Reflexions On Getting Covid…Again!

A few sniffles and a light cough were the first signs. And the fact that my wife had tested positive the day before, as did her friend who sat with us at my show last Friday. With a full day of patients, it was time to test. Ah…the double blue lines; the mark of  Covid! Round two!!

For me, more than anything else, Covid is a nuisance; having to cancel my day–and week–and tell patients in pain that they had to re-schedule to next week or to find another chiropractor who might be able to squeeze them in.

Covid is here to stay. It’s endemic. Mask as you will, you will not escape it. We will all get it…all of us. And most likely, multiple times. So why not just accept this reality and relax about it. I know people who have barely left their homes for years out of the terror of getting “The Vid!”

Now don’t get me wrong. There is a tiny percentage of people who will have severe symptoms and who may get “long covid,” whatever that is. The vaccines have done an excellent job of minimizing the chances of hospitalization and death; a very good thing. But not much more than that. They don’t stop transmission. And they don’t prevent you from getting sick.

My friend got Covid last week after having his booster two weeks prior. You think there is no potential harm from the boosters? Tell that to the patient I saw last week: a 68-year-old woman (with osteoporosis), who had her booster on a Monday, was violently shaking for hours as a side effect, came to see me on Wednesday with sharp rib pain. I sent her out for x-rays: three broken ribs and a pneumothorax that required her hospitalization. Think that paxlovid is the latest miracle from Pharma? Tell that to the many people I know who have had rebound cases of Covid after taking the drug. (I imagine many of you do as well.)

The most common response when you tell someone you have Covid, is for them to express sympathy. “Oh no, so sorry to hear.” But for me, no sympathy please. Rather, look at it as getting a natural booster. You now have a fresh titer of anti-bodies, at least for this latest strain, and enjoy! You’ll be good to go; at least for awhile. And then you’ll get it again.

The fear mongering that still goes on, especially as Pharma is about to role out its latest “super booster,” does little beyond paving the way for the latest, newly minted, billionaire. The last one I took (last year) offered eight weeks of immunity. Eight weeks! (I did it to coincide with a trip to Portugal while we were still being tested to re-enter the US. Hedging my travel bet!) And this last one gave my friend less than two weeks. Amazing stuff!

So sure, if you are immuno-compromised and need every advantage, go for it. It’s understandable. A bad case of Covid can be really, really bad.

But for the rest of us, let’s just live. If you are sick, stay at home and take care of yourself; same rules as always. And embrace your new antibodies. For those locked in, terrified of the viral menace, let it go, come into the sunlight. It’s ok. The effects of the protracted fear will be more damaging than the few days at home, in bed, catching up on some reading and the latest Netflix series.

Hey, we can all use some rest!

Copyright 2023

Dr. Ricky Fishman has been a San Francisco based chiropractor since 1986. In addition to the treatment of back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries, he works as a consultant in the field of health and wellness with companies dedicated to re-visioning health care for the 21st century. He is the founder of the health news and information website, Condition: Health News That Matters.