Ask A Genius 1466: Rick Rosner’s Experience with COVID After 5.5 Years Avoiding Infection
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/07/28
Rick Rosner shares his experience catching COVID after successfully avoiding it for over five years. Symptoms were mild, mainly a sore throat, possibly due to recent vaccination. He discusses Paxlovid’s benefits and side effects, precautions he’s taking, including reduced exercise intensity, and his hope for minimal long-term effects on cognition.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, how long did you manage to avoid getting COVID? How does it feel?
Rick Rosner: I made it five and a half years without catching it. Now I have had symptoms for six days, and I have been testing positive for four. I am taking Paxlovid.
My symptoms were never life-threatening. Honestly, they were not even that uncomfortable—just a sore throat that made it hard to sleep. That is easing up now.
From what I have read, I expect I will stop being contagious in a couple of days. That seems to be the norm for this subvariant, NB.1.8.1. The most frequently discussed symptom associated with this strain is a harrowing sore throat, sometimes referred to as “razor blade throat.” I did not get that. Mine was irritated, but only about half as bad as strep throat, probably thanks to being vaccinated.
I received my most recent COVID-19 vaccine about a month ago, as I had travel plans. I went to a wedding. On the flight back from Chicago to LA, about a four-hour flight, the kid next to me coughed nonstop. I was not thrilled. However, since I had symptoms the very next day, I probably caught it at the wedding, not on the plane. Incubation for current strains typically ranges from 2 to 4 days.
At worst, I had mild chills for half an hour. I have not experienced the severe immune response, also known as a cytokine storm, where the body attacks itself. That can be dangerous, but thankfully, that has not happened to me.
I have even kept working out, though they say you should not exercise too hard when you have COVID. The primary concern is mostly about viral myocarditis or an increased risk of clotting while your immune system is active. So I have dialled my weights back by 20% to play it safe, and I am not pushing myself.
I do not think my viral load has been particularly high. The rapid test I took on Thursday lit up immediately. Still, I might have picked up a nasal booger during the swabbing process, which probably carried a significant amount of virus. Typically, those tests take a few minutes to show a result, but this one lit up within seconds. So yeah, that sample might have been unusually rich in viral material.
Still, outside that one test, I do not feel like I have been shedding a ton of virus. I have been functioning fine. You can hear the congestion in my voice—I am still phlegmy—but otherwise okay.
I have two hopes:
- That COVID does not mess with my brain in the long term, and
- If it does mess with my brain, it does so just enough that I can believe whatever the White House says without question. That would be kind of a relief.
As for Paxlovid, it works by inhibiting a key protease the virus uses to replicate. It is effective at reducing severity and duration, especially in older adults or those with risk factors. Side effects? Yeah, it can cause some diarrhea and a terrible metallic taste in the mouth—what people call “Paxlovid mouth.”
Anyway, that is my status.
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