What it feels like to have Covid-19 after being double-vaccinated

I thought I was invincible prior to coming down with Covid-19, so when my PCR test came back positive, it really got me thinking about where, why and how I had contracted it.

To give you an indication of my life pre-Covid, I would wake up and down a glass of water, I’d take all of my supplements / vitamins per day and was exercising six days a week at the gym. I was also eating heathily most of the time and would wear my mask in the shops and on the bus. I was also celebrating after dropping two stone that I’d gained in weight during lockdown.

Half-term holidays

I was also looking forward to some time off with Cyrus during his half-term break from school and had done boot camp at the gym to gear up for a week of full-on childcare duties. I felt great, in fact I was so full of energy and feelgood endorphins at this point that Cyrus and I headed for Newcastle on the bus to visit the castle on the Monday. No signs or symptoms and my morning lateral flow test revealed that I was negative.

On Tuesday, we visited a local museum before heading for ice-cream at a cafe. Again, no signs or symptoms that I was ill. However, I wouldn’t sit in the cafe at the museum because it was filthy and I joked to Cyrus that we best avoid it in case we got Coronavirus. There was also a baby with a bad cough in the playroom at the museum and I made sure I sat at the other side of the room. His gran was not phased, bouncing the baby on her knee joking and repeating “Have you got a bone in it?” I cringed a bit and wanted to tell her to take the baby home since he was clearly not well. I wanted to leave the playroom, but Cyrus was happily playing and so we stayed for another 30 mins. A woman came in wearing heavy mud-clad boots and it amazed me that she walked across all the soft play mats before sitting down. Her baby began to chew the lace in her boot. I shuddered. In the cafe, I cleaned the table with a baby wipe, although I remember thinking I could have done with an antibacterial one. Cyrus had ice-cream and we returned home.

Slightly sniffly

On Wednesday, I was slightly sniffly but we decided to take a trip on the bus as I needed to return an item I’d bought. I’d done my morning lateral flow test which was negative, so I assumed I was just a bit run down having done so much on the Monday and Tuesday. Cyrus and I stopped off for coffee and cake before we explored the toy store. A mum was nursing her baby, he looked really poorly, very red-faced. I made sure we didn’t sit next to them. That evening, I had an early night in bed. I didn’t feel particularly unwell, it just felt like the onset of autumn, like I might come down with a cold. I get this every year.

On Thursday, I had a slight cold but after testing with the lateral flows, both my husband and I were negative. We decided therefore we’d have a family day out. I can’t say I felt unwell at this point, a bit tired perhaps when we got home – but we had been on a big adventure that day so it was to be expected!

No cough or temperature

Friday and Saturday were OK, I was a bit sniffly and had a headache, but no certainly no temperature, no cough and I could still smell my perfume at this point. Then Sunday hit. I received a call from a gym friend to say that a few members who had been in class were poorly and than she had tested positive for Covid-19. I immediately booked a PCR test and the rest is history. Had she not called me, I would have continued with the lateral flow tests. After all, you’ve no reason not to believe them when you’ve done a whole week’s worth.

Daily calls with Test and Trace

I worked through Covid-19 last week from home in isolation with daily calls from Test and Trace. My symptoms were mild and came and went throughout the week. My main worry was about passing Covid to my husband as his PCR Test was negative. I kept Cyrus off school, but I didn’t have a cough or a temperature and the only thing that has happened is that I seem to have lost my sense of smell. My mind was doing overtime on who I had come into contact with and whether I had passed it to anyone. However, thankfully all of the people I was close to that I know have not developed symptoms. This was my only reassurance.

My 10 days of isolation are at an end now and I have signed up to a couple of Covid-19 trials and ventured back to the gym to do dance and then a HIT class. I was very nervous about going back because I felt as though I had Covid written across my forehead. I was also worried in case the virus had taken its toll on my body in ways I didn’t know, so I was relieved when I found I could exercise just as well as I could pre-Covid.

Herd immunity phase

What shocks me the most is that I clearly had Covid-19 and didn’t realise I had it because of the lateral flow tests. I count myself lucky that I’d taken my father for his booster jab the week prior this and phoned him instead of seeing him. After my half-term encounters, I do wonder how many of those I encountered had gone to have a PCR test, probably none of them.

Herd immunity certainly seems to be in full swing, whether we like it or not. One thing is certain, you need to look after those around you. I will be having a booster vaccine when offered one and will do all I can to help others now I have experienced Covid-19 firsthand. Look after yourselves! See www.vitaminC4covid.com/recommendations for guidance on what to take for prevention and if you become infected.