What Calculated risks are you taking?

The way I see it we have three options: SIP, SIP with calculated risks that help the community, or being part of the problem?  Which option have you and your family chosen?

Are you totally SIP?

Are you staying home except for work and groceries?

Are you staying home except for work, groceries, and necessary volunteer work?

Are you high risk?

Is someone in your household high risk?

Share what you are doing and why...

I am at high risk.  The largest calculated risk I've taken in the last three weeks has been:

1 walk down the block at 7:30 a.m. to get milk and go to the bank.  Used hand santizer after touching anything like atm, and after leaving the bank and the store.  Pinned my hair back to keep myself from unconsciously brushing it out of my face with my fingers.  

2.  Receiving food deliveries that I'm wiping down each item with straight vinegar before putting away and then plastic bagging the delivery bags, tying shut and then washing my hands.

3.  Got one delivery from a restaurant where I wiped down the food containers with vinegar, plated food and microwaved it for 2 minutes before consuming.  Oh... and I washed my hands while my plate was in the microwave.

4.  I am generally up before dawn so about twice or three times a week I take a walk as the sun is coming up.  No one on the street.  Wash my hands when I come back in.  

So I've taken calculated risks.  If I get this thing, I'm going to be pissed as shit after taking all these precautions.

I am high risk, and work in longterm care.  I have to keep going to work for two reasons.  First, my residents need me.  They trust and depend on me.  Others come and go, but I have been with them for years.  Second reason is insurance.  I could afford to weather this thing for a couple of years financially, but my health is precarious enough that I have to have my insurance. 

We are a family of five.  My husband is still working.  There are some things he can do from home, but some he has to go in for.  A lot of people in the buildings where he works are now working from home so he is not seeing as many people, but it is still a big risk for him to go.  

The teens and I are mostly staying home, except for our weekly trip to the food pantry  to serve.  One teen and my parents have been working there for years. My parents have agreed to stay home, and my other teens (and myself) are taking their place.  It is a huge risk as there are a lot of people there, but the need is also huge.  The food pantry is taking precautions, but they are slow in ramping them up.  

We are not high risk, but like others, we worry.  We count the cost and try to do the right thing.

Ny wife and I are both teachers. The schools are closed. Once they open we will have to go in. For now only going out to pick up pre ordered food from walmart. My wife picked up pizza from little C which I dubbed Covid pizza. 

Pharmacy only for 90 day scripts.  Makes me nervous because the counter is all the way at the back of the store.  No drive throughs here and meds have to be signed for.  

Was getting drive thru good but finally scored plenty of different meats, cheeses, onions, etc.  Now I am in full on SIP

That is true BC.  Then again, it always was.

Bob, I can relate to your problem. I have still a few stubborn family members who were part of "it's just the flu bro" deniers, who are now thinking it's a conspiracy to take away our civil rights and cover-up and bailout the corporations while destroying small businesses at the same time.(Two separate issues - pandemic vs. corrupt govt. response), still thinking it may have been engineered by the 1%. It's actually kind of insane. But the thing is, their denial and actions can have drastic consequences for not just themselves, but others who may die if they are downwind their transmission chain. Me? I simply refuse to be around them and tell them so. Honestly, it's immoral, on a societal basis.I told them I think it may unfortunately take them or someone they know getting sick or dying before they believe and take action. BUt by then, it's probably too late in an epidemiological spread sense.

Here's a good video of a doc in the UK trying to deal with this denial issue:

https://twitter.com/goaldenera/status/1241418899549237248

My calculated risk of the day was going to a local “mom & pop” store that actually had yeast in stock to grab some more that bolstered my supply. The lady who got in line behind me was soooooo close to me that I actually bonked her with my backpack by taking a step back. I breathed as shallowly as possible and literally RAN out of the store upon completing my transaction! 

My wife and I are both high risk and are doing all we can to minimize our chances of exposure. The one thing that really chaps my hide is this: I’m disabled and have chronic pain problems. I rely on pain meds to make my life somewhat easier but my state requires that every month my wife has to go to the doctors office and pick up a physical prescription. Its bad enough that she has to go to the pharmacy every month, but going to the doctors office is an unnecessary added risk. 

Chronic pain patients nearly always have other underlying ailments and yet the damnable rule makers make it more likely that we’ll be bumped off by this bug. 

I wrote my state and federal legislators on Friday so we’ll see if their staff passes along the message but who knows. 

Sorry for the tone but I really needed to vent this out before my head popped. 

Glupa wrote: My wife and I are both high risk and are doing all we can to minimize our chances of exposure. The one thing that really chaps my hide is this: I’m disabled and have chronic pain problems. I rely on pain meds to make my life somewhat easier but my state requires that every month my wife has to go to the doctors office and pick up a physical prescription. Its bad enough that she has to go to the pharmacy every month, but going to the doctors office is an unnecessary added risk.  Chronic pain patients nearly always have other underlying ailments and yet the damnable rule makers make it more likely that we’ll be bumped off by this bug.  I wrote my state and federal legislators on Friday so we’ll see if their staff passes along the message but who knows.  Sorry for the tone but I really needed to vent this out before my head popped.

I have the same issues, and have to do the same thing every month.  It's incredibly frustrating.  I've been trying to figure out a way around it.  So far the best I've come up with is calling the office from the parking lot and asking them to bring the prescription to my car, where I put it in a large envelope.  That at least avoids going into the doctor's office.

There's no way around the pharmacy that I have thought of. So it will be mask, gloves, a 2nd layer of clothes that I can step out of in the parking lot, and a lot of sanitizer. And probably goggles over my glasses. And going outside to wait for it to be filled rather than waiting in the store.

After typing this, I will call the pharmacy to see if there is any way around this. They know me well enough that they *might* be willing to come to my car and get the prescription. But I have to sign for it and show id so will have to go inside either way.

I guess I could see how their drive-through location handles pain scripts. Might be able to do it that way. Is that an option for you?

And after writing this - I'm also going to ask my doctor if she'll write the rx to cover 2 months - I think I'm under the max limit so that might work.

OR - since the state governs when the prescriptions can be filled, if she gives me 3 prescriptions at once that would cover 3 months, and there's no way for me to fill them sooner because of how the prescription is written.  Might ask about that too.  

EdwinSm, wrote: Now is not the time to press for changes to the system, but here in Finland the doctors have recently been allowed to write prescriptions for up to two years!   Also with the internet health system if the prescription is old one can request on line for it to be renewed --- my wife was able to get her asthma medicine renewed this way.  On second thoughts now might be the time to press for changes to reduce needless trips to the doctor's office, to "free up doctor's time to combat the virus"

I heard that in the US insurance companies have relaxed the rules on filling regular prescriptions. People that were blocked can now get 90 days at a time. woo effing hoo.  (some insurance companies allow that anyway)  But in response to the 'opiod crisis' the restrictions for even low-level pain meds are extremely cumbersome.   I take a low dose of hydrocodone (vicodin), and have to jump through the hoops every single month.  

And... you have a point. Our governor is doing a great job on handling this, so if it's in her control (I have NO idea if it is) she might be open to relaxing the rules during this.