The latest Covid updates make sense of the headlines and the global response.
The latest news from the Pandemic.
A cautionary tale.
A person who has caught coronaviruses twice is unusual. I have had it vaccine and unvaccinated. The cautionary tale I offer for the anti-vaxxers is that they should not march through the streets of the world's biggest cities.
I met Covid on Christmas in London. clapping for health-care workers has become a half-hearted exercise. I assumed the virus would find me since my husband worked at a school that had few safety measures.
I was surprised that I would get it again seven months later, and only weeks after receiving my second shot.
The first bout started with a dry cough and a loss of taste and smell. The illness resembled the flu within a few days. My husband said that his internal organs felt like they had been stabbed. I was convinced that a monster had taken hold of my chest.
A dose of the vaccine.
The early days were frightening because people our age were among the dying. In our corner of northeast London, bodies were delivered to a pop-up mortuary after sirens rang all day. I developed breathing problems a week after my initial symptoms. After climbing the stairs, it would take me five minutes to recover. I couldn't walk very far.
I was on the road to recovery after the more serious issues waned. My husband and I were sick for a while. We had our first dose of the vaccine in March and another in June.
I thought I was done with Covid.
I was so excited to test positive after I had a summer cold and a lot of sneezing, I thought it was a cold. My husband had the same symptoms a week before, but was negative for them. The fear of the unknown was back. I was worried that we would relive the winter.
The vaccines did their job. Our mild illnesses were over in 48 hours. I was back at work after taking a day off. I'm sure having been vaccine played a part in the milder second go-round.
We moved to Melbourne a day before thousands of unvaccinated people took to the city's streets demanding their freedom. We watched them and then went to the doctor to get our booster shots.
The virus can be tracked.
The tech giant suspects shoppers have either satiated their appetite for new stuff or are uneasy about extravagant purchases in a world of soaring prices. The mix of things for shoppers is heady. The story can be read here.
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