#unfortunately covid can get at that

[distractionactivated]

I've come across someone who says they gained a sense of smell after lifelong anosmia after their mother cleaned the bathroom with bleach. And not only did they gain it, they got the memories of smells they hadn't perceived at the time, but suddenly now recognised. Bizarre stuff.

I've been anosmic my whole life, or rather, I think I was very, very hyposmic to start with because if I set up the conditions just right I could smell curry, coffee, and a couple of other things. Sometimes. Sometimes. But trying that hasn't worked for a few years so I think the COVID cleared out the little I had of that smell.

air hug in relation to the anosmia. I was born with no sense of smell, but sometimes I can tell something is a strong "scent" Hand sanitizer/the testoerone gel - Strong Bitter Burnt food - Rough Hospitals, specifically on days requiring fasting and the sleep gas - Almost too sterile. The human body is weird. Other than the loss of smell I hope you're able to enjoy food and other stuff.

My sense of smell is coming back online after about six months of being hot garbage (literally, that was one of the only things I could reliably smell). As someone who was extremely smell-oriented previously, it's been weird. I've heard of some folks with anosmia acquiring a sense of smell for the first time after a severe covid infection. So that's wild. Anosmia is a disability for sure.

[willowcrowned]

frankly I’m still furious that in western countries wearing a mask in public whenever you’re ill—regardless of the illness—didn’t come out of the pandemic

[uchiha-gaeshi]

Does anyone else automatically size themselves up with people their age and look for ways that you’re inferior to them? Just me? Ok….

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

If you've never heard an LRAD go off in person, I *genuinely* do not want to hear your opinion about methods of resistance in the US.

[thursdayinspace]

I was complaining about allergies last night because I couldn't stop sneezing, and then today it's joined by a sore throat and a headache lol. So not allergies then. Ffs I'm gonna be away all weekend for a thing I absolutely cannot cancel, this is great timing.

[innocence-wont-save-you]

Scene 11

You eventually gave up and turned off your visual faculties anyway. Turning them back on now, you wince at the sudden influx of light, shielding your face from the glare. Ugh. This is why you don't like doing this.

It's bright out today, the sun shining cheerfully through a thin cloud layer. You carefully climb down to the ground level again, brushing at yourself to rid your cloak of the dust it accumulated overnight. You really need to find someplace to wash your belongings, but it's less of a priority than continuing onwards.

Exiting the growing tower, you pause near the entrance of the burrow the scavengers went into last cycle, dialing up your auditory sensitivity momentarily. You don't hear anything inside; they must have already left. Or maybe they haven't woken up yet. Scavengers tend to be quiet in unfamiliar territory, you know that much, so it's hard to tell if they're still here or not. You'll need to investigate more closely to figure it out.

[camellia-thea]

.

[griddlegold]

oh god. it's almost november. which means it's almost time for every single public space to be completely insufferable

[teenagefeeling]

you should never ever do what i just did but i got morbidly curious and looked up that person from those twitter sceenshots and holy shit, god damn. so they're like really, really obsessed with covid (and just physical health in general. there's a lot to unpack there but they don't believe mental illnesses exist they just think they're all physical, they also seem to have a fixation on veganism and its potential health impacts) and im ngl it did kinda get me thinking about people who are just like, not recovering from the health paranoia of peak covid.

obviously the illness itself is still going around and people are still getting very sick from it, and to be frank i wish there was still a little more of a strict protocol around sick leave and mask usage when you do have an illness (whether that be covid or anything else, having a guaranteed period of time where your employer or school or whoever had to accomodate you legally was objectively good and im mad that it seems to have gone away) but the idea of still being so fucking paranoid about it that your social media feed is 80% covid-related is wild to me. it was that scary at first but at a certain point you unfortunately kind of have to accept that certain things are out of your control and no matter how many precautions you take, at the end of the day it's literally an airborne disease. being safe is commendable, but fixating on the mere possibility of getting sick to the point where you're not able to live a normal life or talk about other things is so concerning

[halalgirlmeg]

'If you wear a mask all the time you aren't exposed to much and it weakens your immune system'

So you agree, wearing a mask reduces the risk of contracting airborne illnesses

[moldwood]

its all done but family is here to open presents (which is good because it means i have to step back from the work to see adjustments that need to be made because i never give that enough time) so. tonight or tomorrow morning gestalt will update with three pages👍

[butchvamp]

every job i actually want either requires 3 degrees and 5 billion years of experience or is unpaid volunteer work this shit fucking sucks. trapped in hell oscillating between retail and food service until i kill myself i guess

[ramshitposts]

i think i hauve covid

[quantummindclassicalheart]

The week of September 2 (when the first comment was posted), just over a thousand people died of COVID in the US.

