Day care and Covid risk

Whyzit

DH attends day care twice weekly on the first floor of a continuum of care facility. The memory care unit on the 2nd floor is in quarantine because of a Covid outbreak brought in by an employee. The day care program is still running. My dilemma is that DH wants to go to the day program but I am reluctant to send him because they are all located in the same building with the same air handling equipment etc. and DH is now required to wear a K95 mask all day again. Do masks even work?

We will get the new vaccine when available and have already received the previous four shots. DH is in high risk group and has already had Covid twice. Am I being paranoid in not wanting to deal with Covid again? Should I just let him go? What would you do?

ImMaggieMae

Whyzit, that’s such a tough question because you mentioned that he likes the day care and the socialization is probably good for him. On the other hand, if he’s high risk he could get it again. I know a couple of people who are sick with it now, both had the previous vaccines and had had Covid previously. One is in the hospital with some pretty serious lung issues. I think I would be paranoid about letting him go too. Who knows how good the mask compliance is? Or how good the air conditioning/heating system is in the building? So many unknowns with the new strains of Covid.

Whyzit

Thank you MaggieMae, I think we are all tired of trying to figure out these problems because we don’t even know what is true in order to make rational decisions. I appreciate your comments and most of all your understanding. If we were certain the vaccinations work, it would be an easy decision. It does benefit him to go to day care but it also gives me the break to survive Alzheimer’s caregiving. We have been on this journey for 13 years and I am spent and fed up with having to over analyze everything. I’m sure you know what I mean. I’m also the one dealing with the bedbug invasion …. but that is covered in the $1450 lesson thread. Sorry to go on and on and on but that is life with Alz. OK deep breath, this too will pass.

God bless you all!

Quilting brings calm

I really don’t think the air conditioning/ heating is an issue. It was established that it has to be close contact. It also doesn’t linger on surfaces.

in addition, I wouldn’t worry about about that specific employee as an infected person is only contagious for a few days.

However the numbers are on the rise again. With people being vaccinated, many cases are so mild people don’t even know they have it. So that would increase his risk.

Masks do help but they are not foolproof. Plus cognitively impaired people get annoyed with the mask and want to take it off, or they wear it under their nose rather than over it. My parents constantly complained they couldn’t hear while wearing their masks.

GothicGremlin

This is a tough call. It's almost like rolling the dice and seeing how lucky you feel (imo).

That said, my sister is in memory care and has had covid twice in the past. I don't know if she's high risk or not. Maybe? Because of her age?

She's just now getting over her third infection, which thankfully was super mild (can't count on that though). To listen to Peggy you'd think she masks all the time. She doesn't. None of the other memory care residents mask either. When covid goes through memory care almost everyone gets it. Sigh. Masks do help, but like @Quilting brings calm says, they aren't foolproof, even the N95s. And - you have to actually wear it properly for it to have any effect.

I haven't pulled her out of memory care because she benefits from it in other ways - mostly the socialization.

ButterflyWings

Now that my DH has mellowed a lot in Stage 6 (compared to mid-stages) but is still ambulatory, I was thinking of trying day care as a back up option on the days our caregiver has to cancel.

I'm trying to get back to work and the last week was tough, with aide cancellations and one totally inappropriate new caregiver who caused a crisis. Both the agency and I had to drop everything and show up to rescue DH from a ranting aide who was about to walk out. (Said he wasn't doing what she told him, etc. etc. He gave her a few choice words and started matching her tone and attitude apparently, as most PWDs would, to which she took offense). So, I really do need to try day care as our Plan B, and have it work lol.

But then COVID started ramping up again and gave me cause for pause. Mainly for the risk that you raised and because I don't even know if he will take to day care, so I thought why expose him (and me) to covid after we've avoided it so carefully until now?

With severe asthma whenever triggered by a minor cold, uti or anything really, I don't think he'd survive it. And I also don't want to flirt with catching it myself. If I got really ill, our little house of cards would come crashing down immediately. So, between the bedbug issue and expense, and the covid threat I can see why you are having 2nd thoughts for now. You will make the best decision under the circumstances, I know.

Ed1937

Let's say that masks are 100% effective at controlling covid. When you are in a MC, the residents will not wear them properly, if at all. Staff cannot possibly monitor everyone every minute to make sure they are worn properly. It's no wonder illness spreads rapidly in facilities. If I were in your shoes, I would not take him. In my opinion the risks are greater than the benefits. But in the end, you will have to make the decision.

Unfortunately, it looks like when fall rolls around, we're going to always have decisions to make regarding different diseases. Do what you think is best for your situation, but don't blame yourself if your decision turns out not to be the best. We do the best we can.

Jo C.

For two to three days prior to the very first symptoms of COVID appearing, that person is positive and can spread the infection. AND it is not gone swiftly - while some can count five days and with at least two OTC negative tests 48 hours apart and no longer be an infectious threat, many individuals should isolate for 20 days - yes; 20 days. Vaccinated or not, masked or not. If one has a high viral count, they are much more infectious and how would we know?

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/duration-isolation.html#:~:text=People%20with%20moderate%20or%20severe,for%20up%20to%2020%20days.

More: "There is also new evidence that the immunity gained from vaccination and prior infection is less effective when you are exposed to higher levels of virus."

Personally, I would not have my LO continuing in Daycare. Who was exposed and going to be positive? I agree with Ed; the risks can outweigh the benefits not only to our LO, but to whoever our own LO would spread the disease to. That is a difficult situation on multiple fronts.

Very recent personal experience: Our DIL works as a Vet Tech; she became COVID positive and in all probability got it from a client. Three days after she became symptomatic, her husband, (our son), became symptomatic and COVID positive in all probability from our DIL. Both our DIL and son had full vaccinations. Both were prescribed Paxlovid which was helpful. Our DIL was ill for about six days and then cleared both symptomatically and by two negative COVID tests 48 hours apart. She still wears full mask to work. (There are three different strains of COVID circulating now, so she is being very cautious for herself as well as others.)

HOWEVER, our son became far more ill: Severe cough, moderately productive; severe fatigue, severe muscle aches, diarrhea, and more. He has had it for three weeks and was really down and out. To make matters worse, he initially had nearly symptomatically cleared and then got hit hard by a rebound after the five days of Paxlovid and and was right back very ill again about three days later. I was certainly concerned on his behalf. He is now clearing after three weeks; still has a moderate cough that increases at night and the fatigue hangs on intermittently and is debilitating at times. Hopefully this is soon gone.

Only a very small amount of people have a rebound after Paxlovid, about two to five days after treatment. It has nothing to do with Paxlovid. In studies, individuals who had rebound were in the same numbers whether they had Paxlovid or a placebo. One question may be: should that medication be given for a longer period of time?

We were near the kids three days prior to their having the first symptoms, so we went into isolation for 14 days. Most common incubation period is two to fourteen days give or take. We then did OTC COVID tests - two of them 48 hours apart; thankfully, they were negative. By the way; when one is counting days; first day of symptoms is NOT Day one. First symptomatic day is counted as Day zero; the next day is day one.

Need to find new masks; our old ones just did not sit and feel right. Any suggestions for full coverage would be appreciated. We have found that the ear loops do better for us. The N95 has been a bit more difficult. I have very thick hair and a bit of a curl; the over the head loops get tangled. We will be masking now when out and about indoors where there are others. I truly dislike this, but my husband and I are in an age group which puts us at risk and my DH is a diabetic, so mask we will.

So hope you find a comfortable answer for both your husband and yourself soon and that all goes well.

J.