The End of COVID

Brian McFadden

Earlier this month the WHO declared the COVID emergency over - this doesn't mean that there's no more COVID or that it's not a pandemic, just that it's no longer an emergency.

Yesterday the US government ended the COVID public health emergency. This ends many of the provisions for free tests and treatments from the government, as well as other policies put in place to help people over the past 3 years (e.g. financially). Luckily, my employer let us know that our health insurance will still continue to cover tests and treatments. 

A majority of people are no longer wearing masks, though they are still required in most medical offices. I still usually see a couple people masking out in public situations though, so I will also continue. We've definitely been very active and out and about, my husband has even had to travel quite a bit for work, but we are always masking (especially on planes and trains!). 

What We've Learned about Safety

Norma Gabriela Galván for Pexels

Some things we've learned from our recent encounter with COVID that will change the way we've been trying to stay safe throughout this pandemic...

Outdoors doesn't always mean safe: We had been attending outdoor events and activities, unmasked, all summer. Even if they were a little crowded or if there were walls or ceilings on one or two sides of a space, if it was pretty much outdoors with good airflow, I felt like we didn't really have to worry. However, our best guess is that COVID entered our home via a crowded, semi-outdoor event - either from the crowd around us, or from a specific close-talker. And it was passed to another household just by sitting outdoors talking for a couple hours. From now on, even if we're outside, we're going to be masking if in close proximity to others.

Masked doesn't always mean you're protecting others: We have been vigilant about wearing masks anywhere indoors, no matter how alone we are (with a couple brief exceptions for indoor dining in large cafeteria-like spaces, where we immediately masked back up after eating). There were many times we were the only masked people in an indoor situation. But COVID was passed from our household to a coworker via someone who was wearing a mask all day (the coworker was not). You can bet the next time they worked together, all parties were masked.

A negative home test doesn't mean you're negative: You've probably heard anecdotes of people who got together for a big family event or vacation with friends, and responsibly tested in advance to ensure everyone would be safe. Yet a couple days later, someone develops symptoms, and multiple infections end up coming from the event. The night we realized my husband might be sick, his COVID test turned up an instant, thick, black positive line, but mine was completely blank and negative. However, despite immediately separating and masking, I had obviously already been infected. My symptoms started the next day. Which finally leads me to...

Anytime you don't feel good, stay away from others: My husband's first symptom was that he was a little hoarse, but he'd been out talking in the chilly evening air for a couple hours, so it was easy to ignore. When my own symptoms started, I'd been sleeping with the windows open and thought it may be allergies or just a response to the cool air overnight. If anything, maybe we could have just had regular colds. Even once I knew I had COVID, my symptoms were mild and I've definitely gone to work at my office in the past feeling worse than I did that week. We are lucky to have the luxury of being able to work from home, have things delivered, etc. From now on, no matter what symptoms we have or what we think the cause might be, we will play it safe and stay home and away from others. 

Two Weeks of Symptoms

This replaces my previous post of 24 Sept, "One Week," to consolidate an accounting of my entire experience between testing positive and testing negative.

I wanted to document the timeline of my symptoms throughout my COVID infection...

Day 0: had an itchy throat all day that felt like allergies or the beginning of a cold

Day 1: tested positive, had minor cough and congestion I treated with cold medicine; this was the one day I felt slightly drained and mostly spent the day on the couch

Day 2: same symptoms, treated with cold medicine; otherwise had regular energy levels, etc.

