Winding up DNA on a wooden stick! That sounds really cool! Sounds like a really awesome job.
For me, I'm pretty confident that I have not had the virus. The only illnesses that I've had this year are a couple of sinus infections with no further compounding symptoms, so I'm pretty sure a PCR would be negative.
My problem is, since I'm on antibody replacement therapy, I can't do antibody testing because I receive antibodies from 10,000 people every week! You have to do PCR testing on me for any accuracy. I had a doc do a Epstein-Barr test on me to see if I had Mono, and guess what - it showed I'd had mono. Didn't prove a thing because it's guaranteed that among 10,000 people, some of those people had had mono! We told her in great detail about my immune disorder, about the antibody replacement therapy, and that antibody testing didn't work and you had to do PCR testing. That was the last test she did on me, never saw her again.
Right now, my donor pool probably does not contain people who recovered from COVID. It takes over 6 months from plasma donation to get through the filtration/processing/bottling/shipping process to my door, and I don't know how long it was before plasma donation centers reopened or even if they are. But if I do get the virus, I'm a prime candidate to get the donor plasma therapy since half my immune system pretty much isn't there.
In another 6-12 months, theoretically, antibodies from people who have recovered from COVID will start appearing in my meds and that will improve my resistance. Won't be an absolute guarantee, but eventually we'll have a fairly safe vaccine that my NIH doc will say is safe for me to take, and that's the point that me, my wife, family, and friends will relax quite a bit.
Meanwhile, tomorrow I get my flu shot: there's a lot of overlap between flu and COVID symptoms, best to avoid one if you can. Last month I got my first Hep-A vaccination, I'll get a second one in January. And probably late September I'll get my first Shingrex vaccination. I need to look up the dates on my two pneumonia vaccinations and check those with my immunologist and see if those are coming up: with two vaccines, they cover different strains and I get both on staggered intervals. Since I had pneumonia five times in seven months (11 yrs ago), I make sure I get pneumonia vaccinations!
no subject
Winding up DNA on a wooden stick! That sounds really cool! Sounds like a really awesome job. For me, I'm pretty confident that I have not had the virus. The only illnesses that I've had this year are a couple of sinus infections with no further compounding symptoms, so I'm pretty sure a PCR would be negative.
My problem is, since I'm on antibody replacement therapy, I can't do antibody testing because I receive antibodies from 10,000 people every week! You have to do PCR testing on me for any accuracy. I had a doc do a Epstein-Barr test on me to see if I had Mono, and guess what - it showed I'd had mono. Didn't prove a thing because it's guaranteed that among 10,000 people, some of those people had had mono! We told her in great detail about my immune disorder, about the antibody replacement therapy, and that antibody testing didn't work and you had to do PCR testing. That was the last test she did on me, never saw her again. Right now, my donor pool probably does not contain people who recovered from COVID. It takes over 6 months from plasma donation to get through the filtration/processing/bottling/shipping process to my door, and I don't know how long it was before plasma donation centers reopened or even if they are. But if I do get the virus, I'm a prime candidate to get the donor plasma therapy since half my immune system pretty much isn't there. In another 6-12 months, theoretically, antibodies from people who have recovered from COVID will start appearing in my meds and that will improve my resistance. Won't be an absolute guarantee, but eventually we'll have a fairly safe vaccine that my NIH doc will say is safe for me to take, and that's the point that me, my wife, family, and friends will relax quite a bit. Meanwhile, tomorrow I get my flu shot: there's a lot of overlap between flu and COVID symptoms, best to avoid one if you can. Last month I got my first Hep-A vaccination, I'll get a second one in January. And probably late September I'll get my first Shingrex vaccination. I need to look up the dates on my two pneumonia vaccinations and check those with my immunologist and see if those are coming up: with two vaccines, they cover different strains and I get both on staggered intervals. Since I had pneumonia five times in seven months (11 yrs ago), I make sure I get pneumonia vaccinations!