My doc isn't recommending any more boosters at this time for me.

I'm not sure how wide his research extends, but he indicated that there wasn't any difference at this point between those that got the last booster and those that didn't - either in catching COVID or in the severity of the symptoms or ending up in the hospital.

I just had my annual physical last week and my doc said the same thing. Wait till fall when perhaps they'll have a more tailored booster.

Thanks for posting this WTG, I have been waiting for info about a new version of the vax as well. It's a little frustrating that there's no one ready.

Which basically leaves masking and social distancing (remember that?) as the only preventative options.

We continued masking pretty much right up until June (yes, June 2023). I taught with a mask all last semester (IOW, every semester since spring 2020). And we hadn't been going to restaurants at all.

Then we stopped wearing masks, and we've been eating in restaurants (although I try to avoid crowded spots and crowded times). Also no masks in supermarkets, all of that.

But now I'm starting my new job (yay!) and the semester starts soon, and I'm wondering what I want to do with regard to masking...

For example, tomorrow I have a day-long orientation (in-person). I can't imagine much worse that getting sick right now, timing-wise. And I don't mean just covid, but even a bad cold.

But I also want to make connections with people, and my students once classes start... and I'm not sure I want to be the only person wearing a mask.

But I have not have so much as a sniffle since Feb 2020. And to my knowledge, I've not had covid, or if I have, it was a 100% asymptomatic case. Same for Mr. SK.

So yeah, I'm trying to decide what to do. And one of those decisions needs to be made tomorrow morning at 8am...

It may take some personal recalibrating to make decisions with the amount of money involved for additional rounds of boosters. I think the companies have a strong incentive to encourage use, even when the protection offered may be minimal to undetectable...

Thanks for the info about your doctors and their current recommendations, rontuner and P*D. Good to know what's happening in the field...

I haven't heard if anyone had a difficult case, but at the recent piano technician convention at least a dozen techs got positive COVID test results...

I'm sure we are all doing our own risk assessments to determine how we will act. I still see plenty of people masking in stores and such, but there are way more who don't.

I stopped masking while tuning, but I do offer to mask if requested in a confirmation text and email. So far, just a couple of clients have asked.

I am starting at a new university this semester, and as it happens, I just received an email that the university has a covid vaccine requirement and I need to either upload my proof of vaccination or proof of exemption (I didn’t click through to the explanation of exemptions, so I don’t know what those).

I’m vaccinated and boosted so that detail is fine, but what I thought was interesting was that the email doesn’t specify when that vaccination should have taken place. There are no details at all. So I’m curios whether someone who got only one shot, the very first round, would count as vaccinated. Interesting.

Oh also btw, I went to the day-long orientation yesterday and then out to dinner at a restaurant. Orientation was maybe 50-70 people (?) and some of the break out sessions felt very crowded bc the room I was in was small. The restaurant actually felt less crowded.

Anyway, I didn’t wear a mask but there were a few people (probably less than five) who did.

Now to decide whether to mask in the classroom when classes start…

I have been hearing that Covid numbers are up again and that this latest variant is a bear - making people much sicker than the Omicron that was going around last summer. Not deadly, but just flattening people for weeks. My current boss came down with it on his vacation and ended up staying behind - not sure when he'll be home since he has been running a 104 degree fever for days. Think I'll be digging out the masks again.....

Lisa, yikes!! I hadn't heard this. I mean, I've been hearing that numbers are starting to rise again, but I hadn't heard about the severity.

Ugh.

As my uni gets ready for fall semester, this week we have a bunch of sessions for new TAs and new grad students, some of which I have to attend, and some of which are with all the programs in our dept.

My TAs was at a conference in Europe last week, and he returned with covid. Another TA found out her roommate has covid, and she tested positive today. Another TA attended today's sessions announced that she had a bad cold and was coughing the whole time and then, part way through, put on a mask. Ugh.

Although I didn't wear a mask to any of the events I attended last week, I wore a mask in all of the sessions today, and will continue that for the rest of the week. And I've decided I'll start the semester teaching in a mask.

Tomorrow I'm going to go and see if my classrooms have the right tech to use a microphone. Fingers crossed.

I would feel a lot better if the updated vaccine were available, but it's apparently not going to be ready until late Sept. at the earliest.

Phooey.