I just came back from a week away in Texas to visit my daughter. She just moved into a new home, is working full time as a teacher and part time for 2 non-profits and was overwhelmed. trying to unpack and set up her home. I am triple vaxxed and felt pretty calm at the airports. Most people were following protocols very well. This is the 3rd round trip I have taken since the pandemic began and was the best one of the bunch.
Here is what I have noticed from the 6 flights I have taken. Perhaps some of my thoughts will be of help to you.
1. Being triple vaxxed was a relief and made me much more calm on the plane than the previous flights. The first 2 trips I took were much more scary on the plane.
2. Try to go on less traveled days. Usually T-Th and try during off-peak hours. Especially during the Holidays. You will have less crowds and less uptight people around you.
3. Check your flight status. Airlines are operating with little room for error. My home airport had a major black out at the airport the day I was returning home. That meant major delays and flight cancelations. My flight was on-time because it was an evening flight and was not impacted by the earlier blackout. However, my flight was completely full because of earlier cancelations and re-bookings. When landing, the terminal was absolutely packed and the crowds were huge by the gates and at baggage claim. In fact, the line for lost luggage was also huge. It was like traveling pre-pandemic during Thanksgiving during a storm weather delay.
But, that being said, people were pretty calm, considering.
4. Having everyone test for covid shortly before your trip might be helpful. Every time my daughter has flown out to be with us or we have traveled to see her ( by car or plane) we have gotten covid tested before seeing each other. It is an extra layer of protection. ( I didn't test this last time because my booster was recent and I forgot).
5. Bring hand sanitizing wipes in addition to sanitizing gel. That way you can wipe down your armrests and tray table if you use it. I use them for my luggage handles also, after retrieving my luggage in baggage claim, after using the restroom with my carryon and after going through security. To be fair, I actual did this pre-covid, but hyper sensitive about that now. I also don't stick out as a germaphobe now so there is that. hahaha.I believe I was ahead of my time on that flight ritual.
Fun Fact! The TSA agent actually made my day. While staring at my face (mask down) and comparing it to my ID, he said " Hey, you have lost weight"! I told hime he was now my favorite TSA agent and we laughed.
I hope some of this helps. May you chose the best option for the highest and greatest good for everyone.
@tgraf66 - I am in Oregon where we have Safeway stores. They have all three boosters. I also had J&J and got the same for the booster yesterday. I have been very sick with flu-like symptoms, but that is a typical reaction for me to any vaccine. Try Safeway if you have any in your area.
@barbarmar22 I checked on the Safeway site for the stores in my area, and none of them are offering the J&J, unfortunately. I also checked with the Lucky (another grocery chain) and they didn't specify which one they had, so I went ahead and made an appointment. I'll call them tomorrow to see which one they have before I go.
Here is something worth thinking about. We've all heard the aphorism that, given the highly infectious nature of the delta variant, everyone is going to either get Covid or get vaccinated. But recently I heard an opinion that everyone is going to get Covid--period---vaccinated or not. I looked into where that came from--please see the link below if you are interested. In a nutshell, Dr Prasad believes we are at the point where we should declare the pandemic over, and instead describe SARS-CoV-2 (technical name for the virus) as "endemic"--meaning we are stuck with it circulating in the population indefinitely. He expects everyone to eventually catch it, even those who are fully vaccinated. I'll bet most of us know fully vaccinated friends, family members, or neighbors who have had breakthrough cases ("I thought it was a bad cold--I don't know how I got it--I always mask up when I go to the grocery store"). Current policy is to try to prevent covid infections and stamp out the virus. That just ain't gonna happen. It is too contagious, and there are too many potential reservoirs for the virus, such as in wildlife. So his point is that if everyone is going to get it anyway, then policy decisions should change.
As a retired physician, I think this is very important. We can isolate and wear a mask for years, avoid family gatherings, weddings, etc, but when we take off the mask, the virus will still be there. But by getting vaccinated (and boostered), and wearing masks in public indoor places, we can be pretty confident that, when exposed, our cases will be asymptomatic or mild. With a declaration that the pandemic is over, we can re-focus on what is important. Such as seeing family. Re-opening more businesses. Letting go of mask mandates except in special cases such as when a community's hospitals are overwhelmed. Letting college students be students. And being less judgmental when encountering people who are not wearing masks.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/vinay-prasad/94646
The hour is too late for me to back up my response with citations but I strongly disagree that this pandemic is “over.” One need only to look at the resurgence in Europe to question that assertion.
Having said that, being vaccinated and wearing masks does allow one to cautiously move about in public and attend gatherings. Symptoms tend to be mild in breakthrough cases but not alway: there are still some deaths among the vaccinated and long COVID is still a threat to people who experience mild cases.
This is a slippery and unpredictable virus and the saga is still unfolding I will repeat my recommendation to check out Osterholm’s podcast. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars
@barbarmar22 I got the J & J booster on November 4th as it was the vaccine I got on April 7th.
I had several days of fever,chills,muscle aches,headache etc back in April.
This time? It triggered a flare of my auto-immune psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and a severe attack of covid blepharitis which is found to occur in about 1 to 3% of covid patients... I do not have covid, was tested negative...but the vaccine triggered the blepharitis most likely because of my psoriasis.
It's been a bit of rough ride since then. Still? I would rather get the vaccine than not.
@journeywithme2 - sorry to hear about your health problems. It's a b***** when the cure is hard too.
Here's wishing that your post-vaccine effects calm down soon! And congrats on being "boosted".
Fun Fact! The TSA agent actually made my day. While staring at my face (mask down) and comparing it to my ID, he said " Hey, you have lost weight"! I told hime he was now my favorite TSA agent and we laughed.
Thanks for the travel tips. Your TSA guy made my favorite quote of the day. Made me laugh too.
I am sorry to hear about your reaction to the vaccine. I also have psoriasis and would hate having a flare up from the vaccine. I am currently dealing with a flare up on both my hands (hard to deal with that when one must wash their hands a lot and especially when it is a pandemic). I wonder if/when the time comes you would be able to consider one of the other vaccines for a third booster?
Hope you are feeling really good soon.
Hi guys,
My brother also has psoriasis, its all over his body and he had to wait for the Pfizer to arrive on our shores as he also has heart issues and couldn't have Astrazeneca. He felt that the vaccine helped his psoriasis that it seemed to calm it. It may have been that because we were in lockdown he wasn't working for several months so no stress. It flared up again once he started back at work. Who knows. Placebo effect maybe.
Regards to all
I was finally able to find the J&J booster at the Lucky Supermarket Pharmacy a few miles from my house, and I got it yesterday after work. Like the first one, I had some pain in my arm for a very short time (20-30 mins), and this morning I felt a bit "off". Not really sick, mind you, just not quite myself, as one sometimes feels when coming down with something. The worst of that passed within a couple of hours, and now I just have a slight headache. I'm sorry to hear about your issues, @journeywithme2. I hope everything calms down for you quickly. *hugs* ?
Many thanks to you all. I am finally on the down side of this flare. Eyes are almost back to "normal" normal being relative. I think it was mostly a matter of timing... weather changes, stress, and the vaccine too. Perfect formula for triggering a flare. I am still very happy I got boostered before the Holidays and winter.
I'm sitting out my 15 minute wait period after getting my booster. I'm pleasantly surprised at how busy it is. There are finally children here as well. The little girl in the next chair is watching everything upside down from her inverted position hanging off of her chair. It's joyous to watch. On Friday our town lifted our mask mandate. I was amazed to go to Walmart yesterday only to find a good 50 to 70% of shoppers were still masked! You can teach those who wish to learn!