If you have some down time you might want to watch Richard Helppie’s excellent podcast Common Bridge, where I discuss all things COVID-19, how the pandemic will end (it will!) and its impact on our medical system.
Best wishes,
Jim Baker
Happy Holidays from www.pandemicpondering.com
Pandemic Pondering 
Excellent! Thank you & Merry Christmas!
Mark McQ Mobile 419-356-3391 Pronouns: he, him
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Sent from my iPhone (Apologies for typos & brevity)
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In the program, Richard Hepple mentioned he didn’t think vaccine passports were appropriate–that people who were vaccinated should have faith in their own vaccination. You didn’t really comment on that. I was interested in your thoughts
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In the Richard Hepple podcast he indicated that he did not believe in vaccine passports as he thought people who were vaccinated are safe and don’t need to worry about others. What are your thoughts on that?
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I think in the long run they don’t work. Too many vaccine variables, as various boosters and changes in requirements are made. As the virus becomes endemic, it isn’t clear to me what the requirement will be but will likely vary between states and even within business in similar locations.
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We will be driving to the west coast in mid-January, staying at 6 hotels along the way. A friend advised that we take with us a portable HEPA air filter for the hotel rooms, given how contagious Omicron is. What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you.
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Hotel rooms don’t infect people, people infect people. Unless they aren’t changing sheets and towels between goes, the amount of virus on surfaces in the rooms should not be anywhere near enough to infect you. Also, the aerosols settle quickly enough that even half an hour after they were expelled they should be gone. Most important thing, if all of the staff are appropriately masked and obviously maintaining protocols, then the place should be safe!
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Thanks so much for confirming what I had expected.
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Hi Jim! Can you describe the “mild, moderate, and severe” categories of the infection? I am fully vaccinated, and had the booster in October. I believe I have the Omicron variant at present (rapid test + on Xmas Day). I expected this to feel much “milder” than it actually does so I am using an oximeter to be safe.Is 10 days of quarantine still recommended? Or after a negative test? (I don’t play for the NFL, but what standard should I follow..)There is way too much information out there that is confusing!My family believes I will have super immunity after this!
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The range of symptoms can be quite variable, but likely with your vaccination status they should be short lived (less than 5 days). Again, recommendations are changing and essential workers are now being released after 5 days, with negative testing. If you wanted to be safe, a week should be fine after negative testing two days in a row).
You will have excellent immunity, but if you are infected with delta you may still catch omicron…. One reason to get a formal PCR would be to determine which variant you caught (I would guess omicron as well).
Let me know if you don’t feel better in the next day or two.
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