Covid-19 has had an effect on all U.S. citizens, whether they’ve ever tested positive or not. There is no end to the stories of people who have experienced increased anxiety and loneliness as a result of the lockdowns. But how often do you hear stories from those who have had Covid-19 itself?

While I have not tested positive for Covid-19 myself, I decided to interview some friends of mine who tested positive for it. I asked them “How did it feel having Covid? Did it change your perspective on the virus? How was your life affected?” This is what they had to say.

Now with new coronavirus variants popping up in the United States, experts are worried about how seemingly mild COVID-19 cases may precede major surges, says Healthline News.
“I knew I was strong enough to fight [Covid-19], but it did affect my life. I had trouble breathing and walking up just a couple flights of stairs. I felt so bad for family members that were exposed to me and were at risk of getting it,” said FCHS 2020 graduate and current VCU student Jules Shepherd. “Having Covid has made me feel more empathetic to the people who have suffered worse than me,” she added.

FCHS junior Ally Lounsberry, who tested positive for Covid-19 last month, said “I honestly didn’t believe I had it until I lost my smell. I had some slight cold symptoms and was not feeling very good for 1-2 days,” However, she noted, “It changed my perspective on its level of contagiousness, as neither of my parents ever contracted it and I didn’t confine myself either. I know I wasn’t impacted as much as the older population and I am thankful for that.”

FCHS junior Logan Staples had this to say about his experience testing positive, “ Covid made me more tired than usual and I lost my taste and smell for a couple days”. “ although it did not affect my life as much as i thought it would have, it definitely changed my perspective on wearing my mask more efficiently, I used to not really care about Covid but now I’m trying to be extra cautious with regulations”.

While the majority of people with Covid-19 are expected to have relatively mind systems like a fever, body ache, dry cough, fatigue, and loss of smell, oftentimes those are symptoms that can be resolved at home In some cases, however, people experience more severe symptoms like high fever, severe cough, and shortness of breath, which often indicates pneumonia and can even lead to death.

That’s why it is so important that people realize that people with asymptomatic infections can still spread the virus to others without knowing they are infected. According to Healthline’s Dr. Robert Murphy, because we’ve never seen this virus before there’s no immunity in the population like we have with the flu. Moreover, it can spread more quickly than other respiratory infections like the flu.

The fact that around 80% of people who test positive for Covid-19 will likely experience mild symptoms is exactly the reason why the infection is such a threat. Before you even realize you’re sick, you could easily pass it on to people who have a greater chance of developing complications, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19. New variants of the virus may also increase risk of transmitting the disease.

If you’re young and you’re healthy and you have no underlying health conditions, you most likely will be in the majority that have mild to moderate symptoms and will recover on your own without the aid of any medication or hospitalization, but please be cognizant of the fact there are people who are going to contract more serious forms of this.

“I’ve now realized how contagious Covid-19 really is, so now I try to follow all guidelines and push others to as well to prevent the disease from spreading and others that are at high risk from contacting it,” said Shepherd.