The trend in hospitalizations in the US looks like this:

Early evidence suggests that the boosters will be effective against the strains circulating now-- but they can only help if folks actually get their shots!

does anyone else think it’s crazy how we just casually reference “the pandemic” now. i catch someone in conversation saying “during the first quarantine…” and as comfortable as it feels to hear and say now, there’s still a twinge of like…. i cannot believe we’re using these words in real life in reference to real events. this isn’t a scifi movie this isn’t a young adult post apocalyptic novel we’re literally casually discussing a global pandemic that ravaged the entire world and it was REAL ?

[thoughtportal]

Opinion Here’s how to get free Paxlovid as many times as you need it

When the public health emergency around covid-19 ended, vaccines and treatments became commercial products, meaning companies could charge for them as they do other pharmaceuticals. Paxlovid, the highly effective antiviral pill that can prevent covid from becoming severe, now has a list price of nearly $1,400 for a five-day treatment course.

Thanks to an innovative agreement between the Biden administration and the drug’s manufacturer, Pfizer, Americans can still access the medication free or at very low cost through a program called Paxcess. The problem is that too few people — including pharmacists — are aware of it.

I learned of Paxcess only after readers wrote that pharmacies were charging them hundreds of dollars — or even the full list price — to fill their Paxlovid prescription. This shouldn’t be happening. A representative from Pfizer, which runs the program, explained to me that patients on Medicare and Medicaid or who are uninsured should get free Paxlovid. They need to sign up by going to paxlovid.iassist.com or by calling 877-219-7225. “We wanted to make enrollment as easy and as quick as possible,” the representative said.

Indeed, the process is straightforward. I clicked through the web form myself, and there are only three sets of information required. Patients first enter their name, date of birth and address. They then input their prescriber’s name and address and select their insurance type.

All this should take less than five minutes and can be done at home or at the pharmacy. A physician or pharmacist can fill it out on behalf of the patient, too. Importantly, this form does not ask for medical history, proof of a positive coronavirus test, income verification, citizenship status or other potentially sensitive and time-consuming information.

But there is one key requirement people need to be aware of: Patients must have a prescription for Paxlovid to start the enrollment process. It is not possible to pre-enroll. (Though, in a sense, people on Medicare or Medicaid are already pre-enrolled.)

Once the questionnaire is complete, the website generates a voucher within seconds. People can print it or email it themselves, and then they can exchange it for a free course of Paxlovid at most pharmacies.

Pfizer’s representative tells me that more than 57,000 pharmacies are contracted to participate in this program, including major chain drugstores such as CVS and Walgreens and large retail chains such as Walmart, Kroger and Costco. For those unable to go in person, a mail-order option is available, too.

The program works a little differently for patients with commercial insurance. Some insurance plans already cover Paxlovid without a co-pay. Anyone who is told there will be a charge should sign up for Paxcess, which would further bring down their co-pay and might even cover the entire cost.

Several readers have attested that Paxcess’s process was fast and seamless. I was also glad to learn that there is basically no limit to the number of times someone could use it. A person who contracts the coronavirus three times in a year could access Paxlovid free or at low cost each time.

Unfortunately, readers informed me of one major glitch: Though the Paxcess voucher is honored when presented, some pharmacies are not offering the program proactively. As a result, many patients are still being charged high co-pays even if they could have gotten the medication at no cost.

This is incredibly frustrating. However, after interviewing multiple people involved in the process, including representatives of major pharmacy chains and Biden administration officials, I believe everyone is sincere in trying to make things right. As we saw in the early days of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, it’s hard to get a new program off the ground. Policies that look good on paper run into multiple barriers during implementation.

Those involved are actively identifying and addressing these problems. For instance, a Walgreens representative explained to me that in addition to educating pharmacists and pharmacy techs about the program, the company learned it also had to make system changes to account for a different workflow. Normally, when pharmacists process a prescription, they inform patients of the co-pay and dispense the medication. But with Paxlovid, the system needs to stop them if there is a co-pay, so they can prompt patients to sign up for Paxcess.

Here is where patients and consumers must take a proactive role. That might not feel fair; after all, if someone is ill, people expect that the system will work to help them. But that’s not our reality. While pharmacies work to fix their system glitches, patients need to be their own best advocates. That means signing up for Paxcess as soon as they receive a Paxlovid prescription and helping spread the word so that others can get the antiviral at little or no cost, too.

{source}

[nightseeye]

Twist outs r so nice but unfortunately mean i need to twist hair Back In (<- unpracticed in self hairstyling and not very interested in doing so) so i never wear them. But. Super nice