Thread by @loscharlos

"Even if you're not concerned about others, you should still care about protecting yourself from multiple infections.. news has not done a great job talking about #LongCovid. As people get infected 2, 3, 4, & more times, they are playing against the odds" lifehacker.com/where-to-find-…

"You can only get the intervention Paxlovid within 5 days of symptoms... one of the things we think helps prevent #LongCovid. Second, no one knows who will get LC, and you might need proof of that positive test in the future for insurance or benefits or even to justify sick days"

"While a RAT is unreliable for safe socializing with people for the reasons explained above, a molecular test can pretty reliably clear someone to come in your house that day, or be in close proximity."

"To explain how much it’s not 'just the flu,' COVID is now considered to be a vascular illness. That means it affects the blood vessels in your body, which go everywhere."

"Thinking of COVID as a vascular illness helps explain why #LongCovid is everything from extreme fatigue to migraines to numbness in your extremities, loss of smell and taste, extreme fatigue, and neurological and cardiovascular conditions."

“We agreed he would take a COVID test using one of my rapid home PCR tests. It was a courtesy—he felt perfectly fine— but he tested positive. By the next day, he was sick as a dog. And, by the way, the rapid antigen test he took when he got home that night was negative.”

“Cases of #LongCovid are crushing our medical system, too. The two best tools to avoid getting COVID continue to be masking and testing.. This is why home [PCR] testing kits are so important.”

“A PCR can detect even small amounts of the virus. This is why it has always been considered the ‘gold standard’ of COVID testing. These tests are generally considered accurate starting one to three days before you experience symptoms.”

“Until last year, you needed to get a PCR from a testing center, but home tests have evolved and there are now four rapid, at-home molecular COVID tests, meaning you test and get a result within 30 minutes.”