As someone who lost the long covid lottery (lingering symptoms now almost 2.5 years after initial infection), you can bet your bottom dollar that I will get flu and Covid shots when they are available. Already caught up on everything else.
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Itās just one data point, but my SIL got Covid for the first time at Thanksgiving time, and she was really sick. She ended up getting long Covid. She only had one vaccine, right when they became available (and only because she had to have it in order to visit her dying father in assisted living). According to the cited study, the fact that she was not fully vaccinated may have contributed to her getting long COVID. She believes that she got long COVID because she had a shot. We continue to see the world through different lenses.
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Friend in MA was exposed last week ā her H got Covid, she tested negative three times on rapid test but was very symptomatic. Doc finally gave her a PCR and she popped positive. Current tests may not be picking up the latest mutations.
The vax I got last week is the same one that was available last fall. The pharmacist at Costco said they didnāt have a date yet for when the new version will arrive. I tested positive last September, nine months after my previous vax, and a month before the new version was released. I canāt take Paxlovid, so am trying to protect my self as best I can til the new version comes out.
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I was a virgin, until today. 
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I donāt know how helpful Paxlovid is for the newest strains anyways. I had read it wasnāt very effective. My husband took it, and I donāt think it helped at all.
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Probably depends on the person. This week, a relative who had COVID once before, was symptom free within 24 hrs of taking Paxlvoid. A co-worker was symptom free in a couple of days. However, the second experienced the nasty Paxlovid metallic aftertaste. Both tested negative within 5 days.
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Yeah, I think itās hard to tell whether itās the person, or the Paxlovid. One day I felt very sick, and the next day, not at all. I did not take Paxlovid, but the Covid disappeared as quickly as it came on. My husband, with Paxlovid and antibiotics, finally turned the corner ten days later. Heās convinced that taking the Paxlovid near the tail end of the first five days is why it didnāt help him. He had a little bit of the metallic taste, but not much.
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Why was he on antibiotics? Did he have a secondary infection? Maybe that was it.
I mentioned up thread that I had COVID for the first time a month ago. I canāt take Paxlovid. I tested positive for 14 days.
Wow, thatās a long time to test positive. My husband went off blood thinners for the Paxlovid, and the nurse wasnāt crazy about him doing that. Didnāt seem worth it, but you never know. They gave him antibiotics after a week just in case it was a secondary infection, but the doctor said it could have been that he just had a very strong immune reaction. Hard to tell, especially since theyāre doing these visits based on Zoom calls. He was still spiking a fever on and off for nine days.
Ditto a good friend of ours. Only had symptoms for 5 days, but still testing positive at day 15.
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Since Iāll be traveling in Europe for a month starting the later part of August, yesterday my Dr. prescribed a course of Paxlovid to take with me on the trip for the ājust in casesā - he doesnāt think Iāll need it, and in fact said, that for the next 6 months or more that my immune system would fire in all directions to ward off anything that tried to get in its way. But I now have the script filled, and am grateful.
For the record, the razors are gone from my throat and the maddening cough a distant memory. We did a taste and smell test, and still those are mostly non-existent. I can taste salt and sweet but not distinct flavors. Blindfolded (not literally) he put vapo-rub on my nostril, and I couldnāt detect a thing! It may as well have been lotion or vaseline. I have taken to saying āIām going to eat some food I cannot taste.ā
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My primary doc wouldnāt let me go on Paxlovid because of the blood thinners. Risk of clots wasnāt worth the drug (and I was in Poland, where it was difficult to get it anyway).
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Question: if youāve had Covid and lost your taste/sense of smell, how long before it came back?
Iām already tired of not being able to taste anything other than generally salty, sweet or spicy. No specific flavors. 
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I lost my sense of smell and some taste the second time I had COVID, earlier this year. It took about three weeks for me to regain the sense of smell. Of course everyone is different and I didnāt lose anything with my first bout of COVID.
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I had a loss of smell after a suspicious ācoldā in January of 2020, before we officially had an epidemic in the US. Iām positive it was Covid because of a few things. Iāve never experienced a loss of smell in my life! And my nose is usually like a GC/MS!! It took me about 3 weeks to get back to almost normal. If you canāt smell your food, it also tastes bland, so loss of taste maybe actually loss of smell. We went wine tasting to the winery we visited a month prior, and I thought that the wines went south so badlyā¦ nope. It was me.
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I lost it for about a week. Followed instructions on ātrainingā your nose and mouth to get it back. Not sure if it worked or was coincidental. I bought lemon essential oil. Took big sniffs in and imagined I was smelling lemon. Did that a few times a day. Also ate spoonfuls of mustard, pickle juice, and other strong flavored things. And I did the burnt orange trick. Here are a couple of links that discuss these methods.
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I lost my sense of smell when I got Covid in 2021. I think it was for a few weeks. I read an article at the time that said to eat spicy Chinese food. I donāt know if it worked but I did get my sense of smell back shortly thereafter.
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You are fortunate to have Paxlovid to take with you! My physician refused when I requested it for a trip to Europe a year ago. The protocols for prescribing Paxlovid are different in other countries and Iād far rather have it with me when traveling.
A friend lost her taste and smell with Covid and is enjoying the essential oils treatment described above, feels it is helping.
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Iāve currently got Covid for the first time. Mild cold-like symptoms for a few days then yesterday I noticed I couldnāt smell or taste what I was eating, so I tried a few experiments. Plain salt or sugar on my tongue - can taste it. Put the open bottle of apple cider vinegar under my nose, canāt smell it but can feel the prickly sensation of acidic fumes. Canāt smell any of the spices or herbs in my kitchen or scented candles/soaps from bath and body works.
My husband has it as well, but he can still taste things even though his coughing and congestion seem worse than mine.
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My BFF says she had āCovid 18.ā Sheās certain she had Covid in late 2019 - and frankly I would agree. Every symptom.
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