Twenty-eight Months and Then...

I have worked in a hospital Covid-19 environment for the past 28 months and this week I finally became infected with the virulent BA.5 variant. I returned to work on Monday after a lovely 11-day vacation break and likely encountered an infectious, but undiagnosed patient. By Wednesday my symptoms were well established as this variant infects quickly. I always wear a surgical mask and face shield at work but did not wear my N95 mask with this patient. As of yesterday, the unit I work on was declared an outbreak with seven staff members and six patients infected. I knew this would happen eventually and the timing was as good as it could be. Our grandchildren were here earlier in the month and are not affected. Last week my husband was 100 km north of Cochrane enjoying a fly-in fishing trip. By the time he got home last night. we had an excellent isolation plan in place. 

I am doubly vaccinated and boosted but still have significant symptoms, the worst being extreme fatigue with muscle pain. But this infection will give me good immunity to Covid variants for at least the next three months. The Public Health Unit contacted me this morning to review my contacts over the past week. I was at church on Sunday where at least 75% of the congregation were unmasked. I went to a Bible study Monday evening and was in a room with ten people, eight of them unmasked. Thankfully, in both instances, I wore a mask. I don't know why a mask did not protect me at work, but my contact with the patient was much closer than an average community contact. 

I am not one to stay indoors all day. The warm weather allows me to stay on the deck for a few hours and I have been taking a short bike ride early in the morning before people are at the park. I have seen far too many patients develop blood clots with Covid infections and while the virus does cause blood clotting issues, inactivity doesn't help either. 

Infection rates are rising in this 7th wave and caution is still required, especially for the more vulnerable people in our communities. To repeat something I said in a recent post;- wear a mask if you are in close proximity to people for even a short length of time. 

We are going to have to adjust to living with Covid for the foreseeable future, but like all viral and bacterial infections, there are ways we can protect ourselves and others with things like vaccinations, a healthy lifestyle, proper personal protective gear and isolating when we do get sick.