I don’t wish this on anyone. Fully vaccinated NPR science reporter Will Stone described his breaktrhough Covid infection to “All Things Considered” host Mary Louise Kelly on Friday:
STONE: It was rough, definitely right up there with the worst bouts of flu I’ve ever had. It started with overwhelming fatigue and a sore throat. Then I got a horrible headache. I spiked a 103-degree fever, and I’d wake up in the night just drenched in sweat. And I even lost my sense of smell and taste. So it was five really bad days. And even once that was over, it still took several weeks to get all my energy back.
KELLY: Yeah. And can you smell again? Can you taste again?
STONE: I can. I can.
KELLY: Good. Good, good, good. So again, just to emphasize, you were fully vaccinated, right? So you knew that you were unlikely to end up in the hospital, but were you surprised that you still got that sick?
He was. And even more surprised to hear that doctors considered his a mild case.
Yet, skeptics continue learning about the dangers of the virus by metaphorically laying their hands on hot stoves because they not only don’t trust experts but insist on defying them.
Here’s another of those (Salon):
Far-right anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer said Thursday that she tested positive for COVID-19 and feels like she got “hit by a bus” after dismissing concerns about infection.
Loomer in December wished to get infected so that she can show people it was not dangerous.
“I hope I get COVID just so I can prove to people I’ve had bouts of food poisoning that are more serious and life threatening than a hyped up virus,” she wrote in a post on the right-wing social network Parler. “Have you ever eaten bad fajitas? That will kill you faster than COVID.”
This week, she got what she wished for (via GETTR):
“Just pray for me please,” Loomer wrote. “Can’t even begin to explain how brutal the body aches and nausea that come with covid are. I am in so much pain. This is honestly the worst part about it.”
Igor Derysh adds:
Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who has worked with Project Veritas and Infowars, drew national headlines in 2018 after she was banned from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, PayPal, Uber, Lyft and other services for spreading hateful messages about Muslims. But her brief moment of fame drew Trump’s endorsement in her campaign for a House seat in Florida, which she ultimately lost by 20 points.
[…]
On Thursday, she complained that she could not get a doctor to prescribe her ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasites in humans and deworm livestock. The FDA says there is no existing data to show that the drug is effective against COVID, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned doctors against prescribing it. Some Southern states have seen spikes in poison control calls after people resorted to using the animal version of the drug, which can result in severe side effects.
“A lot of doctors are really weird about prescribing it,” Loomer complained. “This is the insane world we live in.”
On that, we agree.