The Lemon Fool

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases

Officially about 8 million people have tested positive for covid in the UK. This is obviously lower than the true figure.

Zoe data is currently running at about three times the officially numbers so perhaps up to 24 million people have had covid.

How many Fools have had covid?

John

Doing a lateral flow test right now as I did my riskiest thing to date at the weekend (a beer festival). Will vote within the next 30 minutes

Scott.

Slightly o/t but I find the nose swabbing really painful. Just me?
The throat thing less so, but still surprisingly uncomfortable considering I'm without tonsils and never had an issue with various doctors prodding said tonsils before they were removed

AleisterCrowley wrote:Slightly o/t but I find the nose swabbing really painful. Just me?
The throat thing less so, but still surprisingly uncomfortable considering I'm without tonsils and never had an issue with various doctors prodding said tonsils before they were removed

I have no issues or pain with the nose swabbing, maybe a slight tickling sensation but that's all. I believe I'm doing it correctly.

Swabbing the throat triggers the gagging reflex but is not uncomfortable otherwise.

I've encountered two types of test: one requires nose and throat swabs and two drops onto the test strip, the other just a nose swab and four drops onto the test strip. I wonder why they are so different?

Watis

I wished I knew if I'd had it! A positive PCR test at the beginning of April while I was completely symptomless (was only tested because ZOE Covid study app offered it). Towards the end of May I had an Antibody test which came out negative.

So either the positive PCR test was wrong or the Antibody test was wrong or something else. I'd love to know

redsturgeon wrote:https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases

Officially about 8 million people have tested positive for covid in the UK. This is obviously lower than the true figure.

Zoe data is currently running at about three times the officially numbers so perhaps up to 24 million people have had covid.

How many Fools have had covid?

John

Could have done with a 'Don't know' option.

I had the worst, driest cough I've ever had, after arriving back at work beginning of Jan 2020 and first thing going to the office kitchen where I spent more than 15 minutes in a small kitchen room stood within 2m having a chat with a chinese colleague who was telling me about how he'd just got back from China to see his relations over the christmas break... and then for the rest of january and into feb I just couldn't stop coughing - I felt fine, but just couldn't stop coughing. The most persistent, driest cough I've ever known. As covid became more of a news item throughout january, I was even starting to joke with collegues who were getting fed up with me constantly coughing that maybe it's covid... but at the point, we didn't know a persistent dry cough was actually going to be one of the first main covid symptoms we would later be told to watch out for!

I figured that since there wasn't a local outbreak identified, it probably wasn't covid, but I've just seen now...

"when introduced into susceptible communities not taking precautions, that about 75% of people who caught the original strain of the virus did not go on to infect anyone else" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... om-fiction

So maybe my assumption that since there wasn't a recognised outbreak in the area that it mustn't have been covid, is perhaps flawed.

On the flip side I had had a regular (wet) cough over that christmas, and potentially it could have just been that that cough 'went wrong' and evolved into a fry cough ... perhaps I damaged my throat from the previous coughing. Though I've never had that happen before.

On a separate occasion, near christmas last year, I did feel a bit 'off' for a few days... if I had gone through to see my parents as originally planned, I would have taken a covid test before going, but since that visit was scrapped anyway, I didn't bother with taking a test, and the unwell feeling went away by itself.

In summary... there are a couple of 'maybes' where I might have had mild covid. But I'm really on the fence... I wouldn't go as far as to say I think I had it ... and equally, I don't feel that I could say confidently that I haven't had it either ... I genuinely really don't know either way.

Not only have I not (knowingly) had it, I've still not heard of a single person I know having (knowingly) had it. It seems to have passed us by, so far at least.

swill453 wrote:Doing a lateral flow test right now as I did my riskiest thing to date at the weekend (a beer festival). Will vote within the next 30 minutes

Phew!

Scott.

Clariman wrote:I wished I knew if I'd had it! A positive PCR test at the beginning of April while I was completely symptomless (was only tested because ZOE Covid study app offered it). Towards the end of May I had an Antibody test which came out negative.

So either the positive PCR test was wrong or the Antibody test was wrong or something else. I'd love to know

A very mild infection that didn't show any symptoms might not have resulted in much, if any, antibody response - both tests could be correct.

AleisterCrowley wrote:Slightly o/t but I find the nose swabbing really painful. Just me?
The throat thing less so, but still surprisingly uncomfortable considering I'm without tonsils and never had an issue with various doctors prodding said tonsils before they were removed

I did one at home and hated it - gagging and sneezing (but not at the same time!). I don't want to do it again unless I have to. I didn't have a clue whether I had done it correctly. Then I went for a PCR test where it was done to me but didn't feel nearly as bad - and at least I knew it was done properly.

