My COVID Experience

 

After three years of avoiding the coronavirus, I tested positive a week before New Year 2023.

 

I cannot say this was unexpected. As previously noted, I had begun attending in-person meetings again. One of them had almost no masking, and my daughter's kindergarten has been another source of virus access. 

 

I knew the risks of attending, but after two years of not seeing friends and colleagues, I thought it was worth it. Like many of my positive friends, my calculation was that “the rewards, at least for the vaccinated and boosted, outweigh the possible risk of catching the milder variants of the disease.”

 

About 24 hours after returning, I started having mild symptoms that included a stuffed nose, sore throat, fatigue and coughing. I rapid-tested negative, but, two days later, my PCR test came back positive. Ironically, the positive test result came back just as most of my symptoms were dissipating. Within a day of learning I had covid-19, the only trace of it that persisted was a lingering cough. It is still there but has been more of an annoyance than anything else.

 

So what has it been like to have a mild case of covid? Actually, there are upsides! After two years of reading about worst-case scenarios and the hazards of long covid and whatnot, it turns out that my case has been medically uneventful. I have not experienced brain fog or the inability to taste or smell or any of the other scary symptoms. When speaking to a nurse practitioner, we agreed that I did not need the Paxlovid treatment and was on the mend. It turns out that being vaccinated and boosted makes having covid much less scary.

 

There is also the exciting knowledge that after emerging from isolation, I should not have to worry about catching covid for the next month or two. The pandemic itself is not going away, but one has to exploit the temporary lulls and immunities that are on offer. With spring here, that should hopefully allow for some fun socializing.

 

A hidden advantage of having a mild case of covid is the built-in excuse for deferring inconvenient requests. I have probably enjoyed writing subtler variations of “so sorry for not responding to your email sooner, but I HAVE COVID YOU MONSTER JUST LET ME BREATHE OKAY?!” in my email correspondence.

 

The other negative was the looming guilt that my own actions might have infected others. I went out to dinner and a movie with close friends just as the symptoms began. I coughed many times in my own house close to my wife and daughter. A week later, however, everyone continues to feel fine and test negative. It would appear that I am not a superspreader.

 

On the whole, I do not recommend contracting covid, particularly if you value in-person human contact. If you are vaccinated and boosted, however, I also do not recommend living in fear of it.