I have the same vax history and it’s incredibly frustrating.
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It may change for you guys? You get to see how our hospitals cope and if it is the disaster that I hope it isn’t but think it probably will be, you don’t have to open until there is an updated booster, or better treatments, or…?
The timing for us was awful. I think if we had been a few more weeks into Omicron and/or we hadn’t had the promise to reunite families at Christmas, then we would have pulled out of opening.
Though while we had been able to stop the delta outbreaks that got through, maybe we that wouldn’t have been possible with Omicron for us anyway?
I miss our old CHO right now 
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We just got mask mandate as we had a positive case in the community who has visited half of Perth.
So masks until Tuesday
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If anyone needs some good news:
I’ve been exposed 3 times since thanksgiving, all in situations where we had masks off indoors for extended periods of time (eating/drinking). Still negative! Shoutout to my booster!
(This is 5 days after exposure, not 14 but I wanted to give people a counter example to “exposed even a little bit then BAM covid” narratives in the news. The vaccines aren’t 95% effective anymore but they still help!)
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And if anyone has an unvaxxed kid - our daycare has 3-5 year olds with only semi-reliable masking indoors (lots of noses peeking out, unmasked naps) and my kid has made it thru 2 exposures with a negative test so far. Not ideal, but neat. Lil kids have beastly immune systems.
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Yay!
In a similar good news vein: a COVID outbreak is going around a big group of people I know here in CO. We missed getting exposed just by timing of who we saw when. Everyone is vaccinated. People had been together in enclosed spaces without masks, and lots of people are still testing negative. From what I’ve heard, everyone who is testing positive either has no symptoms or minor cold symptoms.
This isn’t to say COVID isn’t serious or to minimize any of the many awful tragedies! Just sharing in the spirit of, there is reassuring news out there too.
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Yeah, we’ve taken Latte to the indoor kids museum area three or four times now. She masks for the first half of the time were there, but she’s usually maskless or has it under her nose for at least 30 minutes while we’re there. And other kids are similar. So almost certainly she’s had exposures, and no indication of a case over here. I think that gets back to the fact that schools and day care‘s are seeing way fewer cases than we would have expected, and they almost always pick it up from their home or from teachers and not from other kids. They just seem to carry a low viral load and don’t seem to spread it as much. Hallelujah.
Husband also made the point that they have pretty shallow respirations. So they’re probably not broadcasting viral particles the same way that adults are.
If it was transferred via surface though, kids would be fucked 
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Oh and adding to the anecdote. One of my cousins is vaccinated but not boosted. She’s been unmasked around all of my aunts. Anyway, none of the aunts seem to be having symptoms. They’re all boosted. And my cousin has symptoms but shes staying quite mild.
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Awwww man, this is my rep. 
And she’s pretty old (ETA: she is 77). Covid is really hitting Congress.
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Exposed 6 days ago, and alerted to exposure 3 days ago. Feeling kind of suspicious this morning, so I google’d around for a test site, but the only place with open appts in a 50 mile radius was a lab that charges $120 for a rapid test.
I went to the Walgreens down the street, just on the off chance they had tests, and lo, I was victorious! I walked out with 2 packs of Binax. Happily, the test result was negative.
Easy peasy, the way it should be.
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Got a bunch of notices this morning that various towns in my area are distributing free rapid tests. Apparently they came from NY state health dept and they have “enough” for 5% of the population. Which… isn’t terrible, I guess, since it’s a supplement for the existing supply. I hope they keep doing this.
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I’ve seen the lines in your city for tests and it’s been… extensive. Glad it was negative.
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I’m actually in Nevada, doing holiday visiting. I wouldn’t even have tried for a test in DC. That place is ridiculous.
Got the email about the Mayor re-instituting the indoor mask mandate as I was in the taxi to the airport. I rolled my eyes. That horse escaped the stable a days ago.
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So… the news/research/asking for opinions has me caught between “be overly cautious because you’re immunosuppressed and we know nothing yet” and “fuck it, as long as I’m in a masked environment, it seems like omicron is about as dangerous as a bad cold to a vaxxed person, and full-masking is already more than I would’ve done during flu season before”.
So, I think I’m going to the rink today, EVEN though it will probably be crowded and even though many people will probably be at varying levels of dick-nose. I haven’t been since last Friday and frankly, I’m getting antsy. I think the mental health benefits of skating/not closing myself into a little bubble freaking out about omicron outweigh the risk.
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Fuck this, I should not be sitting less than six feet away from a kid with dick nose. This doesn’t feel safe and I am going to the other desk.
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How do people still not understand how to wear a mask?’ 
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To be fair, these are younger teens (13-15) and they have awkwardly sized faces that they don’t want to admit are small faces, so their masks don’t fit right (and the ones we provide are one-size adult, which are too large unless you knot the ear straps, which they don’t know how to do).
I got up and left and now I feel silly because no one told me to sit there! I made the schedule myself, there are 2 public service desks and we can only staff one anyway, and the other is not near any public computers.
BUT. The upstairs reference desk was moved to this area DURING COVID. WTF did no one think that maybe, just maybe, it would be good NOT to have the reference desk within spitting distance of the teen computer area?!?!?! Plus, everyone knows that teens love to have an adult right over their shoulder, right? Sigh.
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I’m skipping a fully vaxxed party (20 guests, but who are dropping in at various times from 3-8pm) because it just feels too risky when the whole point of this party is food and socializing. I suggested that we go but hang out on the balcony but my friend said it’s currently unsafe (it needs to be replaced).
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If Chicago is requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining by Jan 3, do we think that’s just public places or restaurants, or could it potentially include my wedding venue so I can blame the law when I tell my unvaxxed family members they can’t come? 
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Going to the rink on Christmas eve eve was a mistake. 150-200 people at varying levels of mask effectiveness. 
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