Day 3: same symptoms, didn't take any medicine until bedtime; senses of taste and smell felt blunted

Day 4: same symptoms but completely lost sense of smell and taste; took Benadryl in the afternoon for congestion and ended up taking a hard nap for a couple hours

Day 5: less congested feeling and voice felt less hoarse/froggy but still a bit nasal; still had no smell or taste, which was a really upsetting feeling

Day 6: same symptoms, treated with cold medicine; smell and taste slightly improved, able to catch a whiff of heavily scented items; headache started in the evening. This was the first day I could start re-testing for negativity, but my test came up positive and looked the same as my first positive test

Day 7: laid up with a headache most of the day, otherwise same symptoms, treated with cold medicine

Day 8: same symptoms, treated with cold medicine; took another home test that looked just as positive as the first two

For comparison, my husband was 2 days ahead of me, tested strongly positive right away, had more severe symptoms, took an antiviral regimen and was basically back to normal at this point except for an occasional cough. He got a faint positive test on his day 8. On his day 10 he got his first fully clear test.

At this point I felt like I wasn't making any progress. Everyone was asking how I felt, and I basically  felt the same as I'd been the whole time - I had an annoying drip starting from my nose that caused me to cough and clear my throat frequently. I never got a fever. My tests were equally positive looking this whole time. I just tried to be patient, take it easy, and hoped for better results by day 10...

Day 9: felt a little more achy throughout the day, kept myself medicated with Dayquil and NyQuil

Day 10: slept well, woke up feeling good, took an afternoon rest/nap, was happy to be able to smell more things! Finally got a negative home test this evening, along with my husband!

Day 11: felt fine all day except an occasional throat clear; took an afternoon rest/nap

Day 12: felt fine all day except an occasional throat clear or cough; did an afternoon errand, took an afternoon rest/nap; got a second negative home test 48 hours after the first, confirming lack of contagiousness

Day 13: cleared throat throughout the day, went to a morning appointment, took an afternoon rest/nap 

Day 14: cleared throat throughout the day, had a busy day with lots of talking, slightly hoarse by end of day

Now that I have a full 2 weeks down, and 2 negative tests under my belt, I think I'm going to  stop recording my symptoms daily unless something dramatically changes or gets worse. I'm not sure if it was COVID related or a regular migraine that I get frequently, but I feel like the headache I got on Day 7 really set back my progress by a couple days.

I've also heard a theory that people develop "long COVID" when they try to do too much too soon, and that you should really rest and just be a couch potato for 6-8 weeks to help avoid this. I've definitely been doing more this week, but not anything crazy or strenuous. I'm definitely not just intentionally exercising or even going for walks like I usually try to do a few days per week. I've been trying to schedule an afternoon nap instead of an afternoon walk, actually. Some days while working from home I would just take a rest in the afternoons, but I am actually falling asleep and having a little power nap now during this time, so I think my body really needs it.

Fingers crossed that I stay on this trajectory and continue improving 🤞 We can't get the new booster vaccine for 3 months, and many people are getting reinfected with the Omicron variant in a matter of weeks, so our goal is just to stay healthy until we're able to get boosted.

We Got It

Well, we had a good 2.5 year run, but I'll always remember the week of my milestone birthday as the week I first got COVID.

As I'd mentioned, my husband tested positive immediately while my test remained negative, however despite immediately masking and separating at that time, I was sure I'd already been exposed. I was pretty much two days behind him and tested positive over the weekend. Luckily I've had a much lighter case so far. We're also aware of two other people he infected before he was symptomatic.

Pavel Danilyuk for Pexels

It's pointless to get upset or try to figure out exactly who got him sick or what happened, but here's the timeline as best as we can piece together as well as how we've been doing:

