Yes, it was a bad flu season, with possibly more than one of the bad cold or flu in the winter of 2019-2020. I was ill 3 times in the last 3 months of 2019. On the last one I went to a doctor who basically said "there's a lot of it about".
Also, the last cold that I had, was in February 2020.
> I probably caught the virus early on, and it wasn't particularly bad for me (even compared to typical flu).
Do you have reason to believe that, or were you sick in January/February and just kind of assume that was it, even though we were at the height of regular cold and flu season?
> what the "weird cold" that everyone had in February was.
Probably just a different coronavirus or flu. I was sick for weeks in October 2019 with a dry cough and body aches plus lethargy that sound superficially similar, but the fact that whatever it was didn't produce packed ICUs seems to strongly indicate that it was something else.
> That it wasn't predictable or obvious flu cases would go to near zero.
How could it not be predictable? I get the cold/flu when I or someone in the family is exposed to someone sick and it gets passed on.
If we're all staying in the house and not going anywhere for a year, by what mechanism could we possibly get sick? Seemed predictable to me.
In any case, it's been so awesome to not be sick in over a year. With elementary school kid, it used to be I was sick every few weeks all year long. Not looking forward to going back to that kind of normal.
> The beast part was more for how contagious it is.
A beast compared to what? Common colds in previous years? Previous influenza strains?
> As a malady it is fine with me but I am still having an eye on long covid…hoping for the best.
You got 3 shots, wear a mask (it sounds like outside), lord knows what else. And you’re still worried about long term side effects from a cold? Can you quantify your risk of serious side effects from this illness?
> The pandemic has been great for my personal health
Have had exactly the same experience: walked and cycled more (and progressively faster); eaten better home-cooked food (presumably adding less fat, salt and sugar than city-center lunch food); enjoyed the fresh air of open windows and a balcony instead of the stultifying atmosphere of an air-conditioned office; and generally rested, focused and felt better than ever.
Went back to the office last week buckling under the drive from senior colleagues to get back to “normal”.
Now have a cold and a mild chest-infection.
> then proceeded to catch every other flu that came around during the winter
There's generally only one or two flus in a season. Flu is often confused with colds and gastroenteritis by lay people - most of the time when someone says they got a "stomach flu" it's nothing of the sort.
This is why "sharing experience" is bullshit, especially when there's an entire global network of health organizations providing actual, data-driven analysis that shows your professed experiences to not be an accurate representation.
> The thing I don't miss is that I got sick every single Winter. All it takes is one inconsiderate person to not cover their mouth and everyone is getting ill. And it happened all the time.
Give it a few years without exposure, and you will have very hard time if you have to get exposed again. I did 2 years for remote work with a single day with long exposure each week, after a few years with low exposure.
I then had a kid, it took at least 3 full years once it got to day care for my immunity to get trained back to normal. Middly sick at least 4 months total per year, strong fever and/or weakness 4-5 times per year.
I'm all for limited exposure to dangerous infections, but for the sake of everyone, we have to keep our immunity active to stay healthy, and this happens by getting sick times to times.
An acquaintance of mine was actually sick in November with COVID-like symptoms. They had a dry cough that was so nasty, doctors tested them for whooping cough (pertussis) and it was negative. And, it actually was not too long after their office got a visit from some overseas partners from China. IIRC, they even said one of the Chinese visitors had a bit of a cough at the time. I think this is pretty strong circumstantial evidence that they may have had the virus. At the very least, it's enough evidence that this person should definitely get an antibody test as soon as practical.
Edit: I initially forgot to include that the pertussis test was negative, although that was certainly implied.
>Did you test? I had a bad cold several weeks back and after 3 tests it's clear that it wasn't COVID.
I did not, but multiple family members did. Not much point anymore unless you're high risk. We've all got it, and no one's going back to wearing masks again.
> I have fallen mildly ill, as have my wife and son. So far we don’t have a positive Covid-19 test, and everyone is maximally vaccinated, but given the timing the obvious conclusions do seem likely
I stopped reading right there. Many cold viruses are circulating right now, it doesn’t mean every illness is Covid. You must always be careful not to spread any illness you have, but it is dangerous to make assumptions, especially after being tested and the odds are you don’t have it. Add a small child to the mix, where viruses are pervasive and parents are usually sick more often. It spreads false ideas to suggest your symptoms are Covid if they very possibly are not, or to just speculate in general without evidence.
Yes, it was a bad flu season, with possibly more than one of the bad cold or flu in the winter of 2019-2020. I was ill 3 times in the last 3 months of 2019. On the last one I went to a doctor who basically said "there's a lot of it about".
Also, the last cold that I had, was in February 2020.
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