My Life, On Hold Again – Masks Anyone?

Got your shot?

So, after being fully vaccinated (two Moderna shots) in the Spring, I came down recently with Covid-19 anyway. It expressed itself with most symptoms I have read about: sore throat, intense cough, headache, fever, diminished sense of smell and taste, body aches, fatigue, and brain fog. I mean to tell you: I sat down at my desktop computer, and just stared at it. I couldn’t figure out what to do with it, and had only dim recollections of having used it before. I tried this a few times and gave up. I had tested negative for Covid-19 four days earlier.

I get tested a lot because I work as a background extra for movies and TV shows, and they are very picky about being tested and having results before you show up on set. I’ve been tested 35 days for Covid-19 since May, but on August 13, I tested positive after one and a half days of being sick. On Thursday, August 12, the fever had broken, and almost all of the symptoms had disappeared. Yea for vaccinations! They don’t prevent everyone from getting Covid-19, and if you do have it, the symptoms are less, you don’t need to be in a hospital, and you don’t need to be on a ventilator. I found out that they were right on the money about that.

I’ve had flus much worse than this was, and they always last at least ten to fourteen days. I get Covid-19, and I feel great after only two days. There are times when you have to trust Science and healthcare workers and this was one of them. Thank you all.

However, I’ve missed out on a lot. I had a ticket for Salsa Under the Stars, a Salsa concert and dancing at the Albuquerque Museum on the day I tested, so, even though I felt like dancing, I could not go. I had a ticket for a chamber music concert (Chatter Sunday) two days later, and I could not go. Those weren’t so bad.

But then I recieved a message with those magic words to an actor: “You are officially booked.” I was excited. Even though it was only to be a background actor, with no lines, I would have been “An older hotel employee.” No name, but it meant they needed that specific type of person on camera. I fit the bill. I might have actions, and I would feel more like an actor than just set decoration. I would need to test on August 24, and be on set on August 26, so I figured I would have plenty of time to be fully recovered from Covid-19 by then – after all, I had no symptoms at all.

After testing positive back on August 13, I had to visit a hospital emergency room to see a doctor. The clinic I’d gotten tested at (an Optum Primary Care facility on the other side of town) made me test in the parking lot before I could enter the clinic. I was told to arrive one half hour before my doctor’s appointment. I did so. However, after waiting 45 minutes past my appointment time, someone finally came out to test me. I had to wait 15 minutes for the results. I did so. Of course, the result was positive, not what I was expecting, as, for once, I was hoping I had a flu. So, since I tested positive, I could not enter the clinic, even with a mask, even with sanitized hands, or with a face shield. So, I asked them how I could see a doctor. After all, I had a lot of questions. I was told to visit an Urgent Care facility, or an emergency room.

The closest place from that clininc was an Urgent Care facility: NextCare. However, they turned me away. I was told I could not see a doctor there if I had tested positive for Covid-19. I was beginning to feel like a leper. So I headed off to Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque (one of the oldest and best hospitals in the state). I had no problem getting seen there, but even with health insurance, I still had to cough up a $75 co-payment. Fine. They tested me using the nucleic acid amplification procedure (aka a PCR test) that is used to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. I had been hoping the previous test was wrong, but, no, this test only confirmed it. I had also been tested for Influenza A & B and was negative for both of those. For the Covid-19 infection, I was offered an infusion of casirivimab and imdevimab, under an FDA emergency use authorization. It’s brand name is REGEN-COV. The procedue is intravenous, and takes an hour. However, the drugs are used to treat symptoms, and as I no longer had any symptoms, I decided against it.

Casirivimab and Imdevimad

Later, I read the fact sheets the hospital had given me. The drugs are investigational, with little known about the safety and effectiveness of using them to treat the symptoms of Covid-19. Possible side effects include an allergic reaction, with all the symptoms associated with a Covid-19 infection or a flu. Another thing is that the use of “casirivimab and imdevimab could interfere with you own body’s ability to fight off a future infection of SARS-CoV-2,” according to the information so stated in the fact sheet. In addition to that, the fact sheet explains, the drugs “…may reduce your body’s immune response to a vaccine for SAR-CoV-2.” Given that I’m still testing positive, I was considering getting the infusion, but it isn’t going to kill off the Covid-19 in my body. And, since it could actually prevent fighting off the virus or prevent immunization by vaccination, I am so glad I did not get the drug infusion.

The production company for the acting job I had taken insisted I fill out an online form about my health. Halfway into that, I was asked if I’d tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within the last 14 days. I said “Yes”, since it had only been a week since my initial positive test. The form immediately told me to STOP. and to come back when I’ve taken care of it. And that’s why I had gotten more tests. So the entire rest of August is out for me with that production company. I will apply for work with other productions, since some only require that I am fully vaccinated, and others want vaccinations and a Covid-19 test as well. Either way, I’m not going to apply until I have a negative test result.

Sigh. Well, it could be worse. Without the vaccinations, I could be on a ventilator in a hospital, fighting for my life. I cannot work on set, attend an acting class, or any public gathering with a positive test for Covid-19. I have already had to cancel a planned Meetup hike in the mountains, and I can’t sign up for any more hikes until I know I’m Covid free. But, when will that be? Again, I feel like a leper.

All that being said, this indicates there is a worse problem: vaccinated people can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and spread it to other people. Many jobs and businesses are now requiring only proof of vaccination, and that only unvaccinated people are required to get tested for Covid-19. The percentage of vaccinated people who test positive for Covid-19 is small right now. But what will happen when those few people are free to spend time in crowded indoor situations? I can’t go any place to be around people, because, even though I’m vaccinated, I know I have Covid-19. What about all those other vaccinated people with Covid-19, some of whom are asymptomatic, or who were only sick for a couple days like I was?

I’m glad to see that mask mandates are coming back. As much as I hate to say it, I think it’s necessary given that some vaccinated people may now have the more infectious Delta varient, and spread it without masks and distancing.

I wore masks, I distanced myself from people. I hadn’t been sick with anything in two and a half years, and got vaccinated. I felt a sense of freedom, confident that I could re-enter society fully. Now, I can’t. On my own again.

(NOTE: a recent study*, published today (08/24/21) indicates that, “Following vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, antibody responses peaked at around 40 days post-vaccination, with levels beginning to decline after 120 days.” And, “The results of the current (findings), sic, indicate that antibody levels in unvaccinated individuals after infection extended to ten months after infection.” As near as I understand it, while it may be better to fight off the infection yourself for longer protection, you may die first or suffer long-term consequences. I think we’re better off with the vaccines, but it looks like we’re all going to need booster shots until this thing dies out. I suspect that’s not going to happen until at least 90% of everyone in the world is vaccinated.)

*Study results