Overcoming a Christmas-time lump of coal

Last week I received one Christmas-time “gift” Santa could have left in his sack — a break-through case of COVID-19. I was fully “pfizerized” — vaccinated with two doses back in the spring. However, I think I waited too long to get the third shot booster. I had just had it done the week prior to my symptoms, so it hadn’t had enough time to kick in and offer protection. I would have had it done sooner, but I didn’t realize how easy it was to have done — for example, you can get a free Moderna booster shot at Marshall’s Drug Store in Urbanna.

I think my COVID-19 case started with some odd symptoms — I could feel pressure inside my head like a creature from the movie “Alien” pushing my eyes out some. Well, not really as painful as an alien attack, but a sign of something strange afoot. Then some typical cold symptoms arrived — runny nose, sneezing and coughing.

I had no fever and have had much worse colds, so I didn’t think a lot about it, until hearing I had been exposed to someone who had tested positive for COVID-19.

I went to MD Express in Gloucester and took a COVID-19 test as soon as I could and it came back positive.

To be on the safe side, it was recommended I go to Riverside Doctors’ Hospital in Williamsburg the next day and get a Regeneron “anti-body cocktail” IV infusion, similar I think to what President Trump had received, but now more widely available. The cocktail knocks down the virus and keeps it from replicating, so it doesn’t multiply to super-high numbers and start invading the lungs and other sensitive areas. It won’t do any good if you wait too long, but seems to be very effective if done soon after the COVID-19 diagnosis is made. The hospital had a special room set aside to administer the infusions and patients filled the room, but at least I got a sanitized, comfortable, padded reclining chair. A later arriving patient had to use a not-so-comfortable, non-reclining extra chair, but a nurse managed to find an ottoman-like furnishing to make things a little better during the process, which takes about an hour.

It has been pointed out that even in break-through cases like mine the vaccine is still a significant help in that it keeps the symptoms on the mild side and keeps you out of the hospital — and alive. My symptoms were pretty much gone in four days.