How school kids do this regularly... I take my hat off to them.

I wish there was a cheap and more civilised test one could do.

Watis wrote:

AleisterCrowley wrote:Slightly o/t but I find the nose swabbing really painful. Just me?
The throat thing less so, but still surprisingly uncomfortable considering I'm without tonsils and never had an issue with various doctors prodding said tonsils before they were removed

I have no issues or pain with the nose swabbing, maybe a slight tickling sensation but that's all. I believe I'm doing it correctly.

I had to have a test last week; first for a while, probably my 20-something-th or thereabouts in total (having had them weekly for a few months for work)
- this one however was because my hayfever made me look and sound like "the night of the covid dead"

Some of the previous ones had been a bit tickly
- this one though.. this one was "different"
With a bit of a grunt the nurse pushed the swab and said "ooh that's a bit tight" and I'm sure that could only have been more frightening if it had been uttered by the Jesuit that taught me Latin
I thought my eyeballs were being levered out from behind!
After that I was actually a bit disappointed it came back negative

-sd

redsturgeon wrote:https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases

Officially about 8 million people have tested positive for covid in the UK. This is obviously lower than the true figure.

Zoe data is currently running at about three times the officially numbers so perhaps up to 24 million people have had covid.

Is the Zoe data claiming to know how many people (16 million, presumably) have definitely had Covid but have never been tested for it, or else have never tested positive for it?

How could someone claim to know how many untested people have had Covid (as opposed to thinking that they might have had it)?

24 million strikes me as extremely high. Although if true surely means that the disease is not as serious or deadly as some think?

I put I don't think I have 'cos I've not had anything near a temperature, a cough, or any other such symptoms, indeed, not even a cold over the past 18 months.

I have, however, found that I need to bung more garlic into dishes (now up to 4 cloves as opposed to previously just 2, and that's just for a meal for one), and that the chillis I used to find "medium" now have no kick at all (although I see that others think the same, https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/pro ... illies-60g) and I've had to search for stronger varieties....

Me (double jabbed AZ)
Wife (double jabbed AZ)
Middle
Youngest

all had it, positive LF followed by positive PCR. mildest of mild symptoms.

Oldest with one dose of Pfizer has been just dandy thank you, although he's done so many PCRs now he can tell the staff what to do.

19 days worth of isolations, as MrsDM found she was positive on day 9 of my isolation, despite extensive precautions. Yuck.

DM

Lootman wrote:

redsturgeon wrote:https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases

Officially about 8 million people have tested positive for covid in the UK. This is obviously lower than the true figure.

Zoe data is currently running at about three times the officially numbers so perhaps up to 24 million people have had covid.

Is the Zoe data claiming to know how many people (16 million, presumably) have definitely had Covid but have never been tested for it, or else have never tested positive for it?

How could someone claim to know how many untested people have had Covid (as opposed to thinking that they might have had it)?

24 million strikes me as extremely high. Although if true surely means that the disease is not as serious or deadly as some think?

Zoe is not claiming anything about total cases historically but their current daily numbers run between twice to three times official numbers.

John

Clariman wrote:I wished I knew if I'd had it! A positive PCR test at the beginning of April while I was completely symptomless (was only tested because ZOE Covid study app offered it). Towards the end of May I had an Antibody test which came out negative.

So either the positive PCR test was wrong or the Antibody test was wrong or something else. I'd love to know

You had the placebo.

No idea. Certainly never tested positive but how do you know if you have it asymptomatically?

dealtn wrote:No idea. Certainly never tested positive but how do you know if you have it asymptomatically?

You wouldn't

redsturgeon wrote:

dealtn wrote:No idea. Certainly never tested positive but how do you know if you have it asymptomatically?

You wouldn't

Yes. That's my answer to the question!

dealtn wrote:

redsturgeon wrote: You wouldn't

Yes. That's my answer to the question!

I had thought of adding "don't know" but we have the overlap between the "I don't know but I think I might have had it" and "I don't know.
Next we have the "I don't know but I don't think so'" overlap.
Then we have the "how could I possibly know whether or not I have had it asymptomatically, I don't know"
Then the "I had a really bad cold that might have been covid but I don't know.
Then the "I had a positive LFT test but no symptoms so maybe the test was wrong, I don't know"
Then of course we have the positive LFT followed by the negative PCR test so I don't know.

Should we bother with polls

Yes

No

I don't know.