I tested positive for Covid today

[Reagan4prez]

I don't mind answering either question:

1 - No, I am not vaccinated. I had briefly contemplated getting it this past summer, but it was something I was just not comfortable getting. I decided given my age and good health that statistically speaking, if I ever did get Covid it was highly likely it would be a mild case. Now obviously those thoughts change when you actually do get it and others get it - you second-guess your decision an even though you know you're PROBABLY going to be ok, you still worry that you might be in that (relatively speaking) small group of people who don't handle Covid well. And I'm being completely honest here - the anxiety has caused me more distress than any of the actual physical symptoms of the Covid itself.

2 - Broadly speaking, educating people on how to know when it is time to seek immediate medical attention. Trouble breathing is about all I ever hear mentioned. But one specific example I would like to see have a policy focus on is educating people on the importance of monitoring their blood oxygen levels while sick as your oxygen level is easily measured at home and is one of the strongest leading indicators of when a Covid case could go downhill quickly. You can get these $20 at-home oxygen meters that you just put your index finger in and in like 20 seconds you have a number for your oxygen level. Healthy is 94-100. Concerning is 90-93. Dangerous is 89 or lower. We all bought our own meters and each kept a close eye throughout on our levels. Mine has remained 97+ which is good. My mom's got as low as 93 a few days ago, but since then has steadily risen back up to 97. How many average people know that you could save your life by closely monitoring your oxygen and getting to the doctor or hospital when that number gets down around 90 or 91? I can't help but wonder how many people die because they don't get the medical attention they need quickly enough and instead just try to "ride it out" at home? I've read a lot of stories of people who it is already too late by the time they actually seek medical attention.

I wish you a very speedy recovery and respect your decision regarding vaccination.

Thankfully, you are one of the 98.2% of known COVID-19 patients to survive. Since the number of infections is much higher than those that get tested and report, the number is higher than 98.2%.

[Reagan4prez]

Thankfully, you are one of the 98.2% of known COVID-19 patients to survive. Since the number of infections is much higher than those that get tested and report, the number is higher than 98.2%.

In my age group, the reported mortality rate is actually only 0.3%, though higher in males than females for whatever reason. Accounting for the non-reported cases, that number falls to closer to 0.1%. I admit that even a 1 in 1,000 chance of dying is higher than what I'd like, but some of that 0.1% is in people with one or more underlying conditions (estimates I've seen say your risk goes up 2.5x with 1 underlying condition and 4x with 2 or more), which I don't have, so my odds look quite good.

The difference in age groups is striking. I think I've noted this stat in here before - but 5% of all Covid deaths are people under 50; the other 95% are over 50.

I'm happy people on here have been civil and cordial about your decision to not get vaccinated. They're not as nice to people in the public who get COVID. They wish death on them and dance on their graves.

[Reagan4prez]

While I’m glad to see the civility in tone with the interactions with bmw, I’m also disappointed that in other threads these same people are trashing “anti-vaxxers.”

Here’s a tip, bmw and all other people who have made a voluntary decision not to get vaccinated deserve respect and not to be fired or treated like second class citizens.

That’s all.