I’ve felt kind of lousy the last few days, with coughing, congestion, a sore throat, and an earache. Yesterday the fatigue overwhelmed me, and I fell asleep in the middle of the day, something I never do. More than anything else, that made me wonder if I might have covid.
Getting tested has been near impossible lately, even as covid case numbers skyrocket around the country. My city was giving away home test kits at the library branches, but they had all been taken. A few days ago, the tests were restocked, and my husband tried to pick one up. He got there two hours after the announcement was made saying they were available, but all of the test kits were already gone. I tried to sign up to be tested at one of the city’s testing kiosks, and no appointments were available for a week. I stopped by one of the kiosks today, but a big sign said no walk-ins were being taken.
The drugstores had all been out of home test kits for weeks, but I had to stop at Walgreens for N95 masks, which my husband just found out his agency is now requiring employees to wear. I waited in line at the pharmacy, not seeing them on the shelves. As it turned out, the store had none. But as long as I was there, I asked if the store had any home test kits, fully expecting to be laughed at. And the pharmacist replied, “How many would you like?”
So I picked up a couple of home test kits (now I’m wishing I’d asked for three, since there are three of us, but I was trying not to be greedy, since so many people need them). I tested myself this afternoon, and it was negative.
So I do not have covid. I still feel pretty lousy, but I guess it’s just a bad cold.
The Petrini Page 