• Saturday: We were together all day and celebrated my birthday with many friends outdoors; I'm pretty sure no infections happened here, as we were exposed to the same people (and in fact I was more exposed, as I greeted and hugged many guests).
• Sunday: We were also together all day, and went to a large concert that night. It was semi-outdoors and we were in the front row so we didn't wear masks. However, once the band started, people kind of encroached into our area and honestly I was a little uncomfortable. I think my husband picked something up here - I stayed in my seat and he stood up, so maybe the particles were floating up higher, or there was a guy he was close talking with before the show started and maybe he got it from him.
• Mon-Tues: Nothing happened, neither of us went anywhere or was unmasked around anyone else.
• Wednesday: My husband went to work from his office for a half day, I spent the day with a young person I volunteer with - both of us were masked when indoors with others. My husband spent that evening visiting family outdoors and was a little hoarse when he got home, but thought it was because he'd been outside talking all night.
• Thursday: My husband went to the office again for a full day, was the only person in the room wearing a mask most of the day, though he ate lunch with a couple coworkers. When he got home he still sounded really hoarse, had a fever and chills and just wanted to go to bed. He tested positive for COVID and I tested negative. We immediately masked up and designated certain areas of the house for him to keep separated.
• Friday: My husband called out sick and spent the day in bed with a slight fever. I felt ok but had a tickle in the back of my throat all day; it felt like allergies maybe because we'd had the windows open overnight and achy because I slept on the uncomfortable guest bed.*
• Saturday: I still felt sick and was not surprised to test positive for COVID. My husband started an antiviral treatment following a telehealth appointment with a doctor. I'm still not sure how he got a prescription as he doesn't really have a lot of risk factors and didn't have a super severe case so far. He spent half the day in bed, half on the couch with me. This was probably my worst day, but my symptoms were not that bad, mostly just coughs and sniffles.
• Sunday: Felt a little better because I got to sleep in my own bed again. My husband's first fever-free day, and his energy level was pretty much back to normal. I felt fine but my voice sounded pretty bad - I did a bunch of housework but mostly took it easy. Found out one of the family members he visited on Wednesday also tested positive.
• Monday (today): My husband is pretty much back to normal, I haven't even heard him cough much today. I was still a little congested this morning I think just from overnight, but am also doing pretty well. I don't think either of us have taken any cold medicine today. Found out one of my husband's coworkers he was with last week tested positive. 

I do not recommend anyone get COVID and would still like it to be gone, but I am happy to report that thus far at least, I never even had a fever and the experience has not been any worse for me than a typical cold. My husband definitely had a rougher time, but really turned a corner after just a couple doses of antiviral treatment. Hopefully the worst has already passed for both of us, but I know it's not uncommon for people to be improving and then suddenly take a turn, so I don't feel like we're out of the woods just yet. 

I also find it interesting how every infection was pretty much 2 days after exposure, how being outdoors doesn't mean you're totally safe if you're close (despite masking indoors religiously we'd really been living totally normally outdoors this summer), and how much worse these exposures might have been if not for masks and vaccinations blunting them. I'll definitely be a lot more cautious both indoors and out going forward, but in the short term I'm hoping to enjoy a little immunity boost, before we're eligible to get our new Omicron booster shots...

* Apologies to all our past guests! I will be ordering a new mattress topper and bedding ASAP!

Fall 2022

Oh where to begin? In the five months since I wrote my last post, infection rates remained high over the summer and after those first two tentative forays into restaurant eating, we've gone back to dining outdoors only. I have gone to the office a handful more times. I spent several days at a conference in Washington, DC, where I was again the only person wearing a mask indoors. 

Over the summer, it seemed like everyone who'd remained COVID-free finally got it - plus lots of people who'd had it before got it for the second or third time. It didn't even seem milder - lots of people had really rough recoveries for a week or more, lingering coughs, or persistent positive tests.

Toward the end of summer as things started to get busy, it finally seemed like maybe we could be comfortable doing more. I had a big birthday and my husband threw me a fantastic surprise party with many friends I hadn't seen in a couple years. We went to concerts, family events, ate out, kids are going back to school, we have lots of plans with family and friends, and it seems like I have a different doctor's appointment every week for the next couple months, that had all been scheduled months ago. We're still fully masked indoors and often seem like the only people doing so.

cottonbro for Pexels

Then the other night my husband was a little hoarse. When he didn't sound any better the next day and was just tired and run down feeling, I suggested he take a home COVID test just in case. It immediately turned positive. So I tested myself, and somehow came up negative. So far so good for me, though I feel like I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to get sick myself. So far he has a fever and cough/congestion, and just wants to sleep which is very unlike him. Hopefully his symptoms improve soon because he is a terrible patient! And hopefully our precautions of staying apart and wearing masks in common areas work and I don't get sick myself - though I'm honestly not sure how I'm not also infected because anyplace we've gone in the last week has been together 😕 We'd just been talking about getting the new booster that targets two Omicron variants, too. So right now everything is on hold - getting vaccines, doing activities, going to doctors appointments, etc. - while waiting to see how he recovers and if I get sick too.

