Have you caught Covid recently - updated poll 2022-23

[Epona]

Also although I haven't had Long Covid, I do feel like some stuff has lingered on and since my second bout of Covid I've had stuff like fatigue, lack of ability to concentrate, and a couple of cold sore outbreaks (when normally that would be a once a decade type thing).

 

[PR1Berske]

I've had that viral infection this past week or so and God, you can tell Covid has screwed my lungs, I've never had "crisp packet" breathing in memory, I've never felt so lacking in appetite before now. Really bad. And it's not Covid!

 

[Riklet]

Tested positive last night. I couldnt smell or taste much so was suspicious. Swabbed my nose and throat.

Flew back from Portugal on Monday afternoon. Not sure if I already had it for a few days or if I caught it just now. I had a bad cold before I went away that came back with a cough and shivers and stuff so maybe I have had it since last week unknowingly. Or maybe just picked it up on top of this cold. Ive been asleep most of today anyway and feel ok... I'm off work not being paid so I hope it passes quickly. Just trying to rest up rather than soldier on at all.

The worst thing is I saw my parents for half an hour past night. Woops.

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

3 times in 6 months. Not kidding

 

[LeytonCatLady]

I've got a weirdly mild cold right now - not Covid, I've tested - which is mainly just throatiness and feeling a bit tired. That's how my brother and his girlfriend described having Covid last year when Omicron cropped up. But I'm not all headachey or expelling enough snot to sink a battleship, unlike other colds I've had. I wonder if my Covid jabs have provided some kind of "cross immunity" whereby symptoms of other viruses are milder than they normally would be, as well as the Corona plague itself.

 

[wemakeyousoundb]

Apart form the "coming down with something" feeling on Sunday I have been absolutely fine and if I hadn't been pinged I doubt I would have tested before yesterday morning when I was due to work, and so would have gone about my business happily spreading it around in blissful ignorance.
second time in 8 months now.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

Whilst I am pretty sure I definitely had some sort of COVID rebound at the end of last year, current discussion with OH is that the recent, very faint line is probably a negative test and/or false positive. So that’s something.

But in retrospect that whole pack of 7 had a lot of results like that (cue lots of anxiety about whether it would clear for Christmas) and the same type previously came up with faint positives the day after a negative. Wonder if the government tests for the NHS are now really cheap and crappy.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

dp

 

[PR1Berske]

Whilst I am pretty sure I definitely had some sort of COVID rebound at the end of last year, current discussion with OH is that the recent, very faint line is probably a negative test and/or false positive. So that’s something.

But in retrospect that whole pack of 7 had a lot of results like that (cue lots of anxiety about whether it would clear for Christmas) and the same type previously came up with faint positives the day after a negative. Wonder if the government tests for the NHS are now really cheap and crappy.

One thing we've mentioned at work (NHS hospital) is how the basic tests will probably only be "programmed" for how COVID used to be. It may well not pick up new forms or any flu-hybrid variant. If you feel like it might be COVID, it may well be. The tests may not show you.

 

[Agent Sparrow]

One thing we've mentioned at work (NHS hospital) is how the basic tests will probably only be "programmed" for how COVID used to be. It may well not pick up new forms or any flu-hybrid variant. If you feel like it might be COVID, it may well be. The tests may not show you.

This is the opposite scenario though, i.e. has the COVID gone/asymptomatic testing.

I did wonder if, given my recent possible breakthrough chicken pox (which GP has now seen and advised to treat as such), the COVID was still lingering in my system but OH have confirmed that LFTs couldn’t pick that up. So the most likely explanation is dodgy tests.

Either that or the next new mutation has set up camp in my nose, evolving and working on its rebrand until ready to reveal itself to the world

 

[MBV]

Just tested positive after barely being to leave my bed for the last two days. It finally got me

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

I've got a weirdly mild cold right now - not Covid, I've tested - which is mainly just throatiness and feeling a bit tired. That's how my brother and his girlfriend described having Covid last year when Omicron cropped up. But I'm not all headachey or expelling enough snot to sink a battleship, unlike other colds I've had. I wonder if my Covid jabs have provided some kind of "cross immunity" whereby symptoms of other viruses are milder than they normally would be, as well as the Corona plague itself.

COVID may have possibly existed longer than known.

Who knows? What’s known as the original COVID strain may be a variant of the unknown original virus

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

Whilst I am pretty sure I definitely had some sort of COVID rebound at the end of last year, current discussion with OH is that the recent, very faint line is probably a negative test and/or false positive. So that’s something.

But in retrospect that whole pack of 7 had a lot of results like that (cue lots of anxiety about whether it would clear for Christmas) and the same type previously came up with faint positives the day after a negative. Wonder if the government tests for the NHS are now really cheap and crappy.

