COVID-19 persists but symptoms vary
PHOTO: When COVID-19 symptoms are minimal, they can feel like allergies or a common cold. When in doubt, get tested.
By Mattias RowenBale,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
Many Davis High students now have something in common: they have contracted COVID-19 at some point during the pandemic. However, COVID-19 has hit them all differently, showing up with varying symptoms and severities depending on the person.
“There’s a whole variety of different manifestations (of COVID-19) that can severely affect teens,” said Dean Blumberg, a UC Davis Pediatric Disease Specialist.
Blumberg treats youth with severe COVID-19 cases, most of whom have respiratory symptoms. These patients often need to be put on ventilators with supplemental oxygen, and are treated with antiviral and immune medications.
Junior Maia Romero’s experience with COVID-19 was not unlike those that Blumberg sees in the hospital. While Romero’s case was not quite as severe, she did have to go into the hospital for treatment.
Romero contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of February 2021. “It hit me a lot harder than expected,” Romero said.
The first symptoms Romero experienced were a sore throat and a diminished ability to taste.
Romero also consulted a doctor when she got nervous about her oxygen levels, and was put on an intravenous line for about an hour.
Even after she began to recover and tested negative for COVID-19, Romero continued to check her oxygen levels and heartbeat frequently.
“After having COVID-19 you feel weak and exhausted super fast,” Romero said.
But not all COVID-19 cases are like Romero’s. Carlos Ordonez Mendez, a DHS junior, experienced mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19 in December 2020.
“Mostly I was in bed,” Ordonez Mendez said.
Ordonez Mendez had a fever, a runny nose, a cough, frequent chills and “didn’t want to eat.” For him, the hardest part of having COVID-19 was getting back his appetite.
Senior Brandon Straub’s COVID-19 case was similar to that of Ordonez Mendez. He only experienced mild congestion, fatigue and muscle aches when he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 5, 2021.
He spent about two days just staying in bed while he was sick, but says that the only lingering symptom he has had since testing negative is congestion.
“I would kind of compare it to just a fever, because it wasn’t all that bad for me,” Straub said.
Blumberg says that COVID-19 like Straub experienced is not uncommon among teens. Approximately 40 percent of teens with COVID-19 are mostly asymptomatic.
According to Blumberg, teens often have better outcomes after contracting COVID-19 because their overall health is generally better than that of other groups.
“If a teen who’s previously healthy has COVID-19, we hope they recover from it, and the majority do,” Blumberg said. “But what many people don’t realize is that there is an increased risk of heart inflammation (…) if somebody gets COVID-19.”
Blumberg highly recommends that teens get vaccinated to minimize symptoms, as vaccinated individuals are 10 times less likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19.
COVID-19 booster shots are currently available to seniors and people aged 18+ who are considered high risk. Eligibility will likely be extended to youth in the coming months.
