Oh, the funniest part of this to me was how certain I was it was true. I used to have to find alternate routes into the building all the time because of the geese. I think they nested in the bushes near all the doors. If it wasn't, it was a very good lie and I appreciated the effort anyway.
This was for a lab I was teaching, so they had to be there in person. It was a 3 hour block, so I wouldn't have even asked why they were late. I only even remember 5+ years later because they came rushing in with an explanation and I thought it was hilarious.
Definitely. Plus, you can absolutely get different CT values from two different testing platforms. Some PCR tests are more hands-on than others and the result can vary based on the quality of processing and on the settings that are used in the analysis software.
A home test won't. A PCR gives you some idea if you can get them to tell you the CT (cycle threshold) value of your test. The CT value corresponds to how many times the temperature cycled before the amplification signal of the sample became detectable. Lower CT values correspond to higher viral loads.
I have a cat that gets a lot of respiratory stuff too. I bought her a cool humidifier and I set it up next to her favorite bed when she's really congested. It seems like it must help, because she'll mostly hang out next to it until her cold passes.
The data is coming from the CDC. They need to wait for partnered hospitals to identify positive cases and sequence them for variant tracking. We're currently waiting for our contract with them to be approved again. They're getting very limited information right now, so things are probably even worse than they look. Yay!
Edit: the last update I got from my area says about 20% of people tested for covid are positive, including close to 10% of asymptomatic people. Stay safe, everyone!
If only you could still get a used car for $5k. I had to replace my 20+ year old car due to a hit and run that absolutely destroyed it structurally. The best I could find on short notice (I didn't have a choice because I live too far from work to bike and public transit is a joke here) was $20k. It is older than my previous car was when I bought it and nearly 4x the price.
Immediate failure for not being academia levels of brain-broken. You'll sit in your cube and like it!