Coronavirus - the new strain XXII

[Spraggons Den]

Can I ask a question about the lateral flow tests?, a bit of history went out on Boxing Day for drinks on my own to the local pub. Was sat on my own for about 4 hours watching the football. Following day felt a bit warm and had chills so did a test which was negative, following day no change - slight cough and chills but still negative on nasal lateral flow test but as staying at my mums decided to keep in my own room to be on the safe side. Yesterday did another lateral flow test and two lines evident on the C and T but the T line was feint But obviously positive so arranged a PCR test and self isolation continues. Awaiting result of that. I’ve got a sore throat / headache / raised glands in my throat and a runny nose. Am triple jabbed as well but feel pretty lethargic.
Out of interest did another Lateral flow test this morning and immediately within 2 mins of dropping the solution on I saw two lines come out very clearly?, this didn’t take 15-30 mins it was practically after I dropped the solution on does this mean I’ve got a lot of virus in me - any experts wish to comment.
My elderly mum is with me in the house but thankfully tested negative when she did a test yesterday.
Bit worried about my mum getting it as well to be honest don’t know how I came to get it as I haven’t been talking to folks outside in the pub at close quarters?. No one else in the family has it or symptoms.

I know a couple of people who almost certainly got it from the boozer. In both cases it really was the first time they had been to the pub in months. One of them caught it despite sitting outside all night and only going inside to use the loos; in the other instance they had eaten at a table well away from people and yet the entire family and every one else in the pub caught it. Wildfire.

 

[gavreid]

It is being reported that 90% in ICU are unvaccinated. Not sure if that is total or just over last few days.

I find that a bit odd. The big majority of deaths are in the (at least) double jabbed

 

[mega lord]

@Wayne C

Hope you are doing OK. I have had c19 over Xmas and our household (me + wife and two kids) have isolated together indoors but not isolated from each other. Nobody else in my family has caught it so there is a good chance that your mum won't have either.

I am still testing positive so no early release for me. Not that I would be going anywhere but a walk would be nice. I started off with classic cold symptoms which progressed to nausea and diahoria. Quite unpleasant. My taste and smell did not fully disappear but everything tasted odd, not that I wanted to eat much anyway. When that passed I was left with feeling depressed and lethargic. Day eight and I almost feel normal but still testing positive.

I know for certain I caught it at a band rehearsal for a gig on NYE. We had all tested negative an hour before but the bass player was obviously infectious.

 

[Spraggons Den]

I find that a bit odd. The big majority of deaths are in the (at least) double jabbed

I think the difference is explained by the approach taken by the hospitals who get the oldies to sign documents stating they don’t want to be resuscitated or go to a ICU should they deteriorate. A prioritisation by age in effect, leaving the availability of the acute facilities for those who stand a better chance of making it.

 

[IanW]

Can I ask a question about the lateral flow tests?, a bit of history went out on Boxing Day for drinks on my own to the local pub. Was sat on my own for about 4 hours watching the football. Following day felt a bit warm and had chills so did a test which was negative, following day no change - slight cough and chills but still negative on nasal lateral flow test but as staying at my mums decided to keep in my own room to be on the safe side. Yesterday did another lateral flow test and two lines evident on the C and T but the T line was feint But obviously positive so arranged a PCR test and self isolation continues. Awaiting result of that. I’ve got a sore throat / headache / raised glands in my throat and a runny nose. Am triple jabbed as well but feel pretty lethargic.
Out of interest did another Lateral flow test this morning and immediately within 2 mins of dropping the solution on I saw two lines come out very clearly?, this didn’t take 15-30 mins it was practically after I dropped the solution on does this mean I’ve got a lot of virus in me - any experts wish to comment.
My elderly mum is with me in the house but thankfully tested negative when she did a test yesterday.
Bit worried about my mum getting it as well to be honest don’t know how I came to get it as I haven’t been talking to folks outside in the pub at close quarters?. No one else in the family has it or symptoms.

I am no medical expert but have read around this a bit. The LFT test is an amplifier of what is in the sample that you have provided. What this means is that the speed that the line appears and the strength of it is an indicator, as you have surmised, of the amount of virus in you. The LFT test is less sensitive than the PCR and so at some point soon a LFT should show less virus in you as you become less infectious.

Good to hear that you are triple jabbed as this should make getting through it much easier for you.

The pub, if it does not have good ventilation (can be checked with a CO2 metre), and if anyone has Covid in the room, then the virus concentration will keep on increasing and may reach levels that are enough to infect others, despite you being nowhere near them.

As @Seanm said, ventilation is key. With better ventilation you reduce the chance of your mum getting enough viral load (no specific numbers as it varies from individual to individual) to get infected.

 

[gintonic]

I know a couple of people who almost certainly got it from the boozer

spread like wildfire in our local - which is very well ventilated, windows open, and doors propped open.

Started with bar staff. Strangely we didn't get it, although I did catch a common cold in there. I've had loads of negative LFTs and a negative PCR.

Next door developed symptoms, but negative PCR. In the end their GP suggested they might have had flu for two weeks.

 

[gavreid]

I think the difference is explained by the approach taken by the hospitals who get the oldies to sigh documents stating they don’t want to be resuscitated or go to a ICU should they deteriorate. A prioritisation by age in effect, leaving the availability of the acute facilities for those who stand a better chance of making it.

Maybe it is the young unvaccinated. Doesn't seem to add up to me though, the ratio is similar in the 50+ group to the 80+.

