Respiratory Virus Apparently Sickening Many In Twin Falls ID

A recent trip to the quick care at St. Luke's in Twin Falls for flu-like symptoms was an eye-opening experience for me. The entire waiting room was practically full of people hacking and having their temperatures taken.

I am currently in my second full day of battling every symptom known to be associated with both Influenza and the Coronavirus. I worked a full day on Friday with a slight sore throat thinking I was just experiencing allergies. Man, was I wrong.

I'm no doctor, nor did I personally witness the diagnosis of every patient I saw at the quick care in Twin Falls on Saturday, but it was obvious to me that a great deal of people sought care for what appeared to be the same symptoms I have been experiencing for the past 48 hours. It started with a sore throat Friday, and then progressed to a fever of 101 by Saturday morning, and included a severe headache, extreme congestion, cough, chills and swollen glands. It was the first time since the pandemic began that I truly believed I had contracted Covid-19; I've never in my life had symptoms so severe.

A family member of mine who works for a Twin Falls' rehabilitation center recently informed me that there have been a high number of appointment cancellations due to extreme colds and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). My son's Twin Falls' pediatrician also told us that RSV was on the rise, and had a grim outlook for the Magic Valley flu season.

After standing in line for 20-minutes surrounded by people hacking all over the place, I was informed that the quick care doesn't allow walk-in Covid-19 tests. So, I went and had a rapid test done at a local immediate care facility. After a 15-minute wait in one of the patient rooms, I was informed my test was negative, which I couldn't believe. I am currently vaccinated from the Coronavirus, but haven't had a flu shot yet.

When I awoke today, my symptoms had all returned. I am thinking of getting another Covid-19 test in the next 48-hours to confirm. I have also heard of many other people in the area suffering from the same symptoms. Whatever I have is nasty, so please take care of yourselves.

Answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

Vaccinations for COVID-19 began being administered in the U.S. on Dec. 14, 2020. The quick rollout came a little more than a year after the virus was first identified in November 2019. The impressive speed with which vaccines were developed has also left a lot of people with a lot of questions. The questions range from the practical—how will I get vaccinated?—to the scientific—how do these vaccines even work?

Keep reading to discover answers to 25 common COVID-19 vaccine questions.