It is the mucus that binds us.
Lessons learned from a brutal week with COVID-19.
Sorry for my absence, folks—I have been offline having a summer of fun...damentally awful times, courtesy of COVID-19. And while I don’t want to relive the thrills (and chills) that this past week brought, I thought it might be helpful to share a bit about how this all played out in my household, some of my dos and don’ts, and lessons learned.
Sunday, July 6th
Sundays are for full-house resets in my household to prepare for the week ahead. I vacuum, mop, and do [50 loads of] laundry, and then repeat. On this particular Sunday, I was cleaning the kids’ playroom. While this is a cardio-intensive activity (parents, I know you feel me), I felt unusually tired and winded. So much so that 15 minutes in, I felt so exhausted and dizzy that I collapsed onto my bed and FELL ASLEEP (unheard of) until my kids woke me to make them lunch! I woke up disoriented and with a dull headache. Assuming it was just a caffeine issue, I made another cup of coffee—but the headache didn’t go away. I went about the day but got the kids to bed early so I could rest up and prepare for a busy work week. Well, the joke was on me…
Monday, July 7th
Body aches. Severe exhaustion. Skull-splitting headache. A sore throat that feels like the Hulk has me in a chokehold. In the distance, sirens. And in that moment, I know…
I need to take a COVID test.
But the government ended its no-cost COVID test mailer program, and I have no COVID tests in my cupboard. My husband’s at work (he had dropped the kids off at camp and let me sleep in). I am home alone and can’t go to the store.
COVIDLand Survival Rule #1:
It's a good idea to have at least one COVID test in your house, especially during a surge (and we are definitely in a summer surge).
I order a COVID test from CVS via DoorDash (not sponsored) and have one on my doorstep 30 minutes later. I take the test and 10 minutes later, the dreaded double line appears. I have COVID-19.
I’ve been open about testing positive for COVID and many people have asked me: why bother testing? You know you’ll stay home until you feel better anyway, right? Here’s my answer:
Side note: Maybe it's because I have lived and breathed COVID since launching Unbiased Science in 2020—or the fact that this virus has killed millions of people and left millions more with chronic issues—but there's something especially eerie about seeing those two red lines. Am I alone in this?
Let me skip ahead to the nuts and bolts of what I think might be most interesting and useful.
This was the second time COVID-19 hit our household. The last time was November 2022. Everyone in the house is up to date on vaccines (the last time we all received a shot was the updated formulation in Fall 2023).
I’ll call Monday, July 8th “Day 1” since that was the day of full-blown symptoms (though, looking back, symptoms started on Sunday, July 7th).
Day 1 (Monday, July 8): Body aches, severe exhaustion, extreme sinus-like headache, sore throat. Sneezing. No fever. While this was terrible, it still felt milder than my first bout of COVID-19. Body count: 1 out of 4 (I’m the only one in my household who has tested positive).
Day 2 (Tuesday, July 9): WORST DAY. Same symptoms as day 1 except worse. Congestion x 100. Nose is running like a faucet. Nausea. Low-grade fever. Lower GI upset. I was up most of the night in cold sweats (as in, completely drenched my bed with sweat). Kept kids home from camp out of an abundance of caution. Body count: Still 1 out of 4 (No one else has tested positive…yet).
I regret not taking Paxlovid. Why didn’t I take it? Day 1, while crummy, tricked me into thinking this would be a pretty mild and manageable bout of illness. I was wrong. While I didn’t end up in the hospital, I likely suffered unnecessarily.
COVIDLand Survival Rule #2:
If you have COVID-19 and are experiencing symptoms, Paxlovid is a medication you should strongly consider.
It's been shown to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization or death, especially if taken within the first five days of feeling sick. While clinical trials showed an 88% reduction in high-risk, unvaccinated individuals, even those who are vaccinated can benefit from Paxlovid, with real-world data indicating a 46% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths. Not only does Paxlovid lessen the chances of severe outcomes, but it can also help you feel better faster. Some studies suggest it may reduce the severity of your symptoms and shorten the overall duration of your illness. Some docs reserve Paxlovid for those they consider high-risk, but others will make it available to most patients who request it. It is certainly worth a conversation with your provider!
Day 3 (Wednesday, July 10): Symptoms are a bit less intense but I still feel like I chugged a handle of Svedka and ran a half marathon in Boca Raton in the dead of summer. I’m so exhausted that it’s a chore to walk the 20-feet to the bathroom. I am pouring so much sweat that I don’t know how I haven’t shriveled into a raisin. I have to change my entire bedding because I soak through my sheets with sweat. (I wish I had a home video of this bedding change. It took about an hour and there were a lot of tears).
My daughter (6 years old) starts showing symptoms – they are pretty mild, mainly some sneezing and low-energy. I swab her nose and see the two dreaded lines. Body count: 2 out of 4 (My son and husband are negative).
A note about what we are doing to mitigate the spread of the virus in our house. We already know that the odds of preventing a full household hit are slim to none. But, even so, my husband sleeps in the guest room (probably also to avoid being kept up all night by my coughing). We are all washing our hands constantly. I am not leaving my room unless necessary. But people are contagious even before they are symptomatic, and we know that there’s a good chance the exposure has already happened. Kinda feels like a ticking time bomb…
Day 4 (Thursday, July 11): I am feeling a bit better. I still have a bad headache and sore throat. Zero energy. I can't get out of bed. I have terrible brain fog and struggle to finish sentences. I keep calling my son by my husband’s name. My daughter is feeling much better. She has some sniffles but has all the energy in the world for Nintendo Switch. My husband wakes up with a mild headache and tests positive. Tick, tick, tick…BOOM. Body Count: 3 out of 4 (We test our son and....still negative.)
