We got back from Sydney and the next day, woke up feeling like I had been hit by a bus. Incessant coughing, feeling there was a small furry animal trapped in my throat, runny nose, mild headache and just generally feeling unwell. I woke up the next morning and decided to do a test on one of the triple test systems looking for Covid, RSV and Flu. It gave a very strong positive for Covid. I thought ‘Oh shit, here we go again’, this being the second dose of the virus. The previous one was about 3 years ago1.
I looked up the incubation period of the most recent Covid strains and it seems that symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after infection, but this can range from 2 to 14 days2. So, it is most likely that I picked up the virus in Sydney, as we had been in Sydney for the 4 days before the symptoms appeared. As we had been with family in Sydney, we told them all, so they could keep tabs on themselves and their kids.
I have had one day of feeling really shithouse, the next day when I did the test, I was a little less shithouse. Today, as I write this, I am nearly back to normal, although feeling tired. Tomorrow (Sunday), I should be back to normal.
One concerning thing about having a second dose of Covid is the increased likelihood of developing what has been termed ‘Long Covid’3. Avoiding Long Covid is very wise. A former colleague of mine suffered from it and he was restricted to the couch for 6 months, with extreme fatigue and weakness.
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When was your last booster BA? Ours was June with the latest vax version. Hoping it provides good protection thru winter.
I had a very mild dose – primarily a scratchy throat – during the height of covid, wife tested neg but we think she probably had it and viral dose had diminished. Three other adults in same house, all fully vaxed, were hit hard but not nearly enough to go to hospital.