There are a couple of places I go, where I repeatedly measure the CO2 levels in the air and the ventilation is excellent. This means that the air is being refreshed on a regular basis (whether because of a good ventilation system or because windows and doors are open, or the building itself is just super leaky). It’s definitely a safer place to be than somewhere with high CO2 levels, meaning that we are all breathing each other’s exhaled breath at a higher level than comfortable. We went to a concert with high CO2 levels, and we kept our masks tightly on the whole time.

It’s in one of those well-ventilated places that I got careless, and I got sick. Because while it’s great not to have high background levels of virus floating through the air, it’s still a fact that if someone is breathing directly in your face, whatever they are exhaling is going into your lungs. 

So … I got sick a few weeks ago. I had three blank COVID tests, so I still don’t know for sure what it was. But I had a fever, spent several days smeared out on the couch, and avoided all exercise for a week after I was feeling better, because I’ve learned the hard way that premature exertion is a great way to impede your recovery.

It’s been three weeks, and while I am able to run now without any discomfort, I am still coughing my guts out. It’s annoying and exhausting and wakes me up at night.

I have tightened up my masking practice – even in places where the ventilation is good, I want to avoid having people breathe directly in my face. There have been studies on this, and there’s no question that good ventilation is important, but good quality respirators are a first line of defense against infection.

So why am I telling you all this? Because the WHO has said that 1 in 10 infections with SARS-CoV-2 are likely to lead to Long Covid – which is a lot like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). That means that every infection increases the odds of a complex, disabling disease. We have now reached the point, with vaccinations, that the acute phase is not so bad anymore for most people (although people are still ending up in the hospital). But the sequelae can be devastating. Why take the risk?

I’d love to know what you think about this. Drop me a message!