 

[gintonic]

The pub, if it does not have good ventilation (can be checked with a CO2 metre), and if anyone has Covid in the room, then the virus concentration will keep on increasing and may reach levels that are enough to infect others, despite you being nowhere near them.

ours is exceptionally well ventilated, yet cases of CV19 spread rapidly from within the pub. Problem is the bar area, go to the bar to order drinks and you are in close proximity to the staff

 

[gavreid]

I am no medical expert but have read around this a bit. The LFT test is an amplifier of what is in the sample that you have provided. What this means is that the speed that the line appears and the strength of it is an indicator, as you have surmised, of the amount of virus in you. The LFT test is less sensitive than the PCR and so at some point soon a LFT should show less virus in you as you become less infectious.

Apparently you shouldn't read anything into the strength of the line but it's probably true

Does the thickness of the line on an LFT tell you how infectious you are?
Double lines appearing on an LFT – however faint – mean you have detectable virus in your nose and are therefore infectious. Azeem Majid, a professor of primary care and public health at Imperial College London, notes that the test is “not designed to estimate how infectious you may be”. However, David Matthews, a professor of virology at the University of Bristol, says that a thicker line could mean – in theory at least – there is more N protein. “That should mean more virus and therefore more infectivity in principle, but no one has tested that idea,” he says.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/22/lateral-flow-tests-covid-omicron-explainer

 

[Bjork67]

Wont be long till your getting served by robots and getting that pissed that you contemplate asking the robot would you like a drink you good looking sexy robot, then flick beer mats at it and shout turn the jukebox up.

 

[Wayne C]

This is really worrying , it’s my mums birthday tomorrow and I don’t want to be the reason she gets covid, I’m stuck have no place else locally I can stay. I live 70 miles away and I don’t know if I’m allowed to travel back alone in the car to isolate as i live alone but I’ve got no fresh food or milk in and the council help services are shut till Jan 4th!!.
I’ve asked her to open the windows but being old and feeling the cold she’s not party to doing that. I’m sat in the bedroom on this phone!!.

 

[tqineil]

@Wayne C It's not uncommon for C&T lines to appear fairly quickly on the test and not the 15 or 30 minutes as advised by the particular test kit. Most individuals will show a faint (barely visible) T line at first - this then moves to a bolder line on the T section. The speed of test is related to the viral load present in the back of throat or nasal cavity and means you're infectious to others. This status normally disappears after about 5/6 days. How you caught it in the pub is anyone's guess - but if folk were cheering/shouting at the TV/footie and ventilation wasn't optimal then there may have been aerosol in the general atmosphere of the pub environment? I know so many folk (double/triple jabbed) who've recently caught it despite taking general care to avoid busy environments and it just shows how easy this current variant is to catch. I hope close family don't catch it and you have a speedy recovery - I'd recommend getting hold of mouthwashes with CPC (cetylpyridinium chloride) for the household and use regularly as these products have been shown in trials to wipe out the virus from the mouth/throat passages. Good luck!

 

[gintonic]

The speed of testis

 

[tqineil]

never made a mistake have we?

 

[sean99]

This is anecdotal as I'm no expert, but when my partners' kids tested positive they all showed a faint line on the T on their initial tests and it took 20 mins or so to show, but the next day the line against T appeared almost instantly wen the they tested and then they were confirmed by PCR a day later. However my partner who was with them while they isolated never caught it so I don't think the speediness of the line appearing indicates anything other than you probably have Covid-19. Good luck and hope you are all OK.

Wishes there was a way to unlike a post.

 

[IanW]

Apparently you shouldn't read anything into the strength of the line but it's probably true

Does the thickness of the line on an LFT tell you how infectious you are?
Double lines appearing on an LFT – however faint – mean you have detectable virus in your nose and are therefore infectious. Azeem Majid, a professor of primary care and public health at Imperial College London, notes that the test is “not designed to estimate how infectious you may be”. However, David Matthews, a professor of virology at the University of Bristol, says that a thicker line could mean – in theory at least – there is more N protein. “That should mean more virus and therefore more infectivity in principle, but no one has tested that idea,” he says.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/22/lateral-flow-tests-covid-omicron-explainer

Thanks for posting this. It all makes sense as the test was not designed to tell you absolutely (but the way the test works could indicate quantity) how much virus you have in you, but just give you a yes / no indicator.

It would not surprise me that in some sense you can compare your own test results over time, but comparing with anyone else would be fairly meaningless.

 

[tqineil]

Regarding the use of CO2 meters, we've used them across our busy work environments and they've not really been of much use to date. Co2 in the atmosphere is around (O.4%) 400ppm and poor ventilation is indicated at levels around 7-800ppm. We've recorded levels across the work environment every couple of hours and the levels have all been well below 450ppm yet folk have still succumbed it seems with one or two cases per week across a number of sites?

 

[twotone]

This is really worrying , it’s my mums birthday tomorrow and I don’t want to be the reason she gets covid, I’m stuck have no place else locally I can stay. I live 70 miles away and I don’t know if I’m allowed to travel back alone in the car to isolate as i live alone but I’ve got no fresh food or milk in and the council help services are shut till Jan 4th!!.
I’ve asked her to open the windows but being old and feeling the cold she’s not party to doing that. I’m sat in the bedroom on this phone!!.

Personally I'd go out and get food mate and go to your mum there's eff all else you can do you can't starve and you can't leave your mum alone so covid or no covid I don't think you have much of a choice and I'm sure folk in similar circumstances would have to consider what's best for themselves.

Just keep away from folk as much as you can and mask up if you have any.

Best of luck.

 

[tqineil]

^^ agree with this - either click/collect from supermarket and wear decent face mask including in the house if you're near Mum. Finally, open as many windows as possible within reason to increase general ventilation.

 

[gintonic]

never made a mistake have we?

:shrugs_shoulders