Covid panic attacks were something new to me. I remember my first one, after a family gathering on a Sunday in March of 2019. Our county had only a handful of cases then, so there wasn’t a lot to worry about. And then, the CDC rang the alarm bells. I woke up that next morning with a stuffy nose and slightly scratchy throat. Not at all unusual, because I have year round allergies. But this time, I felt prickles of alarm under my skin. The next two days had me in a state of worry. Was I coming down with Covid? Finally , I calmed down, thinking that was the last time I would have such a scare. But it wasn’t. How often have you Covid panicked these past couple of years?
At first, since we had under 10 cases in our city I decided it would be safe to go shopping Only a few people wore masks. But I had a box of surgery masks that I began to use immediately. Along with hand sanitizer and gloves. As the weeks wore on, panic began to spread in our city as cases rose.
Once, I was grocery shopping when I heard someone cry out “don’t wear those gloves.” Startled, I turned to see an angry masked woman standing a few feet away. “Don’t you know those things spread the virus?” She said. “I’m a nurse, and I know.” She proceeded to show me how you touch everything with your gloves, then your face and skin, etc.” She said using hand sanitizer was the only safe way to go.
I realized that as a nurse, she was in a heightened state of fear because by now, she had seen people die of Covid. So I didn’t argue with her. But I did remove my gloves in the car and apply more hand sanitizer. I used so much of that stuff in the next year that my fingers began to itch and burn.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to give up my shopping trips. , I only went out once a week ,and came back with a car trunk loaded with bags .Afterwards, , I might have another Covid panic . I heard rumors of people who had caught the virus on trips to the pharmacy while picking up prescriptions.
It was another year before the vaccine was developed, and we were the first in line to get one. After our second shot, we thought we were back to normal. Went out to dinner Celebrated birthdays. No more Covid panic attacks. Had a great summer in 2020—even celebrated my birthday with children and grandchildren from afar. Got a booster shot in the Fall of 2021. Then came omicron, hundreds of cases, and we were back to masking, staying home, and yes, having covid panic attacks after shopping trips..
The cases are beginning to ebb, and soon, we can stopping wearing masks. However, a lot of us will never feel quite so safe again when shopping. How often have you Covid panicked in the last two years?