Variants

I said back in March that I'd keep wearing my mask when indoors and with many people, even after I got my first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. I've kept my promise. Now it seems we've got some variants running rampant among the COVIDiots (oh, if Anne Marie were here she'd let them HAVE IT!). And me deciding to keep wearing the mask actually came handy last week.

For the Fourth of July, I went with one of my gurlz to a Fourth of July barbecue. We've been going to one of her friend's house for the Fourth for like, years and years. It's now written in stone somewhere that we always have to make it there to eat some veggie burgers and be amazed at how quick other people's kids grow up. Having missed last year's celebration I decided to go this year. After all, we're both fully vaccinated and so were the people at the party, right?

Well, the wyphe was going to have a minor surgery procedure performed and she had to take the quick COVID test as a requirement on Monday. You can imagine our surprise and dismay when the test came back positive. Not only because her surgery would have to be postponed but because we were at a party where there were many older people, some with obvious health conditions that could have been exposed to COVID. And if she had it, there was a high probability that I would have it too. We were frantic.

So I immediately scheduled a full COVID test (she had the quick one and was ordered to get a full test, the one where they basically swipe your brains with a q-tip) and off I went to the nearest Walgreens. I completed the test (that q-tip is merciless!) and I sat down to wait for the results. They say it'd be ready in one day or two, but I never trust their timelines. I started checking for results on their app (you have to sign up for some Walgreens something or other, of course) almost immediately. Nothing came up, of course. Nerve wrecking.

We were thrown into a vortex of activity: things were going to have to be rescheduled and people would have to be contacted if any of us was positive. The surgery, a visit to a friend, going to the office, many things would have to be postponed and life would have to be re-arranged in case of a result that would make us quarantine and maybe wait for some symptoms (we were asymptomatic!). It all got complicated and stressful overnight. Our main worry was having attended that party. There were older people there, probably with underlying conditions. Probably vaccinated, but so were we and here we were. 

On Tuesday, we were on pins and needles all morning, but by noon we had the results: we were both negative. It had been one of those 5% cases when people get a false positive with a quick COVID test. Our sigh of relief was heard around the world. I felt so stressed for one day that I think I grew gray hair overnight. It escapes me completely that there are people still refusing to get vaccinated and that the MAGAts are cheering IMPOTUS2's assertions that the government has not been able to vaccinate all the people it needed to vaccinate to gain herd immunity.  How entitled and privileged can stupidly selfish people be? Oh, that was rhetorical. We all know MAGAts are not the sharpest tools in the shed.

The COVID-19 variants are out there and they spread thanks to the people who refuse to get vaccinated, while vile right wing commentators keep pushing misinformation about vaccines. It's the summit of entitlement and privilege to refuse a vaccine that the rest of the world covets and needs and can save lives. How American is that?

XOXO