Age: 36.0
Sex: F
Vaccine: COVID19
Symptoms: Hypertension, Impaired work ability, Malaise, Myalgia, Pyrexia
Clinical narrative: I received my first Pfizer booster for COVID-19 on 11/19/2021. On 6/29/2022, I developed a scratchy throat around lunchtime. It got worse, so I took a home antigen test, which yielded a faint positive result. I then arranged for a telehealth appointment with a local urgent care, and they prescribed me PAXLOVID, which I began taking that night. I woke up on 6/30/2022 feeling worse. At that point, I was taking both PAXLOVID and extra strength TYLENOL for a fever I had developed. I had also developed a dry cough by then. I work from home, and I was able to do a little bit of work that morning, but after an hour, I just called it a day and rested for the rest of the day. I had basically no appetite at this point, so I would sometimes have to remind myself to eat. My cough gradually got worse, and it was so bad that I didn't sleep well the night of 6/30/2022. On 7/1/2022, I arranged for another telehealth appointment, so I could request a prescription for benzonatate capsules to treat my cough. I obtained the prescription and began taking it that day. Afterwards, I was able to sleep much better and got substantial relief for my cough. The symptoms continued for the next few days. During this time, I developed brain fog. I went outside to the mailbox with my keys in my hand one day, only to stop and panic, because I didn't know where the keys were. Late on 7/4/2022, my fever finally abated. On 7/5/2022, I felt much better. I took off from work during the days that I was recuperating, so I devoted the entire time to recovery. The only side effect from the PAXLOVID I noticed was a constant bitter taste. Whenever the bitter taste wore off, I pretty much knew it was time to take another PAXLOVID. By 7/6/2022, I pretty much felt like myself again and returned to work that day, though I was more tired than usual and took a nap during lunch break. It took about a week for my other symptoms to resolve before I returned to my pre-COVID energy levels. Everything returned to normal until 9/11/2022. On 9/11/2022, I got a scratchy throat that gradually worsened. I took another home antigen test and got a positive result. I called the urgent care clinic to arrange a telehealth appointment. Since I had had COVID-19 so recently, they asked me to come to the clinic and take a PCR test, because they wanted to be sure that my new symptoms weren't just a carryover from the infection I had had in June and July. I went to the clinic on 9/12/2022 and did the PCR test and an antigen test, both of which yielded positive results. After I got the results of the PCR test on 9/13/2022, I received a prescription for PAXLOVID, which I began taking that day. During the second go round, I didn't develop a fever, brain fog, or cough, though I did have fatigue, scratchy throat, and muscle aches and pains. The second bout followed about the same trajectory as the first, because I was sick for about 5 days before I felt better. I took off from work this time around, also, and by 9/17/2022, I felt fine again. I didn't have the lingering fatigue this time that I had experienced after the first round, so I bounced back pretty quickly and returned to work on 9/19/2022. I don't know if this is in any way related to the COVID-19, but I developed hypertension, which was first noticed around 9/19/2022 while I was at a doctor's appointment for another issue. I had never had issues with blood pressure before. I now manage it with verapamil, and it is working well and my blood pressure is currently in the normal range again.