I was down with a cold with no fever (allergy?) for a few days. Apparently it ran its course in 5 days like regular cold. But this time, due to university policies, I needed to take a covid test before permitted to return to work.
So they arranged a covid19 PCR test with nasopharyngeal swab, which happened to be my first time. I showed up in the test site at the university hospital yesterday, and got a nose swab taken. I sneezed once.
This morning they sent an email stating "negative" and "I am cleared to work".
I wouldn't know what exactly the sickness was. But even if it was a covid, my vaccine-trained immune system kicked it in 5 days like a regular cold. As I took off at the first sign and started working from home, no one was exposed. Bad for the virus, good for humankind.
I showed up in my office after 7 days and took care of some unfinished work, including submission of a revised manuscript. Hope the manuscript is going to be accepted.
Then this evening my worksite let us know that they are going to lift mask mandate on campus for all vaccinated employee (with some exceptions. in clinic, etc).
Situations are changing rapidly toward "back to pre-covid days".
In the US, PCR test itself does not have much power other than taking a snapshot of possible patient and let doctors judge if a possible ex-patient may return to worksite. Only when PCR is combined with contact tracing and some enforcement of isolation, PCR will be an effective tool to stop infectious diseases. The Chinese did it to stop community spread, but it was with the governmental power unimaginable in the US.
The vaccine really was the game changer. But only for the vaccinated. Theoretically, the game has not changed much or at all for the yet-to-be-vaccinated, including the vaccine refusers. You be careful, until the herd immunity is established by the vaccinated. Over-the-counter antiviral med for covid has been slow to come and is still an unmet need in this pandemic.
There are some scenarios that can change the game again, like emergence of vaccine-overriding lethal variants. Yet, worrying about them is the big pharma' and public health officials' business. I am feeling somewhat relaxed about covid now. Sky isn't falling, it seems.
PS
The revised manuscript was accepted in a day (5/20/21). Lucky us.
