Thomas Pallini is getting a COVID-19 test.
I tested positive for the COVID-19 in December of 2020 after testing positive for the virus in November of 2020.
The symptoms were mild but the reactions of others were different.
I didn't think I could get it twice. I spent Christmas experiencing symptoms, scrounging for tests, and figuring out how to deal with COVID-19 again, even though I was wrong.
I tested positive for COVID-19 just 13 months after my first positive test, and 9 months after I received the second dose of the vaccine.
My world stopped after I tested positive for COVID-19. I knew what I had to do. I was living with my parents and only used the bathroom for 14 days, during which I retreated to my bedroom and only had meals delivered. When my sibling tested positive, my parents fled the house for two weeks.
My symptoms were mild, consisting of fatigue, chills, sore throat, and loss of taste and smell. Still, calls to friends and family members yielded gasps and extreme concern.
I felt fine, but the fact that I had a virus that killed more than 1 million people around the world weighed on me. As a high risk person, there was always the worry that things could get worse if I didn't feel good.
After my isolation and recovery, the Pandemic seemed to have ended for me. I didn't think I could get it again.
The second time I used COVID-19, my experience could not have been more different.
I felt a tickle in my throat on December 20 and it was the beginning of something bigger. I decided to get tested in advance of Christmas because I thought it was a cold, but it was actually a cold.
The testing apparatus in New York had gone from great to terrible in a matter of hours. All of my go-to testing sites were overrun and people were reporting that wait times were over three hours at some locations. Result times have been longer at some locations.
Since testing sites were proving slow and unreliable, my first stop was a pharmacy to buy an at- home test, even though I thought it was unlikely that I contracted the virus again. The store was sold out because of a run on the tests. The tests were in stock at my local pharmacy.
The store clerks were talking to customers about the new tests. I took the first test after I got home from work, because it cost $30 to purchase a two-pack of tests. The result was not positive.
I woke up and signed on to work, even though I had a sore throat and felt fatigued. I coughed up phlegm but it didn't persist.
I rushed to lie down as I felt weak. I didn't get another test because of the negative result I got the night before.
A family member called us the next day to tell us that she had tested positive after positive in 2020. I bought two more packs of tests from the same pharmacy and the price went up from $30 to $35.
My 15-minute test came back positive. I ripped open the second test and found the same result.
I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if there were any exceptions for people who had previously had COVID-19, I didn't know what resources were available to me, and I didn't know what the requirement was for a vaccine individual.
My immediate family, both vaccine and unvaccinated, immediately came to terms with the fact that if I had the virus, they likely had it as well, and didn't feel the need to stay away from me. They seemed okay with contracting the same virus that they were afraid of last year.
I made calls to my friends and family and they were surprised to hear that someone had tested positive for Covid-19 twice.
It had gone from taboo to inescapable to get COVID-19 in New York City. I didn't cancel Christmas because we were all exposed to the virus. We decided to quickly inform our guests of our plans so that they could make their own decisions on whether to come or not.
Some of our guests canceled, but others came as if nothing had happened.
I stayed away from visitors and wore a mask after my first symptom, but they were undeterred by the COVID case in the house. I was mostly able to stay away from others but not participate in any of the festivities and took my meals in a different part of the house.
My family members didn't think my diagnosis was a threat and that was something I couldn't comprehend. I wondered why anyone would want to increase their chances of getting sick if the symptoms are mild.
"Come downstairs and take your mask off," one family member who had also contracted the virus in 2020 said, despite the fact that he obviously could contract the virus again.
I'll end my isolation soon. The symptoms were not life threatening and were not worse than a cold. The worst of my symptoms were a sore throat and feeling fatigued for a few days, though each person will experience this virus in their own way. I still have my sense of taste.
We have the tools to make sure that many people who contract the virus have a mild experience. I credit my quick recovery to having natural immunity from the first round of COVID-19. If my recovery hadn't been quick, I would be worried, because new drugs are coming to market that can help reduce symptoms.
I hope that the epidemic is over for me. I've been wrong before.
The experience of the author may be different than that of others.
Business Insider has an original article.
