My experience with covid and Paxlovid

(This post was copied from a previous blogging platform.)

I visited friends and family in early December and got my first (known) case of covid. I had gotten my flu and covid boosters about a month earlier, partially in preparation for the trip. Initial symptoms were a slightly scratchy throat that got worse over a day or so. I picked up an at home test which quickly showed I was positive. Over the next day my symptoms worsened: a moderate to strong headache, overall discomfort, a slight fever and general exhaustion.

I got a prescription for Paxlovid via a CVS telehealth call that took less than fifteen minutes from signing up to getting the script sent in. Within 24 hours of taking the first dose I was feeling immensely better, including being able to finally sleep through the night. The side effects of Paxlovid aren’t great, especially the horrible taste you get in your mouth.

I tested negative a day after taking my final dose of Paxlovid and continued to test negative for a few more days until I started testing positive again, this time with very mild symptoms. Paxlovid rebound isn’t uncommon, but I appeared to get it stronger than most. It took another five days to start testing negative again. As far as I know, I have no lasting effects from my first, and hopefully last, experience with covid.