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Yes, everyone has a cold right now
As we start to socialize in person without masks, a cluster of familiar, non-COVID-19 viruses are emerging across the country.
Over the Fourth of July weekend, 23-year-old Ryley Oliver woke up with swollen and scratchy throat — the same symptoms she had when she tested positive for COVID-19 in August 2020.
“I kind of panicked a little bit in my head. I was like ‘Oh wow, not again,’” Oliver, who’s been fully vaccinated since April 8, said.
Oliver went to an urgent care to get tested for COVID-19 and strep throat. “I just wanted to be safe just because I have three roommates and it’s a common courtesy to them,” Oliver said.
To her relief, she was negative for both.
The physician’s assistant who treated her said she’s hardly alone: with people mingling again, the common cold is making a comeback.
One positive aspect of the pandemic was that other viruses went into hiding — flu rates, for example, plummeted. Between October 1 and January 30, only 155 Americans were hospitalized with the flu, down from 8,633 during the same time in the previous year.
But as we start to socialize in person without masks, a cluster of more mild, familiar viruses have been on the rise across the country.