A faint second line ALWAYS means positive. However, the darker the line, the more infectious you are (on a lateral flow test)

On the contrary, if you test negative, you may still have COVID but not be infectious at the time.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

COVID may have possibly existed longer than known.

Who knows? What’s known as the original COVID strain may be a variant of the unknown original virus

I definitely think COVID must have existed in some form before 2019. Viruses don't just come out of nowhere!

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

One thing we've mentioned at work (NHS hospital) is how the basic tests will probably only be "programmed" for how COVID used to be. It may well not pick up new forms or any flu-hybrid variant. If you feel like it might be COVID, it may well be. The tests may not show you.

Is this the case for both PCR and Lateral. Flow tests?

Also, out of curiosity, did they tell you to keep your mouth shut? This means that number of covid cases are likely under-reported, as the variants are currently more common than the original strain.

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

I definitely agree COVID must have existed in some form before 2019. Viruses don't just come out of nowhere!

We don’t know for sure. Obviously there’re theories of the virus escaping from animals.

It may well just be a mutation of another corona-virus. Shrug

Who knows?

 

[Callie]

Is this the case for both PCR and Lateral. Flow tests?

Also, out of curiosity, did they tell you to keep your mouth shut? This means that number of covid cases are likely under-reported, as the variants are currently more common than the original strain.

I would say it's a well recognised fact that viral tests have to be reviewed and update to remain current and effective at detecting viruses unless they are looking for characteristics of the virus that are not to not mutate much.

COVID is still relatively new so we're possibly not as good as this ... predicting changes for example... might not be so easy

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

I would say it's a well recognised fact that viral tests have to be reviewed and update to remain current and effective at detecting viruses unless they are looking for characteristics of the virus that are not to not mutate much.

COVID is still relatively new so we're possibly not as good as this ... predicting changes for example... might not be so easy

PR1Berske works at a hospital and so I was hoping for a reply from a specialist, with due respect to you

 

[weepiper]

That's you told Callie

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

PR1Berske works at a hospital and so I was hoping for a reply from a specialist, with due respect to you

Stop making fun of the misspelt username !
Note: corrected on edit

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

That's you told Callie

Oh you’re teasing whoops i misunderstood
I just invented a username before

Oh and also I told editor that his username suits him for a dictator... admin

 

[ska invita]

Oh you’re teasing whoops i misunderstood
I just invented a username before

Oh and also I told editor that his username suits him for a dictator... admin

ban this chump now, lets get it all over with , like ripping off a plaster

 

[Callie]

PR1Berske works at a hospital and so I was hoping for a reply from a specialist, with due respect to you

 

[elbows]

SARS-CoV-2 is not just a mutation of one of the other pre-existing human coronaviruses. Co-infection with both at the same time could in theory cause some parts of their sequence to be shared between them occasionally, but thats a smaller part of the picture, not the story of where an entire type of coronavirus came from.

Viruses can exist for a long time without coming to our attention if they exist in animals and have not yet made a successful, sustained jump to humans. So earlier versions of this virus would have existed well before it caused a pandemic in humans.

Relatives of the virus were known to already exist in certain animals because we had been studing them since the original SARS caused some problems much earlier this century. But there are a fair few missing links in chain in this collection of related viruses, or if some people actually have some of those missing links its being kept quiet, eg because it makes the theory of an accident from their lab far more likely.

The current strains can still be detected via testing. But how well the lateral flow tests can pick up every infection has reduced over time as much changes have accumulated and possibly due to some other factors too. Greater incidence rates of milder, less notable disease also decrease peoples ability to guess correctly whether they have covid or 'just a cold' etc etc, although this would also still have been something of an issue right back at the start, hence the need for proper testing in the first place.

I do not know what the term 'flu-hybrid variant' is supposed to be referring to.

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

ban this chump now, lets get it all over with , like ripping off a plaster

Alright then the other dictator. This account was actually banned. I managed to unban it. Not telling you how

I don’t wish to cause any more disruption.

Back on topic: elbows you raise some interesting points - thanks for sharing! I didn’t realise infection of 2 illnesses at once could cause a new variant a bit like a cross-breed of 2 different breeds.

A few months ago the lateral flow testing kit changed, I believe the purpose was to pick up new variants if I’m not mistaken? Just like new vaccine variants were released. I’ll need to have a check regarding the purpose of the testing switch-up.

It’s PCR tests that are used to analyse and learn about the new variants so it’s a known fact PCR tests are more accurate at detecting variants which the lateral flow test may not pick up on

 

[elbows]

Just keep in mind that recombination is considered to be more common between different variants of the same virus, and there are also plenty of other mechanisms by which mutations in the virus occur. And even with recombination between two different versions of this virus, it only seems to be relatively recently that this is being identified as an important mechanism for this stage in the evolution of the virus, which has led to a particularly noteworthy variant more recently. Before this development, and pre-Omicron, the other important variants were considered most plausibly to have come from long-term infections within individuals giving a version of the virus plenty of opportunity to evolve inside them.

