D&D and the rising pandemic
J.Quondam
CR 1/8
Afaik, the shingles vaccine is generally recommended at age 50+ in the US, right? But it's not uncommon to have a shingles outbreak in your 40s or 30s. I think some doctors will let you get vaxxed earlier? But I have no idea what goes into that sort of decision. Might be worth asking a doc, though.
(The upshot is, once you get shingles, you probably won't get it again... but iirc, the recommendation is to go ahead at get vaxxed anyway, even if you had an outbreak before age 50.)
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Thomas Shey
Legend
Yep, same here. Except I was the one to bring it home from kindergarten and spread it to my brothers.
Afaik, the shingles vaccine is generally recommended at age 50+ in the US, right? But it's not uncommon to have a shingles outbreak in your 40s or 30s. I was 47 when I got it, and all my brothers got it in their mid- to late-30s; and I've known several other people who also got it earlier than 50.
I think some doctors will let you get vaxxed earlier? But I have no idea what goes into that sort of decision. Might be worth asking a doc, though.
(The upshot is, once you get shingles, you probably won't get it again... but iirc, the recommendation is to go ahead at get vaxxed anyway, even if you had an outbreak before age 50.)
My wife's had it twice, once in her teens and once in her early forties. She can't wait until she can get the vaccine.
I actually have a friend who has had shingles twice. She’s one reason I got shingrix #1 in September. (Need to get #2 scheduled.)Yep, same here. Except I was the one to bring it home from kindergarten and spread it to my brothers.
Afaik, the shingles vaccine is generally recommended at age 50+ in the US, right? But it's not uncommon to have a shingles outbreak in your 40s or 30s. I was 47 when I got it, and all my brothers got it in their mid- to late-30s; and I've known several other people who also got it earlier than 50.
I think some doctors will let you get vaxxed earlier? But I have no idea what goes into that sort of decision. Might be worth asking a doc, though.
(The upshot is, once you get shingles, you probably won't get it again... but iirc, the recommendation is to go ahead at get vaxxed anyway, even if you had an outbreak before age 50.)
It’s the habitual masking when sick and- from what I understand- better hygiene re:hand washing that accounts for a big chunk of it.
A truism my Dad often recites from his days earning his MPH is that public health measures have saved more lives than medicine ever will.
Zardnaar
Legend
They're big on prevention here. Kids used to get sent off to health camps. Mandatory PE until around year 3 of highschool.
Also an excuse to underfund the health system for a few decades. Pre Covid I think around 80% of ICU beds were in use at any given time.
No opioid epidemic though as an NZ doctors idea of painkillers is essentially take some strong panadol (codeine infused double strength panadole essentially) and walk it off.
Thomas Shey
Legend
My wife was super concerned when she had it (over and above the gross discomfort) because to the best of my knowledge I'd never had chicken pox (when I went to my doctor afterwards to test for it, turned out I'd remembered correctly; and let me tell you locally it was no small chore finding the adult chicken pox vaccine, either). Fortunately, the combination of caution and my robust immune system prevented me from getting chicken pox from her, but it wasn't an unfounded concern.
The only good thing now is if you figure out you're having a shingles outbreak early, there are antivirals that can minimize it; unfortunately it took us a few days to figure out that was what was going on so the first outbreak site was still super unpleasant, but it hosed down the spread at least.
Researchers at Walter Reed may have developed a “pan-coronavirus” vaccine- one that works against all variants of COVID…plus SARS.
www.defenseone.com
US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID & SARS Variants, Researchers Say
Within weeks, Walter Reed researchers expect to announce that human trials show success against Omicron—and even future strains.
www.defenseone.com
FitzTheRuke
Legend
I have no recollection of ever having had Chicken Pox, but when my daughter caught it as a baby (a week or two before she was scheduled for her vaccination) I somehow managed to not get it, in spite of taking care of her. I have to assume that I had such a mild case that no one noticed, and now have immunity.
My poor wife got Shingles at 40, before she was able to get a vaccine. It sucked. I haven't had that either, knock on wood.
My poor wife got Shingles at 40, before she was able to get a vaccine. It sucked. I haven't had that either, knock on wood.
Researchers at Walter Reed may have developed a “pan-coronavirus” vaccine- one that works against all variants of COVID…plus SARS.
US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID & SARS Variants, Researchers Say
Within weeks, Walter Reed researchers expect to announce that human trials show success against Omicron—and even future strains.
So, the writing there seems a bit overblown, but cool that they have something that may be useful.
