If you’re careful and lucky, you have yet to fall prey to the latest strain of Covid hitting people in the US, JN.1. But, large numbers of Americans are coming down with it, reports Adriel Bettelheim for Axios, so beware. Fortunately, the symptoms tend to be mild, including dry coughs and fatigue.
I recently caught Covid, for the first time, sitting next to someone who did not stop coughing and sneezing, on a plane trip to visit my 88-year old aunt. As soon as I saw that my seatmate was ill, I put on two masks, but it was too late. So, instead of caring for my aunt, she ended up having to take care of me!
I had a very mild case of Covid and recovered in a few days, though I continued to test positive for a week. My worst symptom was exhaustion. I think I slept 12 hours for the first two nights, but I had no respiratory symptoms. I’d like to believe that all the Covid booster shots I’ve gotten helped minimize symptoms, but who knows.
The experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believe that this latest Covid strain is likely better at getting around our immune systems than other strains because so many people are catching it. Time will tell whether more people will be hospitalized as a result of catching it. As of now, there are relatively few hospitalizations.
People in the Northeast have been most likely to be infected by the JN.1 Covid strain.
According to the CDC, people who have had vaccines should be better off fighting the JN.1 strain. And, the World Health Organization believes it poses low risks to the public health. If you end up with respiratory symptoms, you should talk to your doctor.
If you do catch Covid, you should be immune for at least a few months afterwards. Once your body has successfully fought off the virus, it is as if you have been vaccinated.
Keep in mind that Covid symptoms tend to be similar to flu symptoms. And, there are a lot of people who are catching the flu this winter. To know whether you have Covid, take a Covid test.
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