10 Conclusions about Omicron Infection from an ID Specialist Who Just Had It

Infectious disease specialist Rodger D MacArthur, MD, and his wife went on a vacation earlier this summer, one well earned after MacArthur has spent the past 2 years coping with COVID-19 infection at the Medical College of Georgia as a clinician caring for patients (including the vaccine-opposed), as a professor teaching new medical students during social distancing mandates, and as a member of the medical discipline the rest of us looked to for answers.

MacArthur, a long-time contributor to Patient Care, didn't have stellar news to report when we asked how his time off went:

• It rained every day
• His wife caught COVID-19 (new subvariant no doubt)
• She gave it to him 4-5 days later
• Wife still had a cough with intermittent fever 18 days into it
• BA.4 and BA.5 variants -- very contagious

They are both 95%+ recovered, each having experienced symptoms for about 18 days. His original symptom constellation included headache, fever to 102F, sinus congestion, dry cough, and fatigue--all of which ended at about 4-5 days. His wife had the same symptoms plus one day of emesis (day 1). Her dry cough lasted for 3 weeks.

The enduring symptom he describes as "fatigue." Not overwhelming or disabling fatigue, but fatigue making a daily nap a must and an extra hour of sleep each night standard. Colleagues, residents, and students he has spoken to corroborate the fatigue factor.

MacArthur said that based now on his own experience with the Omicron variant and the experiences of others he has concluded:

Dr MacArthur is professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and the office of medical affairs at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. He is an NIH-funded researcher and before arriving at the Medical College of Georgia headed the Wayne State University AIDS clinical trial program. He is widely recognized as an authority on the development of antiretroviral treatment. He is a long-time contributor to Patient Care.®