Out of Covid's Grasp - Thanks To Booster - And Hoping For Full Recovery

                                                                      

                               The mRNA vaccine (and boosters) that likely saved me

The several aspects of my Covid relapse – for lack of a better term- were pretty clear from Tuesday  night some 6 hrs after I wrote my last post.  Constant difficulty breathing with head-splitting congestion, thick mucous and incessant coughing which Janice worried might have the Covid getting into my lungs - already compromised with the bronchiectasis. Anyway, long story short I was able to start using my O2 machine again two nights ago and my O2 levels are now up to 97% and no fever beyond 99.7F.  So, knock on wood, I may be past the worst of it.  

When I spoke to the (family practice) triage nurse, Susanna, about the symptoms and the chance of Janice and me reinfecting each other, she allayed my worries and said 'no'.   It's just that we were each dealing with our respective infections and they had to run their course. But she also warned not to over test as that could lead to a series of false positives. She related how one elderly couple - trying to get into an  assisted living place- kept testing +ve for over three months.  She assured me that the two main symptoms that would lead to an actual triage visit are: i) temperature over 102 F and ii) difficulty breathing. So we will go with that in determining our future fitness.  

What we do know is that our choice to get all the vaccines and boosters was a wise one, never mind the subsequent infection.  Else, we'd have likely been in an ICU right now - on ventilators or at least with a triage visit and put on a course of PAXLOVID ( Studies have shown Paxlovid to reduce hospitalization and death by 86% in unvaccinated COVID patients).   

Once more with feeling: those who refuse vaccines and boosters place themselves at unnecessary risk for far more serious and debilitating symptoms - as well as long Covid.  We were glad we both rigorously understood the risks and always opted for the full allotment  of vaccines available.  Nor did we ever soil our social media feeds (Facebook, WhatsApp) with any jabberwocky from the loopy denier brigade.  That is why I am back posting today as opposed to being blotto from anesthesia (for intubation) in a hospital.

 Do not let the quacks (like Dr. Joseph Ladapo), nuts (like RFK Jr.) and vaccine deniers fool you: The mRNA Covid vaccines, boosters have been the only thing stopping the U.S. death rate from this pandemic surpassing 5 million.  

See Also:

         Why You Are More Likely to Get Sick This Winter

             Excerpt:

                  Covid-19 is settling in as a wintertime fixture, and infections are expected to rise again as the weather cools and holiday gatherings pile up. The virus is on a collision course with the seasonal scourges of flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which are circulating again after the pandemic disrupted their spread.  The risk? More infections, more disruptions to schools, work and holidays and more strain on hospitals than before the pandemic. Covid has raised the baseline for winters to come.