In any case, the virus is certainly responding to the circumstances in which it finds itself in, which these days means an increasingly complicated picture of human immunity from vaccination and previous infections. It has more incentive than ever to find ways around a chunk of that protection. We've also had a long period where new Omicron versions have evolved from previous Omicron versions, which is quite a bit of a different chain of evolution compared to previous variants, and is why we havent had a brand new variant name for ages. At some point we may get something that breaks this pattern and we'll get a different name for it as a result. Not sure if I've messed this explanation up a bit by avoiding jargon.

I dont recall hearing that lateral flow tests in common use were updated to cope better with Omicron, though I may have missed something.

 

[PR1Berske]

Oh please don't misunderstand. I'm no expert. I'm not in that field at all . I'm nothing more than a lowly admin clerk. Just talk and discussion recently about the testing kits potentially no longer showing positive because the virus might have moved on from what those tests were made to look for. I didn't mean to make myself sound more important or clued up, I'm really not.

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

Just keep in mind that recombination is considered to be more common between different variants of the same virus, and there are also plenty of other mechanisms by which mutations in the virus occur. And even with recombination between two different versions of this virus, it only seems to be relatively recently that this is being identified as an important mechanism for this stage in the evolution of the virus, which has led to a particularly noteworthy variant more recently. Before this development, and pre-Omicron, the other important variants were considered most plausibly to have come from long-term infections within individuals giving a version of the virus plenty of opportunity to evolve inside them.

In any case, the virus is certainly responding to the circumstances in which it finds itself in, which these days means an increasingly complicated picture of human immunity from vaccination and previous infections. It has more incentive than ever to find ways around a chunk of that protection. We've also had a long period where new Omicron versions have evolved from previous Omicron versions, which is quite a bit of a different chain of evolution compared to previous variants, and is why we havent had a brand new variant name for ages. At some point we may get something that breaks this pattern and we'll get a different name for it as a result. Not sure if I've messed this explanation up a bit by avoiding jargon.

I dont recall hearing that lateral flow tests in common use were updated to cope better with Omicron, though I may have missed something.

Oh yeah, and the delta-omicron combo. Forgot what it’s called!

 

[~ Cyber Geek ~]

Oh please don't misunderstand. I'm no expert. I'm not in that field at all . I'm nothing more than a lowly admin clerk. Just talk and discussion recently about the testing kits potentially no longer showing positive because the virus might have moved on from what those tests were made to look for. I didn't mean to make myself sound more important or clued up, I'm really not.

While that may be the case for lateral flow tests, it’s certainly not for PCR tests as these are analysed at a lab. PCR tests are exactly how new variants are discovered ! Unfortunately with free testing removed now variants are less likely to be revealed

 

[2hats]

Could I ask everyone a quick question - has anyone else noticed their immune system being lowered enough in the few months afterwards to pick up infections they probably shouldn’t have done?

Post-COVID immune dysregulation is an area of ongoing research, though often focused on issues around autoimmunity:

Autoimmunity and Immune Dysregulation in Long COVID - RTHM

The SARS-CoV-2 virus may be causing confusion within the body's immune system. To learn more about this immune dysregulation, visit RTHM.

rthm.com

However, some studies already point to reactivation of various latent viruses in SARS-CoV-2 convalescents (eg DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2022.949787), which could be considered a contribution to PASC.

The apparent ability of recent omicron lineage variants to down-regulate various aspects of innate immunity (eg DOI:10.1101/2022.07.12.499603) may also perhaps play a role here.

Oh please don't misunderstand. I'm no expert. I'm not in that field at all . I'm nothing more than a lowly admin clerk. Just talk and discussion recently about the testing kits potentially no longer showing positive because the virus might have moved on from what those tests were made to look for.

Widely available RAT overwhelmingly focus on nucleocapsid antigen, structural proteins, which tend to be largely invariant: specificity hasn't changed much. However sensitivity has - populations have much higher levels of acquired immunity and lower viral loads, with commensurate reduced peak window sampling sizes.
DOI:10.1128/spectrum.01922-22.
DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2022.976875.

While that may be the case for lateral flow tests, it’s certainly not for PCR tests as these are analysed at a lab. PCR tests are exactly how new variants are discovered ! Unfortunately with free testing removed now variants are less likely to be revealed

Whole genome or next generation Sanger sequencing are exactly how new variants are discovered. Whilst these methods have predominately used amplicons from nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing, test samples can just as easily, actually even more easily, be obtained via other routes. For example, wastewater sampling (sewerage treatment facilities, aircraft toilets) is increasingly flagging up crypto-variant (and potential zoonotic) development well ahead of clear signals in the primary healthcare system.
DOI:10.1038/d41586-022-02996-y.

EU4S

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