And then...an epiphany. In between episodes of Law and Order SVU, I am wracking my brain about when and where I was exposed. For a while, I think the exposure happened on Friday, July 5th when I went to the post office for some stamps. The postal worker behind the counter coughed a few times. She was behind a plane of glass but the glass only covered the area directly in front of her face and I have a feeling it’s no match for FLiRT... I kept my distance but I was concerned. (No, I did not have a mask on me otherwise I would and should have put it on) but then I remember something else... on Saturday, July 6th (Day -2), I texted my husband about my son being so congested that he could barely breathe. At the time, we chalked it up to allergies and asthma... he had no other symptoms so we gave him a few puffs of the asthma pump and he seemed fine. The only other thing was a mild sore throat on Sunday morning which he said felt better after he had some water. It doesn't even occur to us at the time but I am sure of it now.... He was patient zero! (Actual body count: 4 out of 4). Hindsight is 20/20. And this, friends, is how the virus spreads…
COVIDLand Survival Rule #3:
Don’t ignore mild symptoms; everyone experiences COVID-19 differently.
Day 5 (Friday, July 12): My sense of taste and smell vanish. A fun surprise just as thought I was turning the corner! I also have very intense sinus pressure that causes a horrible headache and earache. It was so bad that it made my teeth hurt. Ah, COVID-19—the gift that keeps on giving.
Days 6 and 7 (Saturday, July 13 – Sunday, July 14): My smell and taste are back at around 10%. Sinus pressure intensifies. I am concerned about a sinus infection and am doing what I can to mitigate it (hot shower, warm compresses, meds to thin out the mucus, lots of fluids, etc). I can’t resist the urge to vacuum my house which looks like a literal tornado came through it… ah, I am starting to feel like myself again.
Day 8 (Mon July 15): Taste and smell are back at around 30%. Sinus pain has lessened significantly. It’s the first day I have truly felt like myself in a while. I drive my kiddos to camp (masked), and I have no other symptoms aside from somewhat low energy, but my immune system just fought a vicious battle and this is to be expected.
A return to normalcy… yes, like I said, I dropped off my kids at camp today. They were symptom-free for DAYS, and, no, I did not retest them. Let’s discuss…
The CDC no longer recommends a test-to-return policy because research has shown that people can continue to test positive for COVID-19 for weeks or even months after their initial infection, even when they are no longer contagious. Relying on negative test results to determine when to end isolation can lead to unnecessarily extended isolation periods for individuals who are no longer a risk to others.
The latest CDC guidance recommends that you can end isolation when:
You have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication AND
Your symptoms are improving.
There is no longer a set number of days for isolation. The CDC also doesn’t recommend testing to return to work/school. After ending isolation, the CDC recommends taking extra precautions for the next 5 days, such as wearing a well-fitting mask around others, avoiding travel, and avoiding being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.
COVIDLand Survival Rule #4: Be considerate of others. Even if not required, it’s a good idea to mask up when in public indoor places with other people for a few days, even after you feel better following COVID-19 illness.
In sharing this story, I have had many people tell me that I’m not helping make the case for vaccination since I am fully vaccinated but still got quite sick. People will then respond with: my sister’s neighbor’s uncle isn’t vaccinated and he got COVID multiple times and was fine! But my uncle’s wife’s mother is vaccinated but ended up in the hospital with COVID-19. “The vaccines don’t work!”
But it isn’t quite that simple. Our immune systems are incredibly complex and unique. Comparing one person's experience to another is like comparing how two people react to the same workout - results can vary widely!
This is why we can't rely on individual stories (anecdotes) for reliable information on vaccine effectiveness. Instead, scientists look at large populations. Studies consistently show that vaccinated groups fare much better overall than unvaccinated ones, especially when it comes to severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
It's important to remember that the current population has extensive immunity from both vaccination and infection. This means that even unvaccinated people might have milder cases now compared to earlier in the pandemic, thanks to prior exposure or infection.
In an ideal world, we would study outcomes in vaccinated people and then hop in a time machine to see what would happen to those very same people if they didn't get vaccinated. This would give us a perfect comparison. Until we invent that time machine, scientists design studies to replicate those conditions as best as possible. This is called the 'counterfactual scenario,' and it's why studies have a control group and an experimental group. It isn't perfect, but it's the best method we have.
These studies have shown that while vaccines don't always prevent infection, they significantly reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. They also help your immune system respond more quickly and effectively to the virus.
More details in this post:
Another question I’ve been getting is: why didn’t you just mask?
As a public health scientist, I've faced criticism for not advocating for a 24/7 mask mandate, despite the potential for reduced COVID-19 transmission. This stance may seem counterintuitive, but I firmly believe that public health interventions must be both effective and sustainable.
While universal masking may theoretically curb infections, history has shown us that mandates alone rarely achieve widespread compliance. Even during the pandemic's peak, we struggled to achieve consistent mask-wearing. Therefore, I advocate for a multi-layered, "Swiss cheese model" approach that combines vaccination, judicious masking in high-risk settings, improved ventilation, and prioritizing outdoor activities. This approach acknowledges the efficacy of masks while respecting the realities of human behavior.
I understand this may place additional responsibility on those most vulnerable, and I strongly encourage high-risk individuals to take extra precautions like consistent mask-wearing. It's a difficult balance, but I believe this pragmatic compromise offers the best chance of minimizing COVID-19's impact while promoting sustainable public health practices that people can realistically adopt and maintain
COVIDLand Survival Rule #5: We must take a pragmatic approach to COVID-19—particularly during surges. Vaccination, masking wisely, improving ventilation, testing, etc. can help us keep the number of cases down while recognizing that it is impossible to eliminate all cases at this present time.
I hope you are all enjoying the summer in good health!
xoxo,
Jess