Some good news-my 86 year old dad is feeling nearly 100% better and back to himself after being diagnosed last week! He took the five days of Paxlovid, and the only side effect seemed to be an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
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That’s awesome!
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Good overview of the use/accuracy of rapid at-home antigen tests:
The post includes links to the study and whatnot;
I would add that testing every 24 hours instead of every 48 would likely improve the accuracy.
My understanding is insurance should still cover 8 tests per person per month.
I’ve been getting mine from CVS for zero out-of-pocket cost. (They now charge my insurance company directly, so I don’t need to pay and then submit for reimbursement anymore.)
My learnings: They ring each one up as a prescription, so it is much faster for them to process it as 8 tests for one household member, rather than 2 tests for each of 4 household members, for instance. I’ve found the most efficient way for me is to give them a copy of our insurance card with the name/birthdate of one household member on it and tell them I’ll come back to pick it up in a couple hours (or the next day) rather than waiting on it. They are generally ok with giving me 8 tests at a time unless their stock is low, especially when I explain there are 6 of us. If I need more tests before a month has passed, I do the same thing with a different household member for another batch of 8 tests.
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Nothing unexpected in yesterday’s variant update, so still in situation described above, I think. (Unless they slipped something interesting into the desktop-only footnotes that I can’t see on mobile.)
Even with its larger market share in region 7, it’s not clear if BA4.6 can outperform BA.5. Last week vs this week:
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Returned today from a 3 day road trip with the family.
Some observations on masking:
Hotel lobby: About 10% masked.
Science Museum: About 30% masked (interesting that the science museum had the highest percentage of masks I had seen in a long time).
Zoo: About 20% masked in indoor areas. Note: At the front of the gorilla house there was a large sign asking people to mask inside the gorilla house to protect the gorilla’s from Covid. Still only about 20% masked … I would have thought zoo attendees would make an effort to protect the gorillas who are unable to protect themselves with their own masks and vaccines.
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Thanks for observations. Which science museum was it?
I saw that! I’ve been watching a little bit every evening while channel surfing. Not much as DH didn’t grow up with much sports at all. Or not ones televised on TV. 
Used to like watching baseball back in the day. Professional now is slow and boring.
But some of those little league kids are awesome! I caught one throw from past third to first that just blew me away!
There’s a lot of pressure on some of those kids. A pitcher a few days ago sure seemed to be struggling.
Thanks for posting this - and reminding me! 
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Great news! I’m still waiting for when DH - also 86 - gets covid.
How’s your grandbaby doing?
I had to take rapid today before Cruise. Thankfully negative. Now I just need to stay that way thru 1 week cruise, then 12 days in Orlando. There is a 7 day gap between the two trips…
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Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. My kids loved it!
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It’s really random, but the casinos in Detroit are where I’ve seen the highest percentage of masked people, and it’s not just the elderly.
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He’s doing great and has been home now for two weeks! Thanks so much for remembering and asking about him! 
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I was thinking it was about time for him to be home. I’m surprised I was able to remember! It’s been a busy summer.
So glad he’s home - and you’re retired!
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@brian_d_fink_763791 Would you mind sharing some of the CO2 readings you took at wdw? Also, what brand/model monitor did you use?
Thanks
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I used the " INKBIRDPLUS Indoor CO2 Detector, Air Quality Monitor, Tester for Carbon Dioxide, Temperature and Relative Humidity, Indoor CO2 Meter with Alarm, for Grow Tents, Wine Cellars, Homes, Cars(PTH-9C)" from Amazon. It had decent reviews online, wasn’t too expensive, and was small enough that I could have it be in my shorts pocket slightly sticking out without anyone really noticing too much.
My trip was a month ago, and I didn’t write down and save the specific readings. But I was pleasantly surprised that the readings were 500-600 ppm at Chef Mickey’s, Topolino’s Terrace, Grand Floridian Cafe and Space 220. Chef Mickey I expected this because of the high ceilings. Grand Floridian Cafe maybe was low because it is connected to the lobby, and wasn’t too crowded yet when we were there. Topolino and Space 220, I understand less, maybe because they are are newer, maybe Disney designed the spaces with decent up-to-date HVAC systems? At both Topolino and Space there was also a little bit of distance between our table and other tables and the restaurants were not super crowded.
In contrast, we were not happy at Cinderella’s Royal Table and Boma. We kept our masks on when not actively eating because both restaurants were very crowded, with very little space in between tables. I think the CO2 levels were in the 600-800 ppm range, and rose a little bit after we were there for a while.
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this is a great tip, thank you!
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That might be my favorite museum I’ve ever been to! I have yet to take the kids. Maybe a fall trip, one year.
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FWIW, our district still has a Covid dashboard that they are updating weekly on Wednesday’s. School started last Wednesday, so yesterday’s update was one week into the school year.
I think they are counting cases as “recovered” after 5 days now.
DS12s school is one with fewer cases, anyway.
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Probably not long enough. Oh wow, I really hope they contain this.
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