, turned vegetarian, for a while, then he and his wife decided to go full vegan. They'd live entirely 'off the grid' if they could. BUT things were still smooth and comfortable until my sister died. Then he fell into a medical conspiracy rabbit hole. His daughter, who was born a year after, got the first round of MMR injections but then he read something that convinced him one more vaccination would ruin her life.

I hate to give up on him. When we talk on the phone, I'm full of effusive praise for how great I feel, post vaccine. Now, when his sister did this, she was informed of all of the ways she's going to die, from getting the vaccine AND from wearing a mask. ME? He knows better than to spew that nonsense at me.

[DownriverDem]

8. Sadly, true

All restrictions have been lifted here in Michigan. I am still going to wear my mask this afternoon when I go grocery shopping.

[Siwsan]

19. I'm still wearing a mask when I'm at an indoor, public place

It gives me peace of mind because I do fear this Delta variant might just provide some shocks.

Well, that and the fact that I haven't had a single seasonal cold in well over a year.

[NellieStarbuck]

9. I lost a dear friend to the virus just two days ago.

He was the doting single father of a high school senior. He was unable to attend his son's high school graduation. He has been hospitalized for over 6 months, on a ventilator. His suffering is finally over. It is so tragic.

[IronLionZion]

10. Unvaccinated people are taking a big risk with the Delta variant

since it has cold symptoms: headache, sore throat, runny nose, while quietly destroying your insides and spreading quickly to others.

[Pobeka]

15. The lack of the dry cough will fool many people. :-( n/t

[bottomofthehill]

14. Trust me, it is worse than the Flu

I was sick with fever as high as 103.3f aches, chills, headache, sore throat, exhaustion for 10 days. For 3 months after that I was sleeping 10-12 hours a night which is much more than the 7/8 that I used to sleep. It took me 3months before I really starting to feel like myself.

[niyad]

20. My personal covid experience:

2 friends died from it
7 friends have had it. 1 is now a longhauler (she survived being on a vent last june)
1 friend who had a fairly mild, non-hospital case last Oct is only now beginning to regain her sense of taste (and she loves to cook).

Everyone in my circle is vaccinated, but we continue to mask, etc., in public. 4 of us had zero reactions to the vaccines. We are all watching the spread of delta.

I have a funeral to attend tomorrow (non-covid). Will be interesting to see if I can stay, or find it safer to leave.

Stay safe and vigilant, everyone.