I've been nibbled

Thankfully I slept so well last night, I woke up feeling refreshed and a bit better although I as I opened my eyes I registered that I still had the headache that has been banging around in my head for over a week now.
Apologies for going on and on about my current state of health, I know it is so very boring for everyone else, so you can stop reading now if you wish. I was trying to work out why I was feeling so ill this week with ‘flu’ when I have not been in contact with anyone at all who had a cold/flu. The only person who I have been in contact with who was ill was Tommy and he had Covid. Despite testing for Covid three times over about five days, I have repeatedly tested negative. When another blipper said she had tested positive for Covid while her husband who displayed the same symptoms had tested negative, it sent me down a rabbit hole of investigating why someone with Covid can test negative. Tommy has been in contact with both his brothers this week and has been in Cambridge with Inca, yet none of them have got ill .The younger generation no longer believe in isolating when they have Covid, and thank goodness for that, as they have helped to build herd immunity in our population – they suffered enough during the pandemic having made enormous sacrifices to protect the elderly when they lost out on their education and once in a lifetime milestones like university experiences and end of school events, so you cannot blame them for not wanting to live like that again. Besides, Covid is just another form of flu and more people die from flu every winter than from Covid, yet people don’t isolate when they have flu. I wondered if I caught the virus from Tommy, why me and no one else? Possibly because we have the strongest genetic link than anyone else (and genetics does come into it). I went down a bit of a rabbit hole researching negative test results, and apart from the obvious factor of not testing correctly – I have done it zillions of times so I do know how to test properly – research has shown that some people have a low viral load of Covid in their nasal cavity as it has rather infected their throat and lungs, so always test negative despite testing positive for the antibodies afterwards proving they have had Covid. Who knows, do I have flu or Covid, it's pretty much the same thing and hopefully I have some good antibodies now to carry me through the winter.
 
I cancelled my flu vaccine for tomorrow, and booked it for a week later as I don't think it's good to have it at the moment. The question of a Covid vaccine is another matter. I remember how desperate we were during the pandemic to get the Covid vaccine and got them as soon as we could. Now in hindsight I shudder at the thought of having had two AstraZeneca vaccines, it was rushed out and not researched properly, yet later found to have dangerous and fatal side effects and pulled off the market completely, not even the poor African countries want it – and who knows what long term side effects it will have. I went on to have two more boosters but if I was eligible for the Covid booster now I am not sure I would have it at this stage of the game - I would have to think about it. 

I took Xena for a walk before the rain started this afternoon, and this is a wide angle image of a much nibbled Fly Agaric. I have felt much better as the day has worn on, still coughing with a headache but thankfully no more high temperature.

Tommy arrived home late last night, and today as I did not feel like grocery shopping or cooking we had a Deliveroo take away for lunch - I had a delicious Pad Thai from Wagamama and Tommy had a udon noodle dish. I have not felt much like eating this week but this was enjoyable as it was spicy.

Onwards and upwards, hopefully a better week for me....