Two Months Later

So much has happened in the past two months, I'm not even sure where to begin.

Pavel Danilyuk for Pexels

I went out to lunch with two friends and ate indoors in a restaurant for the first time.

My husband worked from his office a few times and had a week-long work event with lots of meetings and activities and dinners out.

I worked from the office with other people twice (and attended meetings and had lunch together in the cafeteria).

My husband and I went to the mall for the first time in 2 years, and had dinner indoors in a restaurant.

There's a new, even more contagious version of Omicron going around, but infection rates don't really reflect reality because most people are just testing at home now, which doesn't get reported anywhere if you're looking at state or county statistics. But hospitalizations and deaths are also staying low.

I went to an all-day event for the student organization I volunteer with (their first in-person event in 2 years).

We still haven't gotten COVID (but my husband did take a home test out of an abundance of caution because he'd been sniffly for a couple days, and had just spent all that time with coworkers).

Through all of the above, my husband and I have been the only people wearing masks indoors 99.9% of the time. Even when eating, we will put them back on as soon as we're finished. It's funny because this whole time he's been saying people have given him such a hard time for wearing his mask diligently. They make fun of him or try to convince him he doesn't need it. Meanwhile, in my experience, when I'm the only person wearing a mask, people act apologetic and ask if I'd prefer they wear one, or just put theirs on. I'm not sure if it's a male/macho expectation thing, or just the way we're presenting ourselves, or what.

At this point, I personally don't care what other people are doing anymore. The majority of people are no longer wearing masks, despite a highly contagious respiratory virus still widely circulating, but I will continue trying to protect myself. I'm still also avoiding indoor and crowded spaces when I can (we've eaten outdoors several times so far this spring and prioritize places and events with outdoor options).

I know many people with COVID right now. For as many activities and events as we've been attending recently, there's also been many that have been cancelled due to someone (or a lot of people) having COVID.

Also the big news today is that Dr. Fauci says we're "out of the pandemic phase."

And there's like a bunch more stuff that has happened: changes in the amount of time recommended to quarantine or isolate after exposure or confirmed infection, no more requirement to wear masks on public transportation or airplanes, Russia's war against Ukraine continues, China is shutting down whole cities again in support of their "Zero COVID" policy, there's still no approved vaccine for kids under 5, a second booster was approved for adults over 50, and there's probably much more I'm forgetting...

Year Three

In early 2021, everyone started talking about how it had been a year since the pandemic started. Then last fall, everything referred to how it had been 18 months. Now we're in the "it's been two years" period, and already I'm seeing references to the fact that we're entering year three.

Lots of countries and communities are now considering COVID endemic, "a constant presence in a particular area of the world or in a particular population. ...It’s not necessarily present at the ideal level, but it’s expected and somewhat predictable." What does that mean? A lot of places are just doing away with vaccine and mask requirements all together, including restaurants, schools, and entire cities. The UK, which had provided home rapid tests to anyone who wanted them so they could test in advance of socializing, is now ending that program. It seems like a ploy just to appease people who think there's been too many restrictions, especially with elections and such upcoming in some places.

But infection rates aren't really at a low level or even their lowest level in the past year. I can't help but wonder if people had just been a little more patient and waited a few weeks for things to get even better, would this have a better outcome. I've probably said it here a bunch of times, but I keep going back to the parachute analogy: "The parachute has slowed our descent, we can take it off now" 😕